Back in the starting eleven? Although Sonny Kittel shone above all against Regensburg, Mario Vuskovichas also played his way back to the fore at HSV.
The logical candidates were the focus of the ovation. Sonny Kittel was even singled out by his coach after scoring four points in the 4-1 win over Jahn Regensburg, while Faride Alidou was celebrated with thunderous chants after a gala performance. Tim Walter registered this development with satisfaction, but demonstratively listed his entire eleven when it came to handing out compliments. This might have done one person in particular some good: Mario Vuskovic.
The 19-year-old player on loan from Hajduk Split has only been given one start so far, but made a mistake in the 2:2 against Nuremberg and has not been able to get past Jonas David since. The home-grown talent receives special support from Walter, the coach sees something special in the centre-back talent – in fact, after initial difficulties, he has stabilised considerably lately.
After David’s muscle fibre tear, however, Walter was forced to rebuild and had left open for a long time, at least publicly, whether he would select Vuskovic or move all-purpose weapon Moritz Heyer from the right to the inside. The all-rounder had, after all, revealed during the past week that he feels most comfortable in the centre of defence, but in the end Vuskovic was given preference – and convinced with an extremely mature performance.
“He lost a header duel at the beginning, after that he didn’t,” his coach analysed and came to this verdict: “Mario did well, he throws himself into everything.” Furthermore, Vuskovic fulfils the demanding tasks of his boss on a modern central defender. “He also does it really well with the ball, is very consistent in his passing. “
Little surprised by the youngster’s present appearance was also David. “I didn’t expect it any other way “, says the 21-year-old, “I see him all the time in training.” Now Vuskovic will be able to prove his skills in the game as well.
