Team
12.07.22
Quartet with ambitions
With Xavier Amaechi, Robin Meißner, Aaron Opoku and Ogechika Heil, four players on loan have returned to HSV to make a new start for the Rothosen. HSV.de introduces them and lets them speak.
In the summer transfer period so far, HSV has kept its squad together as far as possible and strengthened it with four new arrivals (Matheo Raab, Filip Bilbija, Laszlo Benes and Ransford Königsdörffer). In addition, the club welcomed Xavier Amaechi (Bolton Wanderers), Robin Meißner (Hansa Rostock), Aaron Opoku (VfL Osnabrück) and Ogechika Heil (Go Ahead Eagles Deventer), four returnees who were able to gain important experience as players on loan at other clubs during the pre-season and are now making a fresh start for the Rothosen. HSV.de presents an overview of the four returnees and spoke to them about their ambitions for the 2022/23 season.
#17 Xavier Amaechi I Right-winger
Xavier Amaechi moved to the Elbe from his training club Arsenal back in the 2019/20 season and signed a four-year contract with the Reds until the summer of 2023. The then 18-year-old arrived as a highly talented youngster, but struggled to adapt away from home. In coach Dieter Hecking's team, the Englishman faced strong competition and only played 32 second-division minutes. The 1.79-metre left-footer also received hardly any playing time in the following season 2020/21, so he was loaned to Karlsruher SC in the winter of 2021. The half-year in Baden (7 appearances) was followed by another loan spell in the pre-season: at English third division club Bolton Wanderers and thus back on the island, Amaechi made his presence felt again, but at the same time also missed 25 games with a metatarsal fracture and a thigh strain
"When you feel the confidence in the coach, then you can show your qualities" Xavier Amaechi
Now "Xav" takes the third attempt at HSV and convinced in the preparation. In the test matches, the winger proved his ability in 135 minutes, scored two goals and also showed commitment in his work against the ball. "My Dear", as head coach Tim Walter calls his Bath-born protégé, could therefore surprise in a positive way in the upcoming second division season and, as a 2001 vintage, is far from the end of his development. "Xavier has taken his chance. He's doing a lot of good things well," Walter praised. "He's had a period here that you just don't want to have as a young player. But now he has arrived from the head. He feels that there is someone here who wants to improve him." Amaechi himself is grateful to his coach for that, saying, "I am happy to be back. When you feel the confidence from the coach, then you can also show your true qualities. Tim Walter has given me that trust and in return I have found my form again. I want to contribute with goals and assists to help us achieve our big goal."
#22 Robin Meißner I centre forward
Robin Meißner hinted at his potential, especially his great strength in finishing, at the end of the 2020/21 Second Division season. In the last five games of the season, the centre forward scored five points (three goals, two assists). However, the Hamburg native missed the start of the pre-season due to a torn knee ligament, which he had suffered during the preparation. "Poldi", as the 1.82 metre tall attacker is called in team circles due to his powerful shot and a certain resemblance to world champion Lukas Podolski, subsequently had a hard time asserting himself against the two newcomers Robert Glatzel and Mikkel Kaufmann, so that he was loaned out to league rivals F.C. Hansa Rostock for the second half of the season. Meißner made eight appearances for the "Kogge" under coach Jens Härtel (twice starting eleven, six times substituted) and scored one goal. A corona illness in mid-March prevented further games.
"Rostock was a completely new experience for me" Robin Meißner
"I learned a lot in Rostock. I got to know a completely different team structure there. We have a very young team here at HSV, where the players were older on average and often already had children and a family. It was a completely new experience, and in the end, half a year helped me get ahead," Meißner looks back. Now the centre forward is back at HSV, whom he deliberately joined in the summer of 2020 after training at city rivals FC St. Pauli and has not lost sight of over the past six months. "I have always stayed in touch with the boys. That's why it felt normal to return now," he says and looks forward to the start of the season with anticipation: "Training is a lot of fun. We are working with focus, which is also shown by the test match results. Now we can't wait until it's all about three points again at the weekend."
#29 Aaron Opoku I left winger
After three loan spells (F.C. Hansa Rostock, SSV Jahn Regensburg and most recently VfL Osnabrück) in the past three years, winger Aaron Opoku is making his fourth attempt at HSV. The homegrown player, who has been dribbling for the club since 2011 and thus has the longest club affiliation of all HSV professionals after the departure of Josha Vagnoman, has never been closer. His last loan spell with third-division club VfL Osnabrück in particular has steeled the Hamburg-born player both physically and playfully: In 32 league games, Opoku marked a whopping 18 scorer points (three goals, 15 assists). "I really played a lot in Osnabrück. This match practice was very valuable for my personal development. The loan has therefore totally paid off for both parties," explains the 23-year-old, who is also happy to be back at HSV: "I am now back home. I was immediately well received and felt at home again."
"I'm back home now" Aaron Opoku
The 1.85 metre tall right-footer is now keen to follow up his only professional appearance for HSV to date - one minute of play in the 2-1 home win to kick off the 2020/21 season - with more games in the HSV jersey. "I want to build on last year as well as possible and, above all, get as much playing time as possible again. Football-wise, I want to improve from day to day. That's the aspiration that every player in our team has. I also want to develop as a person. At the end of the day, I want to have maximum fun with this team, because you can't have fun without fun," says "Juice".
#42 Ogechika Heil I left winger
Just like Opoku, trained in his own youth, Ogechika Heil made his debut for the HSV professionals on 3 January 2021. Low centre of gravity, agile movements, courageous heart - the 1.68-metre whirlwind, who transferred to the HSV youth team from KSV Hessen Kassel in 2017, promptly hinted at that certain something in his game and five more appearances for the professional team followed. HSV then signed Heil to a contract until 2024 and loaned the winger to Dutch first division side Go Ahead Eagles Deventer for the past season. In the Eredivisie, "Ogi" played 28 games (one goal, one assist) in the 2021/22 season and gained a lot of experience: "The year in the Netherlands was very instructive for the development of my personality: When you meet a different language, different people and a different culture, you grow from it. It was also different football-wise. The focus was more on the technical side. The bottom line was that it was a very cool experience, I learned a lot," explains the 21-year-old.
"When you encounter a different language, different people and a different culture, you grow from it." Ogechika Heil
Experiences that should now help him in his next attempt in Hamburg. "It's nice to be back. I'm happy and very motivated to tackle the big goal together with the team," says "Ogi", who, as a Hessian who moved here, has put down roots in the Hanseatic city after five years. "I know a lot of people here and have many acquaintances. That's because I've also been playing at this club for so long."
Amaechi, Meißner, Opoku and Heil - a quartet with ambitions that still has a lot in store.