Training camp

Otto Stange: “I’d missed being out on the pitch”

After a successful U19 European Championship, Otto Stange is back with HSV. The 19-year-old discusses being reunited with the Rothosen, what he learned from the tournament, his goals for the new season and his change of shirt number.

Otto Stange’s infectious smile is back. The 19-year-old centre-forward arrived at the team hotel, the Aqua Dome in Längenfeld, at around 20:00 CEST on Wednesday evening (22nd July) with a huge grin on his face. Sporting director Claus Costa was there to welcome back the youngster, who finished as a runner-up with Germany at the U19 European Championship in Wales, before Stange was greeted with more hugs from board member for sport Kathleen Krüger, the coaching staff and his teammates.

"It felt great to be back out there straight away"

“I was really excited to see everyone again. And I think they were pretty pleased to see me too,” Stange told HSV.de with a mischievous smile the following day after his first training session back out on the pitch. After his time away with Germany U19s, the youngster was keen to return to HSV as quickly as possible and, after agreeing it with the club, even cut his holiday short to do so. “Being back in Hamburg and having a few days off was nice too, but playing football is always better than just chilling and doing nothing. We managed to work it out together and now I’m here. I’d missed being out on the pitch. It just felt great to be back out there today!” said the Hamburg-born striker, who returns to pre-season having learned plenty from the tournament as he prepares for his second Bundesliga campaign.

"A brilliant experience"

Stange was with Germany at the U19 European Championship in Wales from 28th June to 11th July, with the team going all the way to the final. The 19-year-old was one of the key players in Christian Wörns’ side during the tournament, which ended with a 2-0 defeat to Spain. Nevertheless, Stange had plenty to be pleased about after winning a silver medal and finishing as the tournament’s joint top goalscorer alongside Betis Deportivo’s Jose Antonio Morante. “Before the tournament, my aim was to have a successful campaign with the team and finish as top goalscorer, so I’m really happy with how things went,” said Stange. “It was a great trip and I had a lot of fun with the lads. Overall, it was a brilliant experience. Playing at a European Championship for Germany is a huge thing, even at youth level. Along with the World Cup, it’s the biggest tournament you can play in at this age.”

"I’m getting better at that all the time"

After a valuable experience with Germany, Stange’s focus is now back on HSV and he's determined to make the most of pre-season. Having made 14 appearances in the second tier for the Rothosen and helped the club win promotion in May 2025, the right-footed striker spent the first half of last season on loan at SV Elversberg before his loan was cut short and he returned to the Volkspark in the winter. He then went on to make his first Bundesliga appearances for HSV during the second half of the campaign, featuring ten times and playing around 300 minutes. The academy graduate has a clear aim for the new season: “I just want to play as much as possible. Hopefully everything else will follow from there, but that’s my main goal. My first appearances in the Bundesliga were really exciting. We’ve brought in a lot of very good players who I’ve been able to learn from. In the Bundesliga, you have to play with even more clarity and maturity. I’m getting better at that all the time. This will be my first full season in senior football and I want to give absolutely everything.”

Stange will be taking on that challenge with a new shirt number this season, swapping 49 for 19. “I wanted something new and 19 was available. I asked everyone at home as well – my mum, my dad – and they all said 19 was better. I’d had 49 for a while, but 19 has a different feel to it and some great players have worn it, like Marcus Rashford, Karim Benzema and Lionel Messi. So a few pretty good players have worn 19 before, but ultimately I want to make my own name.” Welcome back, Otto!