HSV head to in-form Wiesbaden

SV Wehen 1926 was founded in Taunusstein in, you guessed it, 1926, by 39 club members. The club spent the majority of its time in the lower reaches of regional football in Hessen, slowly establishing itself in first the Oberliga Hessen then the Regionalliga Süd at the turn of the millenium, playing ten seasons in a row in the old German third division, before achieving promotion to the 2. Bundesliga for the first time in the club’s history in the 2006/07 season. This also coincided with vast changes off the pitch, as the club moved from its old home in Halberg to the brand-new BritaArena (the team is sponsored by the German water filtering company Brita) in Wiesbaden, a 10km move to the south-east.

The move to the quiet university town, a stone’s throw across the river from Mainz in the south-west of Germany, meant that the newly-named SV Wehen Wiesbaden were much more accessible, with better transport links to nearby Mainz and Frankfurt, and enjoyed the best period in the club’s history. However, relegation back to the newly-formed 3. Liga followed in May 2009, a division that the club would stay in for over a decade. Former Arminia Bielefeld manager Rüdiger Rehm took over the helm in Wiesbaden in 2017, and guided the club back to the 2. Bundesliga in May 2019, dramatically defeating Sonny Kittel’s Ingolstadt on away goals in the second division Bundesliga playoff to finally secure a return back to the promised land.

The HSV double-header against VfB Stuttgart really took its toll on the squad, with question marks hanging over four players before the team headed south on Saturday afternoon. Aaron Hunt’s injury woes continue, as the club captain pulled his hamstring in Tuesday’s cup clash, and did not travel with the team to Hessen, whilst Josha Vagnoman has broken the tarsal bone in his foot and shall be out of action at least until Christmas. Lukas Hinterseer and Martin Harnik both have muscular problems and are current uncertainties for Sunday’s clash, whilst Jairo Samperio and Jeremy Dudziak both picked up knocks on Tuesday but should be in the matchday squad come Sunday. Since losing to St. Pauli on Matchday 6, HSV have put a fine run of results together, most recently the 6-2 dismantling of Stuttgart last Saturday at the Volksparkstadion. But the cup loss to the same opposition on Tuesday night, as well as two draws and a loss from the past three away games, will give the squad extra motivation to get the three points on Sunday afternoon.

Dieter Hecking on Wiesbaden: “I am assuming that we have the right mentality and the quality to beat Wiesbaden on Sunday. But, I warn against underestimating our opponents. In the form table from the past four games Wehen Wiesbaden are in third position. At the beginning of the season they got taught a few harsh lessons, particularly at home, but have stabilised since then, which means we need to respect them. It won’t be a walk in the park. We have to invest a lot, to win at the Brita-Arena.”