Season
21.12.21
Review: The HSV First Half in Numbers
After 18 games, the Rothosen have 30 points on their account and go into the winter break in third place in the table. These and many more figures are available in our look in the rear-view mirror.
Numbers don't lie, as the saying goes. And a football season like this naturally produces a lot of figures. Every single matchday does. The last one of the year last weekend, for example. The 1-1 draw against Schalke 04 on matchday 18 was draw number 9 for the Red Shorts in the first half of the 2021/22 season and ensured 30 points and third place in the table at the winter break - quite a lot of numbers in a single sentence, which can be confusing. That's why we'd rather take a little more time and space at this point and go through this first HSV half-year of the current season again in peace and let a few numbers speak for all HSV fans that show: Something good has developed, the team is on the right track, but of course there is still room for improvement here and there. HSV.de presents: Payday - the season so far in the rear-view mirror and with a mathematical twist.
We start our colourful numbers game - in line with HSV's approach to the game - very offensively and first look at the numbers that move us forward: in attack. For example, we look at the 32 chances the Rothosen have created. In this ranking, HSV is in 2nd place, just behind FC St. Pauli (33).
31 goals scored by striker Robert Glatzel & Co. are good, but not outstanding. These 31 goals are enough for 6th place, although bad luck prevented more goals with 6 aluminium goals. By the way, FC Heidenheim (13) is the undisputed leader in this category.
HSV scored 7 of their 31 goals with their heads, which is the second best value after SSV Jahn Regensburg (8). This is mainly thanks to Robert Glatzel, who with 22 scored the most "goal shots" per head in the league and scored 4 headed goals - nobody in the league has more, only Darmstadt's Phillip Tietz also has 4 headed goals.
No headed goals without crosses, that's for sure. Bakery Jatta, a Hamburg player, is also in the top 10 in this category, having crossed into the penalty area 47 times so far. Strikingly, exactly 30% of his crosses found their own team-mate, which is a very good figure in a league comparison. Only Philip Heise (KSC, 32.8%), Leart Paqarada (FCSP, 30.8%) and Fabian Reese (Kiel, 30.1%) have an even higher strike rate.
HSV scored 4 goals after counter-attacks. The range in this category is quite wide, from 0 (Fortuna Düsseldorf) to 9 (FCSP). However, when you have by far the most possession (more on that later), it was difficult to counterattack quickly after winning the ball.
The approach to the game with a lot of possession also ensures that the Walter team always likes to play as close to the goal as possible. This leads to the fact that in the category of long-distance shots, only a 2 is lit up. By way of comparison, Jahn Regensburg are at the top of the rankings with 9 goals scored from outside the penalty area.
All in all, however, Hamburg can be quite satisfied with their performance. Especially Sonny Kittel, who after 4 own goals and 8 assists with a total of 12 points is represented in the top 10 of the best scorers. Striking: The top 5 in this category include Guido Burgstaller (18/14/4) and Daniel-Kofi Kyereh (14/5/9) as well as Phillip Tietz (15/12/3) and Luca Pfeiffer (14/12/2), two players from FC St. Pauli and SV Darmstadt 98. The top 5 is completed by Paderborn's Sven Michel (17/13/4).
As much as you are happy about the goals on one side, the goals on the other side annoy you. But: HSV only conceded 18 goals in 18 games and thus has the safest defence in the league. Darmstadt 98 is in second place with 20 goals conceded, while last-place Ingolstadt 04 conceded twice as many as HSV.
But: There is still room for improvement in one defensive category, whereby the HSV playing system already mentioned may also play a role here. Hamburg conceded 4 goals on the counterattack, only Paderborn and Rostock conceded more (6 each). But of course: If you almost always have the ball and play forward, you are more likely to run into a counterattack than someone who hides in front of his own goal all the time and doesn't even want the ball.
When it comes to having the ball and being active and shaping the game, there is no way around HSV. Summarised in one figure, this means: Tim Walter's team averages 62.6% possession per game. That is by far the top value. By comparison, Holstein Kiel is in second place with 55.5% possession.
It also follows from this possession-oriented approach to the game that the Rothosen are also in first place in the categories "Most Passes" and "Best Pass Rate". A total of 8,807 passes were completed, a figure that no one can match by a long way. And the pass rate of 84.5% is also undisputedly the best in the league.
Aber: In einer Defensivkategorie gibt es dennoch Verbesserungsbedarf, wobei auch hier die bereits angesprochene HSV-Spielanlage eine Rolle spielen dürfte. Die Hamburger haben 4 Gegentore nach Kontern kassiert, lediglich Paderborn und Rostock passierte dies noch öfter (je 6). Aber klar: Wer fast immer den Ball hat und nach vorn spielt, der läuft auch mal eher in einen Konter als derjenige, der sich die ganze Zeit vor dem eigenen Tor verschanzt und den Ball gar nicht haben will.
Apropos: Wenn es darum geht, den Ball zu haben und selbst aktiv zu sein und das Spiel zu gestalten, dann führt kein Weg am HSV vorbei. Zusammengefasst in einer Zahl bedeutet dies: Die Mannschaft von Tim Walter verbucht im Schnitt pro Spiel 62,6% Ballbesitz. Das ist mit weitem Abstand der Topwert. Zum Vergleich: Auf Platz 2 liegt Holstein Kiel mit 55,5% Ballbesitzanteil.
Aus diesem Ballbesitz-orientierten Spielansatz ergibt sich zudem, dass die Rothosen auch in den Kategorien „Meiste Pässe“ und „Beste Passquote“ auf dem 1. Platz liegen. Es wurden 8.807 Pässe gespielt, an diesen Wert kommt mit Abstand niemand heran. Und auch die Passquote von 84,5% ist unangefochten die beste der Liga.
Zentraler Punkt hierbei: Kapitän und Abwehrorganisator Sebastian Schonlau, der im Spielaufbau des HSV eine entscheidende Rolle einnimmt. Er kurbelt immer wieder die Spieleröffnung an und belegt daher mit 1.290 gespielten Pässen, von denen eine starke Passquote von 90,9% beim Mitspieler ankommt, in beiden Ranglisten den 1. Platz.
Central point here: Captain and defensive organiser Sebastian Schonlau, who plays a decisive role in HSV's game structure. He repeatedly boosts the opening of the game and therefore occupies first place in both rankings with 1,290 passes played, of which a strong pass rate of 90.9% reaches his teammate.
With 1,597 ball actions, Captain Schonlau is also the first set-up player in the league who is basically on the ball the most. Interesting: In the top 10 of the most ball contacts are exclusively defenders - 5 inside and 5 outside defenders each.
While veteran Schonlau usually passes the ball on quickly and purposefully, youngster Faride Alidou has a different approach: He likes to dribble on the offensive outer lanes, into one-on-one, and does so successfully. This is expressed not only in goals and assists, but also in percentages. For Alidou succeeded in a sensational 78.6% of his one-on-ones and passed his opponent. The second and third-placed Mats Möller Daehli (FCN) and Julian Justvan (SCP) both scored 72.7%.
Just as important as these duels won on the offensive are, of course, tackles in general. And here it is true: HSV is good, but not at the top of the statistics. 50.7% of duels won mean 7th place, with Holstein Kiel in 1st place with 52.8%.
The fact that such values are not always necessarily reflected in the actual table is shown, for example, by the Kiel team just mentioned. They are top in tackles and possession (see above), but in the table they are in 12th place at the winter break. Or the other way round: Darmstadt 98 is not one of the hardest-working and fastest teams, but is currently in a direct promotion place.
In sprints and tempo runs, the Darmstadt team (66 kilometres sprint/107 kilometres tempo run), which is on course for promotion, is at the bottom of the table. The HSV, on the other hand, is at the top of the table and, with 80.4 kilometres in the sprint and 123 kilometres in the tempo run, occupies second place in the full-throttle category. Incidentally, FC Heidenheim is unchallengeably ahead in all the running rankings with a total of 2,145.5 kilometres run, with the Rothosen also coming second in this ranking with their 2,115.4 kilometres.
Incidentally, Hamburg's best over that distance is Jonas Meffert, who reeled off 195.8 kilometres to reach the league's top 10, which is led by two Paderborn players: Marco Schuster (214.2 km) and Ron Schallenberg (212.6) are the horse tongues of the 2nd division and could also try their hand at marathon running after their careers.
Some prefer it a bit faster. Like Bakery Jatta, who puts on the most sprints for HSV and, with his top speed of 34.9 km/h, lands in the top 10 fastest players. This ranking is headed by Rostock's Streli Mamba, who was clocked at 36.0 km/h. But: Nobody sprints as much as Baka, who covered by far the greatest distance at the highest speed with 10.8 kilometres covered in a sprint. That's almost the same as the round trip between the Volksparkstadion and the Millerntor. Insanity!
So you can see that the Rothosen do not lack the will and the willingness. Quite the opposite. And so Tim Walter and his team see the 3rd place in the table at the winter break as a good starting position to really get going in the second part of the season. At full sprint, but also with the necessary stamina. And offensively powerful, without neglecting the back line. That's how we should approach the second half of the HSV season. In the end - despite all the fun of playing with numbers - only one thing counts: the real standings.