Van der Vaart on Bayern: "Letting in under five would be good" | OneFootball

Rafael van der Vaart knows Hamburger SV like hardly anyone else. From 2005 to 2008 and again between 2012 and 2015, the Dutchman wore the jersey of the traditional club. Ahead of the Bundesliga clash with FC Bayern, the former attacking star spoke in an interview with ran – and had some clear words about his former club’s chances.

This evening, HSV returns to the Allianz Arena after more than six years. However, van der Vaart sees the newly promoted team as having no chance: “HSV faces a tough task. Anything under five goals conceded would be good in my view.”

He bases his skepticism on recent impressions: “The first Bundesliga game after promotion was decent. But against St. Pauli, HSV was back at second-division level. Of course, every game is different and every team has it tough against FC Bayern. But it’s definitely not a positive sign if you had no chance at home against St. Pauli and now have to go to Munich.”

The game plan for HSV is therefore clear: “The Hamburgers should just enjoy it there, learn, play a decent game – and hope they don’t get thrashed.”

Criticism of Bayern and Kompany

Photo: IMAGO

Van der Vaart also doesn’t fully trust FC Bayern at the moment. The record champions’ performances are too inconsistent: “Sometimes they play well, then they have problems again, like recently in the DFB-Pokal in Wiesbaden. It’s a bit of back and forth. That should give HSV hope. They have to speculate that FC Bayern will have a really bad day and they themselves will have a great one.”

His main focus is on coach Vincent Kompany, with whom he once played at HSV. “FC Bayern is very hard to assess.”

Van der Vaart himself will not be watching the match live. “No, unfortunately I can’t watch. I generally like watching HSV, but it’s not like I stay home especially when they play. In general, I watch very little Bundesliga. I work a lot on Dutch television and also follow the Premier League as an expert.”

With his clear assessment, the ex-HSV star is once again providing plenty to talk about. One thing is clear: For Hamburger SV, the away game at the record champions will not only be a sporting endurance test, but also a test of character.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.