Veh Has A Tough Season Ahead With Hamburg.

After being sacked by last season’s champions Wolfsburg for a string of poor results midway through the season, Veh certainly has his work cut out for him at Hamburg. Hamburg are a  team rich in talent, from younger stars like Dutch internationa Eljero Elia and Manchester City transfer target Jerome Boateng, to the old guard, including the likes of Ze Roberto and Ruud van Nistelrooy. Despite their squad, Hamburg found themselves finishing in 7th position at the end of the Bundesliga season, meaning they will not qualify for any European competition next season.

Veh’s first task will be trying to hold on to his core group of players at Hamburg. Losing reliable first-team players like Joris Mathijsen, Marcell Jansen or Mladen Petric could see Hamburg and Veh struggle next season. Veh must make sure that while he knows he must rebuild and reconstruct a squad capable of competing for a European place next season, moving on valuable youngsters like Jerome Boateng and Eljero Elia will most likely double the transfer budget he already has waiting for him at Hamburg.

While the sale of two of Hamburg’s most gifted players will be met glumly by most HSV fans, if Veh can play the transfer market correctly, they may be stronger without them than they were this past season with them.

Veh, although seen by many as quite a poor choice for the Hamburg job, won the Bundesliga with Stuttgart in the 06/07 season. Despite this, Veh has done little else for himself in terms of managerial feats in Germany’s top flight. Surely, the jury will be out on Veh and Hamburg this season, but with a bit of luck and a few key signings, Veh could well steer Hamburg into European qualification, an accomplishment he could certainly be proud of.