Hamburg president drops Schaaf hint
After another turbulent week at the club, Hamburg chairman Carl-Edgar Jarchow has hinted that Thomas Schaaf could be the man to take over from sacked Thorsten Fink.
Fink departed on Monday following Hamburg's run of just four points and 15 goals conceded from their opening five games of the season, with a 6-2 humiliation by Borussia Dortmund proving to be the final nail in the coffin.
Names like Lothar Matthaus, Stefan Effenberg, Markus Babbel and former Werder Bremen coach Schaaf (who spent 14 years at the club’s northern rivals) were thrown in the mix, and there has also been speculation about Bert van Marwijk and Slaven Bilic in various papers.
Jarchow, however, appears to favour former Bremen man Schaaf. “I don’t make any comments about the chances of possible candidates,” he told Bild. “What I can say is: I like him [Thomas Schaaf], I take to him.”
Also in Bild, Hamburg financier Klaus-Michael Kuhne, who funded the Rafael van der Vaart transfer, offered the financially troubled club fresh money if things were to change.
“A €25 million participation is not beyond reality,” Kuhne said. “Then we’d need a strong Chief Executive to lead the club. The acting persons are decisive – and Felix Magath would be the right man at the top.”
In a comment, the German broadsheet FAZ called Kuhne's idea "absurd but on the cards."
While in an interview with kicker, Kuhne added that he thinks of Schaaf as a “man of the past”
On Saturday, Hamburg entertain Schaaf’s former club Werder Bremen at home, with pressure on both to avoid a struggle against relegation.