"Was tough": former prodigy Arp on his worst HSV experience | OneFootball

Once considered one of Germany's greatest striker talents, Fiete Arp experienced a turbulent time at HSV. One (negative) experience stands out in particular.

When Fiete Arp talks about the beginning of his professional career today, it sounds surprisingly reflective. Yet, you can tell that the former mega-talent is still haunted by some of his experiences.

More than seven years after his Bundesliga debut, the striker has now revealed which experience has shaped him the most to this day: the relegation in 2018. "That was really tough," Arp recently recalled in the podcast Copa TS. What he experienced back then at Volkspark was emotionally the "absolute worst case" for him.

Yet, just a few months earlier, everything had begun with a true fairytale moment. On September 30, 2017, Arp was in the professional squad for the first time. Of all games, he got to participate in the northern derby against Werder Bremen in front of a home crowd.

But instead of euphoria, sheer nervousness prevailed. "I was crapping my pants all day," he says. Even in training, he was completely overwhelmed. "With every single ball contact," Arp says, "I was scared." Nevertheless, Markus Gisdol sent him onto the field shortly before the end. According to him, his first ball bounced twelve meters away, and the final whistle felt like a relief.

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Arp still roots for HSV!

Sportingly, things went steeply uphill for Arp afterward. Goals against Hertha BSC and VfB Stuttgart made him overnight the beacon of hope for a team stuck deep in the relegation zone. But the pressure was enormous. "We were completely threatened with relegation," says Arp. Ironically, the fact that the club's survival was at stake during this phase even helped him: "I was more worried about HSV back then than about myself."

It hit him all the harder when staying in the league was finally out of reach in May 2018. "In terms of football feeling, that was by far the worst," says Arp. "We were so far from the safe shore, it would have taken a miracle."

Today, the now 25-year-old plays in Denmark for Odense BK. And despite some dramatic experiences – including the chaotic move to FC Bayern – he continues to follow HSV from afar. "When Ransford Königsdörffer scores the equalizer against Borussia Dortmund in injury time, you can bet that someone in Denmark is jumping off their sofa," Arp said with a laugh. So, he remains an HSV fan.

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