Schwalb extends contract in Hamburg –the club boss wants the title

“You should not separate a successful couple – so we will make our way together in the future. It is a joy for me, that coach Martin Schwalb has decided to stay for longer in Hamburg,” said HSV club boss Andreas Rudolph, who was in the best of moods on Friday afternoon. In front of a lot of media and sponsors “Mr. HSV” was proud to dedicate the pre-season press conference to Martin Schwalb (44).

Schwalb extends cotract
The coach signed a new contract at the HSV and was applauded by all the players. Schwalb has extended the contract to 2011, the old one was valid until the end of the forthcoming season (2008). Schwalb has coached the club since 2005, in his era the HSV has won the German Cup and Super Cup in 2006, runners-up and winner of the Cup Winners last season. “He is the most successful coach in our club history”, said Rudolph: “With Schwalb and our team we are on the right way.” The former national player Schwalb was  three times German Champion and Cup Winner as a player and reached the bronze medal with the national team at Euro 1998. “I am very much looking forward to being the coach in the next years. We have not yet reached our final destination – and we want to continue the great story of this club”, said Schwalb.

Top class new plays in the squad
But the coach’s signature was not the only news at the press conference. Rudolph said that the top players Guillaume and Bertrand Gille are willing to extend their contracts as well. Even the Korean top scorer Kyung Shin-Yoon likes Hamburg so much that he will think about his decision of going to his home country after the new season. “Maybe I will stay longer”, he said. With all this news the optimism is high at last season’s German runner-up and European Cup winner. The club also presented its new players Dimitri Torgovanov (former club: Kronau), Hans Lindberg (Viborg), Michal Jurecki, Johannes Bitter (Magdeburg). “These players will stand for success, they are really impressive. The team welcomed them with open arms”, said Schwalb: “And we have trained very hard during the pre-season. But I am very happy and optimistic and this team is very hungry – they just want the season to start so they can show that they are willing.”

We're onthe right way
And the captain shares in the same line as the “boss”: “The preparation was very tough, but we are on the right way. We know that we will sweat a lot before the start, but we also what the sweat is good for”, says German World Champion Pascal Hens. President Rudolph, who also is the main sponsor of the club, was a little more concrete: “We are runner-up and we are proud of this. But as a runner-up your objective is always to improve – and this means the title and success in the Champions League, although we play in the competition for the first time. The most important thing is to qualify for the CL again.”