Season

A more than successful debut for Sander Tangvik

The goalkeeper delivered an outstanding performance in the away match at Leverkusen (1-1) on his first appearance for the Rothosen – and in doing so also wrote his name into the Bundesliga history books.

People often say that you grow in the face of obstacles. And there could hardly have been a bigger one for HSV goalkeeper Sander Tangvik in his very first outing for Hamburg: in the 25th minute, he found himself facing Patrik Schick of Bayer 04 Leverkusen from the penalty spot. The same Patrik Schick who had gone into the match with 90 goals in 170 Bundesliga appearances. The same Patrik Schick who had converted seven of his previous eight penalties in the German top flight. There they stood: an experienced goalscorer on one side, a newcomer in the HSV net on the other. A few steps in the run-up, the strike – and it’s saved! Tangvik guessed the right corner, diving low to his left and pushing the ball away with both hands.

The 23-year-old Norwegian thus became the first HSV goalkeeper ever to save a penalty on his Bundesliga debut. Before Tangvik, only 16 goalkeepers had managed to keep out a spot-kick in their first Bundesliga appearance. The Trondheim native had kept his side in the match with his save, with the score still 0-0 at that point. In the end, the teams shared the points in a 1-1 draw after goals from Fabio Vieira (61’) and Jarell Quansah (78’). Tangvik finished with seven saves in total and was rightly honoured as man of the match.

“I’m very pleased that Sander was able to reproduce in a match the level he has shown in training. It was a superb performance from him. From his very first training session, he showed that the investment in him was worthwhile. He has not only made ‘Ferro’ (Daniel Heuer Fernandes; editor’s note) and the team better, but himself as well. He improved day by day. It was only a matter of time before people from beyond our training ground and across German football started to take notice,” said head coach Merlin Polzin. Among others, football magazine Kicker named Tangvik in its Team of the Week – making him only the tenth HSV player to achieve that honour after his first Bundesliga appearance. Sascha Kirschstein is the only other goalkeeper to do so, fittingly also after making his debut away at Leverkusen (a 1-0 win in November 2005).

The shot-stopper himself, who joined HSV from Rosenborg BK in January of this year, was overjoyed after his incredibly successful debut for the club. “You don’t make your Bundesliga debut every day and also manage to put in a good performance. I really enjoyed the game, it felt great,” he said. He explained that he had worked very hard for this moment. “I always try to work as hard as possible and be a good team-mate who puts a smile on my own face and on the faces of others,” Tangvik said. And how did it feel then, the key moment of the match? “With the penalty, I made my decision in the moment. I actually watched some of his penalties back at the hotel beforehand,” he revealed. He added with a wink that he could not give away any more details.

Now, a special summer could await Tangvik: the World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada is on the horizon. Norway’s World Cup squad will be announced live on television on Thursday (21st May) from 20:25 CEST. Tangvik received his first – and so far only – call-up from national team coach Ståle Solbakken last November. However, he was not included for the March internationals. HSV coach Polzin has already said that Tangvik would be ready to “take a little less holiday than usual”. In his view, the Norwegian national team could rely on the goalkeeper. He described Tangvik’s display in Leverkusen as “a huge statement”.