Return to Hamburg: Goalie Swap in the Cup | OneFootball

Alex Meyer is returning to his hometown as a BVB goalkeeper: He will take the field in goal for Gregor Kobel in the first round against HEBC. BVB coach Niko Kovac has already announced this. For Meyer, the trip to Hamburg will be a special one: The goalkeeper was born in Bad Oldesloe, 30 km away as the crow flies, and played for the youth teams and the second team of Hamburger SV between 2005 and 2012. Although he was a ball boy at the Volksparkstadion, he never played for the First team there.

Kovac has announced that he’ll be rotating the lineup for the cup match: “We’ll see how the lads who played over the weekend are feeling.” That will determine who starts. Aside from the goalkeeper position, one or two other changes to the starting lineup are already planned.

Ramy Bensebaini has been suspended for two DFB Cup games following his red card in the Super Cup and will miss the match against HEBC, as will the long-term injured Emre Can and Nico Schlotterbeck.

Konstantelias is undergoing rehab in Dortmund

A significant portion of the matchday press conference was devoted to a player who also won’t be playing: Giannis Konstantelias tore his cruciate ligament in his first Bundesliga match against HSV—after a strong first half and his first goal for BVB—and will be out indefinitely. Kovac did not want to give an exact prognosis: “We’ll have to wait for the surgery first, and then we’ll see what exactly was done.”

The coach recalls the situation in the second half: “Of course, it was a shock for all of us. It affected my team, but also our fans. You could feel it in the stadium.” He describes Konstantelias as “composed, disappointed, very emotional. He’ll come back stronger—he’s convinced of that, we’re convinced of that, and we’ll help him.” The Greek player will undergo rehabilitation in Dortmund—partly because of the medical care available there, and partly to stay in touch with his teammates: “It’s also about being there for him.”Christina Reinke