HSV celebrated an important home win in the relegation battle against Gladbach, with Shafiq Nandja taking centre stage. The home-grown player scored his first Bundesliga goal and enjoyed an evening at the Volkspark he will never forget.
Speaking to Sky after the 3–1 home win in the relegation battle against Gladbach, HSV manager Merlin Polzin praised his team for a “brutal display of energy” in a “crucial match”. The energy Polzin spoke of seemed to erupt all at once in the 60th minute.
Shafiq Nandja had just scored to put HSV back in the lead, and the whole Hamburg team wanted to celebrate the 19-year-old home-grown player’s first goal. In front of the North Stand, the defender was swallowed up by a jubilant crowd; teammates and physios alike threw themselves on top of him in celebration. “The whole team is delighted for him,” explained Miro Muheim afterwards, “he’s a Hamburg lad – scoring his first goal at home is incredible!”
Nandja was moved to tears
Just how right Muheim – who had set Hamburg on the road to victory with a dream goal from 30 metres – was in his assessment became clear in an interview with the goalscorer himself afterwards. Visibly moved, Nandja spoke of the “special evening”. The youngster even described the celebrations with his teammates as “the best moment of my life”.
“I had tears in my eyes,” Nandja admitted, before continuing: “I just ran over to the corner flag, a little way in front of the North Stand, and just let it all out. That was one of the best feelings of my whole life.”
Nandja has been playing for HSV since he was eleven years old and has been a fan of the club since early childhood. In his seventh Bundesliga appearance, he scored his first goal – and did so at his home ground, the Volkspark. “It’s indescribable to score a goal in this stadium. That was always the dream I wanted to fulfil,” Nandja said, struggling to find the right words. “I want to feel this way every day.”
Bissi-Mouelle makes his Bundesliga debut
Polzin was also delighted for his home-grown player Nandja, whom he described as “an HSV man through and through”. The HSV manager wants to increasingly pave the way for talents from the club’s own youth academy to reach the first team; against Gladbach, Jason Bissi-Mouelle made his Bundesliga debut. “We want to give the lads a chance if they perform well in training,” said Polzin.
The crowd of players celebrating around Nandja demonstrates the success of this approach. “Everyone’s here because we stick together,” said Polzin happily, adding: “It’s lovely when things are going well. But it’s even lovelier when they’re not.”