Hamburg v Fulham Preview - 7M sport

Hamburg v Fulham Preview



Posted Thursday, April 22, 2010 by sportinglife.aol.co.uk

Ruud Van Nistelrooy Provides the Major Threat

EUROPA LEAGUE: HSH NORDBANK ARENA, THURSDAY APRIL 22, 2010. KICK-OFF: 2005 BST

Hamburg v Fulham Preview

FULHAM:
The further you go in a cup competition, the more difficult it becomes, but Fulham never envisaged they would have to put in so much effort just to get to to their Europa League semi-final first leg in the first place.

But, then again, for a team that has already clocked up more than 17,000 miles in the Europa League, a road and rail trip to Hamburg shouldn't pose too many additional problems.

Roy Hodgson's side, who found themselves in action at the foot of Russia's Ural Mountains in the qualifiers, are close to going all the way in the inaugural Europa League.

Only Hamburg - featuring former Manchester United star Ruud van Nistelrooy - now stand in their way between a place in the final and a return to this stadium, which will be staging the climax to the competition.

The Iceland volcano that grounded planes for almost a week forced Fulham to make a 24-hour journey by coach, train and coach again to reach their destination.

Centre-back Aaron Hughes was determined not to let the inconvenience distract them. "The most important thing is staying focused on the task in hand and just getting on with it. We know what's at stake and we've done really, really well to get here. We are eager not to let it go."

Goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer agreed. "I've never come across a situation like this before and it's a difficult situation to judge," he said "You've got to look on the bright side and you can't let it get you down.

"It's just the way things are and everyone's in the same predicament all over Europe. From what I hear the last time this volcano erupted it blew smoke for two years so I think we should all go and buy shares in Eurostar and P&O. Those shares will skyrocket if this continues!"

Strategy: Fulham will look to keep in tight in Hamburg. Not just because they are the away side in an important two-legged fixture but because that's the way they play. No Premier League side is more capable of grinding out a 0-0 draw but Fulham will look to Bobby Zamora for an all-important away goal, which the striker provided in the quarter-finals in Wolfsburg.

And whatever Hamburg attempt you can bet that the meticulous Hodgson will have tried to prepare his players for it on the training ground. "People say that his sessions aren't always the most free-flowing because he is so meticulous in everything he does," said the former Fulham coach Dave Beasant.

"He probably spends more time preparing the team for what they have to do when they don't have the ball than what they need to do with it. Shape, discipline, knowing where you have to be positioned in relation to your team-mates: he will stop a practice game every couple of minutes to point out if people are out of position or not covering in the right way. It is stop-start, but thorough. You can see the influence his time in Serie A with Inter had on his style. He is a true scholar of football."

Injury Update: Defender John Pantsil is back in the fold following a serious knee injury sustained in December. David Elm has been struggling to recover from a virus while Clint Dempsey (thigh) and Andy Johnson (knee) missed the 0-0 draw with Wolves at the weekend.

HAMBURG:
Much will depend on the impact of Nistelrooy who could have been playing for Fulham instead of against them. The Dutchman had known his time at Real Madrid was coming to an end and eventually left for Hamburg in January. "Fulham asked Real about me, but did not come up with a concrete proposition," he said. "The decision to join Hamburg was purely down to sporting aspects. I am still very ambitious and wanted to play for as many minutes as possible this season."

Defender Paul Konchesky admitted the 33-year-old was already on his mind. "Everyone knows how good Ruud is from his time in England, how many goals he can score and how dangerous he is," he said. "He's obviously still got that because he's still playing for the best teams. It didn't really work out for him at Real Madrid but now he's gone to Hamburg and he must be doing something right because they're having a good season."



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