Dubai: Hamburg are working day and night in Dubai this week to try and avoid relegation from the Bundesliga, that’s according to the club’s new sporting director Jens Todt.
The Red Shorts are currently third from bottom in the German league, having accrued just 13 points from 16 matches. They’ve had to save themselves via relegation play-offs twice in the past three seasons.
“It’s true we have been struggling the last couple of years and now we are working day and night to try and break this,” said Todt, whose side is currently training at Nad Al Sheba ahead of a friendly with Al Nasr at Maktoum Stadium from 7.45pm on Monday.
“It’s not easy to explain the club’s situation in two or three sentences. There is a financial gap between us and the bigger clubs and a problem in development over years.
“We honour our tradition of success, but we also don’t live in the past,” he added of Hamburg’s record as one-time European Cup winners and six-time Bundesliga champions — although their last title in either was the league and European Cup double in 1983.
“There is pressure without doubt, but now we are happy to be in Dubai where we are training at world class facilities in good preparation for the second half of the season. This preparation is perfect for us because the winter in Germany is very harsh.”
Hamburg midfielder Lewis Holtby, formerly of Tottenham Hotspur, said he didn’t regret making his 2015 loan move from Spurs permanent despite Hamburg’s struggles.
“I’m not missing the Premier League at all,” he said. “I loved playing there, it was a dream come true. But now I’m playing in the Bundesliga, which is one of the best leagues in the world.
“I don’t think of the past, I’m sitting here right now representing this club and our objective now is to get out of the last three and move forward by playing good football and getting points.
“I don’t see this as a breakdown in my future. I’m thankful for my time at Hamburg and have learnt a lot there in football and in life. This time has brought me forward rather than backward.
“We are facing a problem to try and avoid relegation, we had some good results in games before the winter break, now we wish to stay in the Bundesliga and everyone is doing their best to stay there.”
Al Nasr coach Dan Petrescu said he hoped his side, who are currently sixth in the Arabian Gulf League and through to the President’s Cup semi-finals, would learn from their encounter with Hamburg.
“It’s always good to play against an experienced team from Europe,” he said. “We know all their players will treat this like an official game and play seriously to prove themselves to their coach. It will be a serious match and I’m 100 per cent sure my players will learn something from this game because it’s going to be against tough competition.”
