Fink: Van der Vaart can't rescue Hamburg alone
Reuters - Saturday 01 September 2012, 21:28
Hamburg are going to need more
than just the return of midfielder Rafael van der Vaart to lift
themselves out of their rut, coach Thorsten Fink warned on
Saturday.
"He can't carry the load alone," said the underfire Fink,
whose side have lost their opening two Bundesliga games without
scoring and have been knocked out of the German Cup by third
tier Karlsruher. "I know there's a lot of hype surrounding him
but we have to share the responsibility.
"After an orderly first half, we lost the match because of
individual mistakes. In your own penalty area, you have to get
rid of the ball," Fink told reporters following Saturday's 2-0
defeat at Werder Bremen.
"If we stop making mistakes, then we can start winning
games."
With Van der Vaart watching from the stands, Hamburg gave
away two penalties, one converted by Aaron Hunt and one saved by
Rene Adler. Nils Petersen scored Bremen's second goal after new
Hamburg signing Petr Jiracek lost possession in his own half.
However, Fink defended the performance of the Czech
international.
"Jiracek fought well in midfield... I think the new signings
have strengthened the team."
Six-times German champions Hamburg, the only ever-present
team in the Bundesliga's 50-season history, narrowly avoided
relegation last season, ending a run of nine successive finishes
in the top half of the table.
Fink is their fifth coach in the last two years.
Hamburg announced the signing of former Real Madrid and
Tottenham midfielder Van der Vaart on Friday, bringing him back
to the club he left four seasons ago.