Hamburg ‘not surprised’ at rise of Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer (24) after breakout Bundesliga brace | OneFootball

One week after recording his second career Bundesliga goal, oft-criticized Hamburg striker Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer now has his third and fourth. The 24-year-old played an immensely important role in Hamburg’s Bundesliga victory over Union Berlin this weekend. The victory in itself proved a critical result for his club. The newly-promoted Hamburger SV move up to 9th place in the Bundesliga table with the win.

On 25 points with 12 matchdays remaining, it now looks to be the case that the Hanseaten are safe from relegation. Merlin Polzin’s HSV only need 10 points over 12 rounds to secure Bundesliga football next season. The team soars with confidence following Königsdörffer’s scorer’s brace and their sixth win of the current campaign.

Königsdörffer performed very well on the wing

HSV striker Robert Glatzel worked as the center forward while Königsdörffer slanted over to the right lane. New January acquisition Philip Otele played opposite Königsdörffer in Polzin’s 3-4-3. While much about Polzin’s constellation beyond the attack functioned particularly well, journalists at the post-match press conference mostly wanted to know if the heavily spotlighted Königsdörffer had found a new permanent tactical home.

Polzin’s answer suggested he had.

“Obviously one can’t forget that there’s a big difference between the first and second divisions,” Polzin began when asked about Königsdörffer. “And I’ve repeatedly emphasized that Ransi with his runs, interpretation of space, and coverage drawing has always been important for us. The coaching team considers him valuable regardless of whether he scores goals or not.

“But of course, he’s driven towards scoring goals,” Polzin continued. “I’m very happy that he’s now being rewarded for his hard work. All of that notwithstanding, from my perspective, this is the result of a process and I’m not at all surprised.“

GGFN | Peter Weis