Daniel Peretz had imagined his trip to Munich’s Allianz Arena would turn out very differently. But it was in the very “living room” of the Bayern loan player that rival Daniel Heuer Fernandes cemented his status as HSV’s number one goalkeeper—in two ways.
With half a dozen saves, Heuer Fernandes prevented even worse in the 0-5 defeat to the record champions. Perhaps his most important save to avert a debacle came after 29 minutes. HSV had just conceded the fourth goal, and never before in Bundesliga history had the club been so far behind at such an early stage, when the 32-year-old rallied his teammates on the pitch and roused them.
The speech after the 0-4 defeat was deliberate
Heuer Fernandes tried to explain the scene, which clearly documented his influence in the stadium and on TV screens, as soberly as possible afterwards. “After so many negative experiences in the early stages of the game, we needed a break. I felt that I wanted to give the team something, so I made that speech.“ However, he expressly does not want to exaggerate its importance, instead referring to the clear commands given by Merlin Polzin in the dressing room. Heuer Fernandes speaks of ”sharp words“ and explains: ”This half-time speech was important because it was also full of content.”
The ability to exert influence without artificially projecting it outward was already a big plus for the German-Portuguese player in the promotion year. He not only keeps the balls together, but also things that don’t (yet) fit together in the newly formed Hamburg squad. On Saturday evening, only three other regulars from the promotion team were in the starting lineup alongside him: William Mikelbrencis, Miro Muheim, and Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer. Instead, there were three debutants in the starting lineup: Luka Vuskovic, Aboubaka Soumahoro, and Fabio Vieira.
If the coach’s task ahead of the first test against 1. FC Heidenheim next Saturday is to find what he describes as the “right mix” of playing ability and a good defensive attitude, then he also needs to identify the pillars of this completely new-look team. Despite his mistake before the 0-2 defeat to St. Pauli, Heuer Fernandes has shown in these first few weeks that he is such a pillar: in his core business, where he impressed in Mönchengladbach (0-0) and now in Munich – and in his role as an anchor.
Individual protagonists also regard the phase after Heuer Fernandes’ speech as an anchor, because only one goal was scored in the following 60 minutes. In fact, this is nothing more than a straw, because Bayern switched to energy-saving mode. Nevertheless, the keeper says with a view to Heidenheim: “In the second half in Munich, we showed what we need to develop a good feeling on the pitch. We also need more ball control, more ball pressure.” And, alongside Heuer Fernandes, several professionals who are developing into pillars.
