Anyone who knows Kali a little knows what a sadistic beast the goddess of destruction can be. For a couple of years she has had the kickers of Schalke 04 and Hamburger SV on the Kieker, the curse of the resentful mythical figure has catapulted both traditional clubs into the second division. The HSV last took fourth place three times in a row; Schalke ended up in the limbo that it had last lived in exactly 30 years ago because it had won just three of the previous 50 first division games.
So the question was how the fallen sizes would manage it in a direct duel at the start of the season both to lose. The short answer: only the hosts from Gelsenkirchen lost 1: 3 (1: 0). Two unexpected subordinate clauses are: The Schalke team also took away some positive insights – not least due to the fact that the atmosphere felt like a real soccer ball game in view of the 19,770 spectators. The last time there were so many fans in the arena was in March 2020, a week before the first lockdown, when Schalke were still sixth in the first division and were annoyed by a 1-1 draw against Hoffenheim.
Terodde approaches Schatzschneider
“We knew it would be loud,” said Hamburg’s new coach Tim Walter impressed, “but not that it would so When the guests had adjusted to the level, they were already behind, and that was due to the best Schalke news of the evening: Simon Terodde, who is on the way to replace Dieter Schatzschneider as the most successful second-class enforcer ( The former Hanoverian still leads with 154: 143), had already scored in the seventh minute. It was a center-forward goal that Schalke had hardly managed since the first lockdown: Ball win in their own half after a formidable tackle, through pass into the The goalkeeper started running at exactly the right moment and then technically fine-tuned the goalkeeper. The cheering of the fans, who belatedly noticed that the video referee was acting, fell silent – and swelled again when the suspicion was upside down.
But is it a good sign when a patented, 32-year-old second division hunter stands out in such a way? If he plays like Terodde on Friday, then absolutely. He held the balls, distributed them, slowed down or sped up the pace, and sometimes disappeared from view of the opponent as if he had the Stealth mode of a stealth bomber. That was all the more surprising because Terodde had played for Hamburger SV last season and scored 24 times.
For the first time since March 2020, spectators were allowed to enter the Schalke Stadium.
(Photo: Treese / Nordphoto / imago)
On the other hand, it is a problem if the rest of the team is not (yet) on a level with the center forward. After a quarter of an hour, the home side needed a noticeable break in oxygen, the “defensive dominance” of which Schalke’s coach Dimitrios Grammozis demanded its price early on. At this stage, the hamburgers began to take control. Curiously, this phase can also be sold positively on both sides: the guests played pleasantly, but the Schalke team still had everything under control – apart from the flattering penalty that Kinsombi stumbled on, but Glatzel forgave (28th); Schalke’s substitute goalkeeper Langer, who stood in for Ralf Fährmann, who tested positive, parried.
The spectators had every reason to be happy, especially since Victor Pálsson ended some dangerous moments with resolute intervention and initiated two counterattacks with 35-meter headers that were reminiscent of the times of Marcelo Bordon, Schalke was second in the championship several times, once even in the Champions League -Semi-finalist, other times. In the present, captain Danny Latza had to be replaced due to an injury (32nd), Bülter was too headstrong in front of the goal (36th), and after a fine counterattack, Blendi Idrizi made the wrong decision in front of HSV goalkeeper Heuer Fernandes (51st). Less than two minutes later, HSV was on the video cube, a questionable free kick, a not quite successful parade by Langer and a stab from Glatzel made it 1: 1.
HSV coach Tim Walter exchanges the victory
This was followed by a short burst of energy, but after just 60 minutes of the first day of the match, Schalke’s tank seemed quite empty and the guests were getting better and better – thanks also to a few changes from coach Walter. The hosts, for their part, strengthened the defensive, but they were increasingly disorderly and too low, and the last hit, therefore late substitute, Hamburg Sonny Kittel showed the holes in the five-man chain. In the 86th minute, Schalke longed for the final whistle, he skillfully served the also substituted pipe, which put back on the also substituted Moritz Heyer, who finished coolly.
Schalke found the reserve button again, but Heuer Fernandes had apparently grown two more arms when he first saved against Kaminski (89th) and then again against Terodde (90th). These scenes confirmed the goalscorer’s view that things are “so tight in football”, “by centimeters that are sometimes missing. We had the clearer things,” he analyzed aptly, “but the HSV victory was not really undeserved”. The Hanseatic underlined this with the punch line of the evening when Bakary Jatta – almost invisible for an hour, then better every minute – pushed a sharp cross from Kittel volley over the line in the final seconds to make the final score 1: 3. Effectiveness is almost always more important than quantity.