He recently turned 70 - other people his age take it easy.
Not so Horst Hrubesch, who doesn't have to think long when his HSV is in need ...
You could now dig out the Hrubesch bestseller from 1980 and argue: Why doesn't he indulge his passion, cod fishing (... from the boat and on the coasts ”), which he actually has time for now? Why is he doing this to himself three weeks after his 70th birthday? Horst Hrubesch seems to think about the life of a pensioner as much as Friedhelm Funkel, who is two years younger and has just been training for 1. FC Köln again. And yet: For Hrubesch, his coaching comeback at HSV is much more than a little thrill in early retirement.
Funkel justified his FC comeback by saying that he was a bit bored in the Corona crisis. With Hrubesch, the passionate fisherman, this argument does not work (his hobby is pandemic-proof), with him the case was like this: The HSV radioed SOS because the firmly planned ascent threatens to slip away from him for the third time. And what does a person with strong character like Hrubesch do? He just helps out. Just as Heynckes helped his Bavarians, Bierofka his lions - and many other former people who have never forgotten where they grew up as footballers or coaches.
Hrubesch has already done a lot in his life. In 2018 he even jumped in as a women's national coach. But it can already be said that it is probably one of his most ungrateful tasks that he has allowed himself to do. A quick glance at the table is not enough to assess the risks of this rescue mission. A second look is urgently needed, because behind HSV in third place lurk lurking the Düsseldorf team (Funkels Ex-Club) - and then there is Holstein Kiel, who played the first of three corona-related catch-up games yesterday evening (when this issue was printed not finished).
The chance that there will be no happy ending for Hrubesch this time is definitely there. The sprightly all-rounder is all the more honored that he is leaving his comfortable job as NLZ coordinator for three to five games. If he leads HSV back into the first division, he will surely have his monument (next to that of Uwe Seeler). If he fails, it is bitter for Hrubesch, who is used to success. On the other hand, the passionate cod angler knows: A big fish can only be caught by someone who holds his rod in the water. To lead the proud HSV back into the realm of the dinosaurs would undoubtedly be the greatest coaching achievement that the U21 European champion and Olympic silver medalist has ever achieved.
