Tim Walter to stay on as Hamburg coach despite failed promotion

Speaking after Hamburg’s 3-1 loss to VfB Stuttgart (6-1 aggregate), Hamburg sporting director Jonas Boldt confirmed Tim Walter will stay on as coach next season. 

When asked if Walter will continue next season, Boldt said: “Of course, it will continue with the coach. We built a foundation. We scored 66 points, in the end, only nuances were missing.”

Walter has been in charge at Hamburg for two years and this is their second failed attempt at promotion after last season’s 2-1 loss to Hertha Berlin in the playoff. Yesterday’s loss to Walter’s former club Stuttgart condemns Hamburg to a sixth year in the 2.Bundesliga.

Next season will likely be very difficult for Hamburg to get promoted as Schalke and Hertha Berlin have superior financial power compared to HSV and will likely see them fall behind.

After a strong start to the second leg with an early goal from Sonny Kittel, Hamburg struggled to capitalise on this momentum in the first half. This momentum was immediately killed at the beginning of the second half when Enzo Millot scored. The Frenchman would double his tally 20 minutes later to put the game to bed for Stuttgart before Silas scored a third in the 96th minute. 

GGFN | Jack Meenan