Van der Vaart: HSV will do well to concede fewer than 5 | OneFootball

As a TV expert, Rafael van der Vaart has made a name for himself with bold statements. His former club is not spared from this either.

Before the Bundesliga clash between FC Bayern and Hamburger SV (September 13, 6:30 PM), a statement from Rafael van der Vaart is making headlines. The former playmaker, a fan favorite at the Volksparkstadion between 2005 and 2008 and again from 2012 to 2015, has little faith in his former club in Munich.

"Anything under five goals conceded would be good from my point of view," the 42-year-old explained in an interview with ran. Van der Vaart bases his skepticism mainly on Hamburg's weak performance in the city derby against FC St. Pauli. There, the team "again showed second division level." The decent 0-0 at the start against Borussia Mönchengladbach has thus fizzled out.

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Van der Vaart: "Players should learn"

The situation clearly favors the record champions. Bayern leads the table after two wins and an impressive goal difference of 9:2. HSV, on the other hand, is in 15th place after two matchdays with only one point and no goals of their own.

The statistics of direct encounters also suggest a grim outlook: In the last eight home games against the Hanseatics, the Munich team scored a total of 50 goals. This results in an average of over six goals per game. Especially two 0-8 thrashings and a 2-9 defeat are still bitter memories for HSV fans. Van der Vaart was on the field for one of these games and knows how endless 90 minutes can feel in the Allianz Arena.

He formulates his advice to the Hamburg players pragmatically: "The players should enjoy it, learn, and just play a decent game." However, he will not be watching the match himself. "No, unfortunately, I can't watch. I generally enjoy watching HSV, but it's not like I stay home just because they're playing. In general, I watch very little Bundesliga," says van der Vaart.

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