Captain Capaldo: HSV’s new signing impresses with the armband! | OneFootball

In his very first Bundesliga match, Nicolas Capaldo led HSV onto the field as captain. Above all, he impressed as an aggressive tackler.

Can a central midfielder have played a good game if he only touched the ball 23 times in 86 minutes? The answer is: Yes!

Thus, summer signing Nicolás Capaldo celebrated a successful Bundesliga debut against Borussia Mönchengladbach (0:0) despite few individual actions. Just a few weeks ago, HSV had signed the Argentine from RB Salzburg for a little over two million euros.

The special thing about his debut: The 26-year-old immediately led the Rothosen as captain. Since regular captain Yussuf Poulsen initially sat on the bench and co-vice-captain Jonas Meffert lost the holding midfielder duel against Nicolai Remberg, Capaldo was given this responsibility. “I have great respect for the history of this club,” he said, honored, after the final whistle.

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Capaldo: We always have to take something away from away games

Earlier, Capaldo had given a first taste of his qualities with a self-sacrificing and combative performance. Alongside Remberg, he ensured that the Gladbach midfield strategists barely got into their stride over the 90 minutes. “I want to give my best on the field and support my teammates,” the right-footer later said about his playing style. “We want to help each other. And I think we did that well.”

Capaldo himself embodied this approach perfectly, winning three of his four ground duels. He also won back two balls and drew two fouls, which gave the Hanseatics important time to catch their breath.

The former Argentine youth international also showed he’s not above the occasional bit of gamesmanship, as he proved in the 59th minute when he prevented a quick free kick, received a yellow card, and drew the ire of Gladbach captain Rocco Reitz.

In the end, however, it was exactly these kinds of actions that secured HSV the draw. “This one point is very important,” Capaldo assessed the start of the season, while also setting the tone for the coming weeks: “When we play away, we always have to take something with us.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.