Hamburg target Ruud van Nistelrooy as Steffen Baumgart’s successor | OneFootball

Hamburg have identified Ruud van Nistelrooy as a replacement for Steffen Baumgart as the 2. Bundesliga side look for a long-term appointment.

That’s according to Sky Germany, who further report that van Nistelrooy was also an option for Hamburg before Baumgart’s appointment in February 2024. Former sporting director Jonas Boldt held talks with the Dutchman who played for the club in the 2010/11 season. When undertaking his coaching badges, van Nistelrooy also watched HSV train in December 2014.

Why Hamburg dismissed Steffen Baumgart

Baumgart came to Hamburg with an excellent reputation following his previous work at Paderborn and 1. FC Köln, helping the latter to European qualification on a minimal budget. Following his dismissal at the Billy Goats, Baumgart was appointed as Hamburg head coach but despite a strong start to the 2024/25 season, HSV find themselves down in eighth and although only four points behind leaders Paderborn, performances have been less than impressive and their 2-2 draw against Schalke 04 at the weekend, after being 2-0 up, was the final straw.

Ruud van Nistelrooy’s last employment

The 48-year-old was unbeaten in his four interim games in charge of Manchester United, winning three and drawing one, following the sacking of Erik ten Hag before the Premier League side appointed Ruben Amorim.

Van Nistelrooy also worked as an assistant under ten Hag between July 2024 and October 2024 before taking on the interim position, and then leaving the club following the appointment of Amorim.

Prior to that, van Nistelrooy coached PSV between July 2022 and May 2023, a run of 50 games which resulted in 34 wins, eight draws and eight defeats.

Other coaching options for Hamburg

As well as van Nistelrooy, Lukas Kwasniok (Paderborn) is an option for Hamburg but the 43-year-old has a contract until 2026 without an exit clause. Torsten Lieberknecht, who until recently was the coach of Darmstadt, remains an option as does David Wagner, Bruno Labbadia and Friedhelm Funkel.

GGFN | Daniel Pinder