Against Rot-Weiss Essen – HSV likely to come to Hafenstraße without its head coach

On Sunday (13 August, 1 p.m., Forecasting-Liveticker), Rot-Weiss Essen will play Hamburger SV in the 1st round of the DFB Cup. It is quite possible that HSV will come without its coach.

As reported by the “Hamburger Morgenpost”, Hamburger SV could start the match of the 1st DFB Cup round at Rot-Weiss Essen on Sunday without its head coach.

Tim Walter was also absent from the final training session at the Volkspark on Saturday. The reason: a persistent cold that is currently keeping Walter out of action.

Co-coaches Merlin Polzin, Filip Tapalovic and Julian Hübner led the HSV pros through the last session before the traditional duel at the Hafenstraße stadium in Essen. Should the 47-year-old HSV head coach Walter not be fit in time, Polzin, Tapalovic and Hübner would also be in charge of the team in Essen on Sunday.

That Walter is in poor health could already be seen at the press conference on Friday. His voice was not in top form. But the HSV coach was clear to understand.

Hamburger SV: Head coach has respect for RWE

He warned his team against third-division team Rot-Weiss Essen and said: “It is important for us that, unlike Karlsruhe, we are not just there, but are fully there. And be there in the last minute. If we can do that, then that’s what we need in every game. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the cup or not. We just want to win. And we’ll go there with that attitude.”

By “there”, the coach meant Hafenstrasse. For him, it is the first visit. “I’ve heard a lot about Horst (Hrubesch, editor’s note) from the past. We are looking forward to going there. We know it’s going to be very, very heated there,” said Walter, drawing a parallel between HSV and RWE: “Ultimately, the only difference between the clubs is the league. Tradition and passion for the game, I think both clubs have that written all over them.”

All that, however, will be of little interest to Walter on Sunday. “Our ambition is to go to Essen and win there,” he made clear once again. HSV’s ambition is always to progress to the next round in the cup and, if possible, to achieve “even more”.