Team
13.02.22
Chakvetadze: Patient like his team
Georgian Giorgi Chakvetadze made his debut in front of the home crowd in the 2-0 home win against 1. FC Heidenheim and seamlessly joined his team-mates in a strong performance.
It was easy to see at first glance for which of the HSV players their hearts beat especially: Five Rothosen supporters wore their freshly acquired jerseys the wrong way around during the 2-0 home win against 1. FC Heidenheim. The number seven was therefore visible on the chest of all of them. In addition, the fans in the West Stand presented a Georgian flag for almost the entire match, which was of course dedicated to Giorgi Chakvetadze, the 22-year-old newcomer to HSV, who played for the first time in front of the home crowd at the Volksparkstadion after his transfer from KAA Gent to Hamburg. He was substituted for Faride Alidou in the 66th minute and played almost 30 minutes, including injury time, in the sixth home win of the season. And he seamlessly joined the very good performance of his colleagues.
Three minutes before Chakvetadze came on, Sonny Kittel had put his colours in front 1-0 with his fifth goal of the season (63rd). It was the important lead in this intensely fought match, in which HSV had a lot of ball possession (59% in the end) and a significantly higher number of passes (567 to 379 in the end), but the visitors also had good opportunities to register the first shot at happiness. "We remained patient and persistent," Tim Walter said appreciatively in the post-match press conference. That was the key to success. "It was a difficult game because Heidenheim ran a lot and also had some opportunities. But basically it was still a deserved victory because we took the fight and beat an unpleasant opponent," said double goal scorer Kittel, who followed up his first strike with the second via penalty kick (78th). The numbers backed up his statement. HSV held their own against the unpleasant visitors, with 121.76 kilometres run, 0.34 kilometres more than the team from Brenzstadt. This was remarkable considering that they had the ball much more and also had a passing rate of 83 per cent. In addition, the Walter protégés were also ahead in this important statistic on this day, with 53% of duels won.
"I feel very well taken care of"
And Chakvetadze? He showed that in the short time he has been in Hamburg, he already knows what is important to Tim Walter. That the Georgian is a gifted technician was already known beforehand and was also evident in many scenes against Heidenheim. But Chakvetadze was able to show that he can also work at the back and put himself at the service of the team with his runs. "The coach pushes me a lot. In addition, we have a really great team with many good players. I feel very well taken care of," says the midfielder, who should now continue to gain confidence in his game step by step. He doesn't want to talk about his time in Ghent. Nor yet about what might happen or could happen in the summer.
"I have now played for the first time at home in front of our fans. It was very nice. We got three points, that was the most important thing. Yesterday I played 25 minutes, next time maybe 35 minutes," he only sets himself short-term goals. Just like HSV and its coach. "Development never stops. The boys can learn something new every day. It's good that we have such boys who bring this willingness. If we continue to be so persistent and bring this willingness along, then let's see how it looks next week in Sandhausen," Walter explained. It is not known whether the Chakvetadze fans will be there again then. Nevertheless, they were presented with their Georgian's jersey after the match at the Volksparkstadion. And they certainly hope, like many others, that the development of Chakvetadze and HSV will continue in such a positive way.