Season

The season so far in numbers

HSV have played 18 games so far in the 2. Bundesliga and sit top of the table going into the winter break. HSV.de have collected all the interesting statistics and facts from the first half of the season.

1 – HSV are first in the league with 37 points after 18 games. The last time HSV was on top of the table going into the winter break was in the 1986/87 season, albeit that coming in the Bundesliga. Ernst Happel led HSV to second place that season and also managed to win the DFB Pokal.

2,38 – Hannes Wolf was appointed HSV manager over eight weeks ago on 23rd October 2018. Since then, Die Rothosen have played eight games and won six. The only games that they have failed to win was the 2-2 draw at home against Union Berlin and the 1-3 loss in Kiel. Hannes Wolf has averaged 2.38 points per game since taking over, which is the second best average out of all managers in German professional football. First in the list is Dortmund coach Lucien Favre, who has averaged 2.47 points per game from 17 Bundesliga games.

7 –HSV fans have followed their team in huge numbers all over the country this season. Apart from the 0-0 draw at Greuther Fürth and the 1-3 loss at Kiel, HSV have taken maximum points from all away games this season. The number of away wins currently stands at seven, including two wins in the DFB Pokal with a 5-3 win in Erndtebrück and a 3-0 win against Wehen Wiesebaden.

8 – What do the wins in Sandhausen, against Bielefeld and in Aue have in common? That’s right, they were all won by more than two goals. The 3-0 wins against Sandhausen and Bielefeld and the 3-1 win over Aue were all convincing but the other eight wins were only won by a one-goal margin. Hannes Wolf sees this as something positive as it shows the strong mentality and togetherness of the team. “We have lots of respect for this league therefore I will not complain with any of the wins we we have got,” explained Wolf.

9 – Thanks to his seven goals and two assists, Pierre-Michel Lasogga finishes the first half of the season as HSV top goalscorer. This is quite an impressive statistic when you think he has managed it in only 12 league games. His physical presence has proven to be a menace to defenders and he also notched four goals in the DFB Pokal to help lead HSV reach the round of 16. ‘PML’ has in total averaged a goal every 81 minutes.

9 – HSV have seem to have found the perfect balance between defence and attack this season. Goalkeeper Julian Pollersbeck has kept a clean sheet in nine games so far, which is a league best. The second best record in the league is held by Rafal Gikiewicz (Union Berlin) and Manuel Riemann (VfL Bochum), who have both kept seven clean sheets.

10 – When the fourth official has held up his board for a HSV substitution this season, more often than not the number 13 is shown. Christoph Moritz has been subbed on in 10 of the 18 league games so far. Fiete Arp is in second place, being brought on 6 times so far this season.

14 – HSV have scored 15 of their 25 goals this season in the second half, with six of these scored by Pierre-Michel Lasogga. Only one of Lasogga’s seven league goals has come in the first half.

21 – In the 18 games so far this season, the Rothosen have only used 22 players with only SSV Jahn Regsnburg (21), 1. FC Union Berlin and SV Darmstadt 98 (20 each) having used less players.

56.3 – HSV have had an average of 56.3% possession in the league so far with no other team in the league boast a better percentage. HSV had to adjust their playing style to the new league as teams are happier to sit back and play a more direct style in this division. HSV have also had more possession in away games (56.9%) than home games (55.8%). The reason for this difference could be calibre of opponent HSV have had to face at home in comparison to the on the road as all of the top 5 have visited the Volksparkstadion so far this season.

1,593 – Gotoku Sakai has played 1,593 minutes of league football this season, which is the most for an outfield player in the squad. Only Goalkeeper Julian Pollersbeck has played more minutes of league football for HSV than Sakai. He is only one of 18 players to have played every minute of league football this season in the division (1,620 minutes).

2,143 –The running statistics for the league show that HSV have ran the second most in the league, totalling 2143 kilometres. Only Arminia Bielefeld has managed to run more (2,157).

50,210 – The players had many reasons to thank the supporters after the last home game of the year against Paderborn. HSV fans have created a brilliant atmosphere in the all home games so far this season with the average home attendance currently stands at 50,210. No other second-division club in Europe can better this figure which just further shows how incredibly loyal the HSV fans have been sticking by their team since relegation from the Bundesliga.