The HSV coach will begin to prepare his troops for the mega-tough begin at home to reigning Bundesliga champs Borussia Dortmund as soon as the HSV posse arrives at the camp. The much-anticipated round 18 clash takes place at the Imtech Arena in Hamburg on Sunday 22.01.12. A sell out crowd is expected to attend tghe game which kicks off at 15.30 CET. Fink knows that success against the side under cult-coach Juergen Klopp could create euphoria which could carry HSV through the second half of the season.

Back to work again
Fink looked nicely tanned as he welcomed the majority of his charges back to first team training at the Imtech Arena on Tuesday afternoon (03.01.12). The coach revealed that he had spent most of the short 12 day winter break with his family in Dubai. He told hsv.de on Tuesday that completely blocking out work during the break was "impossible."
 
The HSV posse will leave Hamburg for Marbella on Wednesday (04.01.12), where they will spend eight days away from freezing temperatures in Hamburg. Fink explained: "It is important that I have a decent period of time with my players to prepare them for the coming tasks. That way we can create a good basis which will help us wit our impending tasks."  

Because he will ony have 18 days to prepare for the second half of the season opener against Dortmund, preparation for the visit of the champions to Hamburg will start right away. Fink again: "Preparation begins right away. We have a score to settle after we played poorly in our fiorst meeting earlier in the season. We want to prove that we have improved a lot since that day. Success in the opening game can serve as a pointer to the rest of the season."