Labbadia returns to BayArena amid hostilities

(GSM) – Hamburger SV coach Bruno Labbadia will be renewing hostilities when he returns to his former club Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday with side his seeking three more points to move closer to the top three and a place in the Champions League next season.

Labbadia left Leverkusen under unpleasant circumstances last summer after he gave his word to Hamburger before the season had ended.

The 44-year-old coach heavily criticised Leverkusen players on the eve of their DFB-Pokal final defeat to Werder Bremen.

Such was the ordeal met out that striker Patrick Helmes in particular has not forgiven Labbadia for what he said while he was still contracted to Leverkusen.

He this week admitted that facing Labbadia is “an extra motivation”, but the HSV coach refused to be drawn into a slanging match.

“I am concentrating on the sporting side of things and nothing else interests me, nor will I comment on it,” he said.

“This is a very interesting challenge and I am looking forward to it.

“I am also excited about seeing the stadium, which was just a building site when I was there, and of course it will be nice to see certain people who I worked with.”

A win for visitors at the BayArena would take them to within four points of the top three and deal Leverkusen’s title aspirations a second major blow in the space of a fortnight.

Jupp Heynckes’ side lost for the first time this season in Nurnberg last weekend and they will be aiming to bounce back.

“We are concerned with keeping HSV at a safe distance,” he told the Hamburger Abendblatt newspaper.

“We are on a learning curve which this team has got to get through.

“I know what happens in the media when you drop from first to third, but the players have been very cool with it all and realised their errors. I don’t have to intervene very much.”

Heynckes is considering bringing Helmes into his starting XI instead of Eren Derdiyok, given his particular motivation for this game.

Labbadia is also unsure about his attack and whether to give Ruud van Nistelrooy his second start in the space of just four days.

“Ruud has just played the first time over 90 minutes for a long while and we will have to wait and see how he recovers from this,” he admitted.

“We will take a last-minute decision on whether he starts or sits on the bench.”