Young German defender impresses on Hamburg debut

On the first day of the 2013-14 Bundesliga season, a 22-year old German defender of Polish origin made an instant impact on debut as Hamburg earned a thrilling 3-3 draw against Schalke on Sunday at the Veltins Arena. The game advocated scintillating attacking play alright, but it also gave young Lasse Sobiech a perfect platform to announce his entry among Germany’s Bundesliga elite.

The 6ft 5in defender might have been a part of a Hamburg defense that conceded three goals on the day, but given the attacking nature of both the sides leaking goals was inevitable. The two goalkeepers, Schalke’s Timo Hildebrand and Hamburg’s Rene Adler, were also guilty of mistakes that cost either side valuable goals.

Yet, young Lasse Sobiech not only used his huge frame and athleticism to marshal the Hamburg defense on his very first competitive outing but made his presence felt from set pieces too. His positional play in the midst of all the free flowing football was noteworthy and used his head to good effect in terms of defending set pieces.

From one such corner just after the restart, Sobiech rose highest on the opposite end, winning a crucial aerial duel with the equally powerful Schalke defender and blasted the ball into the net with a powerful header from a tricky angle to give Hamburg a 3-2 lead.

The manner with which the former Borussia Dortmund youngster attacked the ball from a difficult position and out jumped Joel Matip speaks volumes of Lasse’s abilities as a defender who can pose tremendous aerial threat going forward.

Borussia Dortmund’s decision to release Sobiech to Hamburg is due to the fact that the Ruhr valley club have an abundance of talent and HSV have watched and scouted him for a long time before making the move in the summer and how well the strong defender repaid his new club with a crucial goal away to Schalke!

The Dortmund youth academy product was loaned out to Greuther Furth last season despite playing 50 games for the reserve side and impressing Jurgen Klopp on the way. Yet last season’s Champions League finalists’ depth in squad meant Lasse Sobiech had to look elsewhere for more playing time and Thorsten Fink was keen to add more depth to HSV’s defence and he saw Sobiech as a valuable addition to the squad.

At the time of signing the three year deal with Hamburg, Sporting Director Oliver Kreuzer was quoted as saying, “We are getting a 1.92m tall muscular man who has all the required qualities. He is big and strong, good in the air and plays the ball out from the back well. He will stabilise our defence. Despite his young years, he already has lots of experience.”

“I had already agreed terms with HSV a while ago and was determined to move here. The fact that really wanted me was vital in my decision to join.” Sobiech told the official Hamburg website at the time of his transfer deal.

Kreuzer’s decision to sign him has been well vindicated by Lasse’s performance on Sunday. With the player having a dual citizenship, Poland have enquired about his availability for the national team. But Lasse Sobiech is hoping that Germany come calling for his services in the near future. For this to happen he needs to perform week in and week out for Hamburg and with a great work ethic the U-21 international is set to make a lot of Bundesliga heavyweights watch him closely.