FACTS: Founded: 1887
Rivals: FC Bayern, Werder Bremen
Stadium: AOL-Arena
Stadium capacity: 55 500 (45500 seated)
Training facilities: Top training facilities
Youth facilities: Average youth facilities + youth academy
Continental competition: Champions League
Media prediction: 3rd
Wage budget:2,5 milion EUR p/m
Transfer budget:7,5 milion EUR p/m
KITS: home
hsv_home.png away
hsv_away.png HISTORY: The current club was formed as Hamburger Sport-Verein in 1919 through the union of three city teams severely weakened by World War I: Sports Club Germania; Hamburger FC (1888); and FC Falke (1906).
The club colors were the Hanseatic red and white in honor of the City of Hamburg, with the blue and black of the oldest of the founding clubs, Germania, being used on the team crest.
Soon after, Germany's first professional football league, the Bundesliga, was formed and HSV was one of sixteen clubs invited to join that first season. Hamburger SV currently holds the distinction of being the only original Bundesliga side to have played continuously in the top flight – without ever having been relegated – since the formation of the league in 1963.
In the mid-70s HSV began a brilliant run that saw them capture numerous honors. In 1976 they won the German Cup and followed up the next year with a Cup Winners' Cup. The took their first Bundesliga championship in 1979, fell just two points short behind Bayern Munich in 1980, and then won consecutive championships in 1982 and 1983. '83 also brought a European Champions' Cup with a (1:0) win over Juventus F.C., followed by another German Cup in 1987.
STADIUM: 250px-AOL-Arena.jpg The club plays its home games in the AOL Arena, which was originally opened in 2000 as the new Volksparkstadion.The AOL Arena is a UEFA 5 star stadium which certifies it to host UEFA Cup and UEFA Champions League finals. The stadium was the site of four group matches and a quarterfinal in the past 2006 World Cup hosted by Germany and was known as FIFA World Cup Stadium Hamburg during the event.
EXPECTATIONS: As the media predicting a 3rd place in the league and the chairman expecting you to qualify for europe, I dont think that with the players you have at your disposal at the start shouldnt be that difficult. And if you manage to get some quality players in for 7,5 milion, you should be well off. Definetly good enough for a 3rd or 2nd spot. A bundesliga title in the first team is very unlikely, as Bayern will problably dominate the league.
SQUAD: Goalkeepers:
There are only two good keepers at the start. Kirschtein should easily be ahead of Wachter. Hes very tall 196 cm and has got very solid stats overall. He could have better agility, acceleration and pace, his Eccentricy is a bit high-17. Good for the first season, but should start looking for another keeper. At the start I recommend buying Enyeama for around 200k.
Defence:
In the center you have the likes of Mathijsen and Kompany. At the right Demel and at left back Atouba. Mathijsen is generally a very good centre-back with good decision making, but is quite slow. Vincent Kompany is quality with loads of potential, very versatile. Becomes a world-class player soon. He could still improve his heading a bit and hes also pretty injury-prone. Demel is a decent player, can play everywhere at the back and DM, very physical, but I would suggest looking for a replacement sooner rather than later. Atouba has very good technical ability, especially crossing and dribbling. Very good at going forward and supplying crosses for the strikers.
Overall a strong and solid defence at a good age. There are always areas to improve, but one thing it is missing is depth at full-backs.
Best defender: Kompany
Midfield:
The midfield looks to be the stongest part of the team. With van der Vaart you have a set-pieces taker, a world-class playmaker with ability to rip defences apart. He can pass, score from close or long range. His weakness is his heading ability, but the only thing. Dont sell him, he wins matches on his owns at times and scores some cracking goals. At DM you have another dutchman Nigel De Jong, who is a great player and will be chased by the big clubs soon. At left you have the experienced Sorin, that performs consistantly and is your best squad player besides van der Vaart. At right you have Jarolim, that as a lot alike Sorin-good in defence and even better at going forward. A very good midfield, where you dont need to change a lot.
Best midfielder: van der Vaart
Attack:
My opinion is, that it is the weakest part of the team besides the goalkeeper. The only player worth keeping long-term is Guerrero, that at 22 yrs of age has a fair amount of potential. He can play as a fast striker and as a target man. In the 1st season he should be your top goalscorer along with van der Vaart and will get better in time. Lauth, Sanogo and Ljuboja are solid strikers, but I feel that they are not good enough for the 1st team, so I suggest you buy one more striker. I would suggest getting C. Delgado, maybe Dagoberto or even one of the young guns at River - Higuain or Falcao.
Best attacker: Guerrero
CONCLUSION: I would say with a couple of quality captures this team could go on challenging for the title and qualifying for the next round of the champions league. I suggest you keep Kompany, van der Vaart, De Jong and Guerrero. That way you get a core of players, around which you should start building a young and exciting team able to throw Bayern of the top.
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