The national coach Hansi Flick certainly did not expect that. Manuel Neuer had a tweaked adductors, his substitute Marc-André ter Stegen was given some rest after his match against Romania, and the situation in the DFB team on that September day was unusual: the goalkeeping nation Germany suddenly had a massive goalkeeping problem.
So what to do? A serious training operation had to be ensured, everyone involved agreed. But why have the next goalkeeper flown to Hamburg right away? Especially for just one day? That would not have been really justifiable from an ecological point of view either, and the already crisis-ridden DFB would rather avoid possible “Fridays for Future” protests. Fortunately, the solution to the problem was within walking distance of the German short training camp: Daniel Heuer Fernandes, the first-class goalkeeper of the second division club Hamburger SV.
“What he represents represents our team,” said HSV coach Tim Walter
The German-Portuguese was loaned out for a day, which turned out to be a great thing for all parties: Heuer Fernandes was happy about this “unique chance” afterwards, the national coach Flick is said to have been enthusiastic about the goalkeeper’s skills, and the social -Media department of the traditional club was allowed to direct an edifying play on words to the long-suffering HSV fans. “No new, but Heuer!” Was written above a post that was sent on all channels.
Great jubilation: Hamburg are in the cup semi-finals.
(Photo: Cathrin Müller/Reuters)
Heuer Fernandes, 28, has been one of the most respected HSV professionals for some time, both among supporters and among the team, but on Wednesday evening he made another huge leap up the popularity scale. In a wild and exciting DFB Cup quarter-final against league rivals Karlsruher SC, in which the score was 2-2 after 90 minutes, the goalkeeper saved three shots on penalties and secured HSV progress.
Aside from that performance in the final act of the game, there were several other reasons why Heuer Fernandes was able to secure a man-of-the-match award in the third cup game in a row. In a nutshell, in a play on words suitable for social media: this year reminds a bit of Neuer.
After the win against KSC, HSV coach Tim Walter praised almost every imaginable characteristic of the goalkeeper: his strength of character, his will to win and his cheerful nature. In particular, however, the offensive teacher appreciates and encourages a talent that makes Heuer Fernandes a rare example in German professional football. “He always finds a playful solution,” said Walter, who could also see a certain symbolism in it: “What he represents represents our team.”
In Walter’s system there are eleven playmakers who should ideally always have the ball, and then they should pass, pass, pass. That means: Heuer Fernandes not only has to do the obligatory daily work of a goalkeeper, which he manages admirably with his reflexes and his orientation in the penalty area. As the last man, he is also the first forward thinker, and as such all strands come together with him: Heuer Fernandes initiates attacks and intercepts them at the back, he has mutated into an actor who, like national goalkeeper Neuer, appears in several places at the same time and his policy competence used in the construction game.
Last season, Heuer Fernandes was put in front of Sven Ulreich
In Hamburg, therefore, those responsible also agree: “Ferro”, said the HSV sports director Jonas Boldt, “is making an outstanding season.” Despite the constant forward drive under coach Walter, HSV has the best defense in the second division, and the goalkeeper has played an important role in this development. However, the question remains: Why did you recently deprive yourself of this expertise at HSV?
Last season, Bayern Munich goalkeeper Sven Ulreich was simply put in front of Heuer Fernandes by HSV officials as part of the so-called pillar players, all of whom have already left the club. With Ulreich’s arrival, it is said, the competition in the Hamburger Tor was declared over. In the end, nobody was happy with that: Ulreich didn’t prove to be a stabilizing factor, Hamburg missed out on the promotion they had hoped for, and Heuer Fernandes, who has been with HSV since 2019, had to spend an entire season on the substitutes’ bench.
Of the four semi-finalists, Hamburg is now the only team that is allowed to exhibit the DFB Cup in its club museum, even four times. “We’re excited to see what’s to come,” said Heuer Fernandes, looking ahead to the draw. Actually, this can only end well for him, because one of the lottery fairies is: national coach Hansi Flick.
