Match Focus: Underachieving Giants Hamburg and Schalke Headed in Different Directions

It makes sense that the Bundesliga has the longest winter break of any of the major European leagues. Frankly, the total commitment to attacking football and the lusty atmospheres in the stands means that players and fans alike are more than deserving of a breather at Christmas.

There could be no more fitting game to welcome German domestic football out of cold storage than the final fixture of the first weekend back - the return matches of the season openers played back in August – which pitted Hamburg against Schalke at the Imtech Arena. That first meeting of the campaign had fulfilled all the above criteria; a 3-3 draw in which there were 35 efforts on goal.

The Königsblauen had dominated possession (58%) in that home fixture, but had allowed Hamburg a route back into the game, largely through their worst habit of 2012-13 – a chronic inability to effectively defend set-pieces. Given the absence of their captain and centre-back Benedikt Höwedes for Sunday’s return, Schalke might have felt a soupcon of trepidation.

They need not have worried. Even if neutrals might have preferred a repeat of the back-and-forth of the August match, Jens Keller’s side were impressive as they swept to a 3-0 victory. The variables of chance can’t be completely overlooked when assessing Schalke’s ultimately comfortable win; Hamburg lost top scorer Pierre-Michel Lasogga and then Zhi Gin Lam to injury in the first half, Jaroslav Drobny’s inexplicable error for Jefferson Farfán’s goal and Milan Badelj’s excellent effort hitting the post – but nobody could say that the visitors were not worthy winners. 

The home fans had good reason to worry too, with their side barely improved since the appointment of Bert van Marwijk as head coach. The Dutchman’s Bundesliga record with his new club now reads as just 3 wins in 12 matches since his September takeover. 

Key areas of concern have not been addressed. Only the outrageously cavalier Hoffenheim have a worse defensive record than Hamburg (42 goals conceded to Hamburg’s 41). They have not kept a clean sheet since the win at Freiburg in October. Midfielder Badelj is their best performer of defensive duties, making an average of 3.9 tackles per game and 2.8 interceptions. 

Jonathan Tah, at 17, has outstanding potential but that he has already become a regular speaks of the limited resources available to van Marwijk – a worry that must have influenced Hamburg fans’ historic decision last week to vote a motion green-lighting the sale of a portion of this wholly fan-owned club to generate capital. 

Schalke are themselves probe to extended bouts of self-analysis, with an even larger fanbase and level of expectation. That had seen Keller’s position under intense scrutiny, but the vote of confidence handed down by the board before the winter break has been met with a response.

They still have the second-worst defensive record in the top half of the table (28 goals conceded in 18 games, topped only by Mainz with 32) but uncharacteristically, this win represented a fourth successive clean sheet in all competitions, a run with its roots in the pre-Christmas period. They limited the home side to just 3 shots on target, despite fielding an aggressive-looking line-up.

Kevin Prince Boateng, who has played mostly in a number 10 position behind a lone forward since his arrival, was used in an ostensibly deeper role beside Roman Neustädter. The visitors showed intent from the start, and it was quickly clear that Boateng had licence to burst forward. The Ghana man had his side’s most efforts on goal (4), and made 4 dribbles as well. With Jefferson Farfán, Max Meyer and Christian Fuchs in support of the returning Klaas-Jan Huntelaar in front of Boateng, the fragile Hamburg rearguard was frequently overrun. 

While all eyes were on Huntelaar, who opened the scoring on his comeback – all 3 of his Bundesliga goals this season have come versus Hamburg, who have now conceded 10 overall to the former Milan striker – it was Farfán who stole the show. Perhaps it was always destined to be thus; the Peruvian was Schalke’s top-rated WhoScored player this season among Sunday’s crop, in the absence of the injured Julian Draxler.

Farfán’s 10 out of 10 performance means he now has 7 goals and 4 assists in just 13 appearances this season. His efficiency is even more remarkable on closer inspection. He only has 1.3 shots per game and 2.8 dribbles on average, and provides a mean 1.8 key passes. It is plain that much of Schalke’s efforts to press the opposition back go through Draxler (average 5.1 dribbles per game), but Farfán happily took the mantle here.

He made 7 dribbles, 6 key passes and scored with his only effort at goal. Perhaps it was always likely to be so, given that his pace is a big asset in away matches – and that Hamburg’s Marcel Jansen, as we can see from the average position charts, is an especially adventurous left-back, leaving plenty of space behind him to be exploited. Farfán did just that in scoring the second and laying on the third, shortly after, for Meyer. 

The wide areas were perhaps were the class gap between the two sides was most apparent. Van Marwijk brought on Ola John for a debut to replace the injured Lasogga, and he is a rare luxury for Hamburg – a €9m signing for Benfica in 2012, farmed out on loan by the Lisbon club to get him some regular game time. John sparkled pleasingly enough, making 7 dribbles of his own, but his decision-making was poor. He managed only 1 key pass and no shots, and landed only 69% of his passes.

Van Marwijk needs improvement, and fast. Wins for Freiburg, Eintracht Frankfurt and even Nurnberg have left Hamburg in the relegation play-off place, third from bottom. They travel to Hoffenheim next for a crucial fixture, while Schalke welcome Wolfsburg, having closed the gap on the Champions League places to just two points. It’s only the first week back but the sense of momentum for both of these underachieving giants is already clear.

Can these teams achieve their respective goals this season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below