After five months out with a knee injury, Schalkes Dutch striker returned to spark a rampant victory over hapless HamburgThis is the story of heros triumphant comeback. But in the interest of fair and balanced journalism, its prudent to point out a glaring caveat first. Two words should cover it: Heiko and Westermann.The Hamburger SV defender was in the vicinity when Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored what felt like the biggest goal of the weekend. The 30-year-old didnt interfere, of course. He rarely does.Westermann, the vice-captain, is an honest pro, a real trier, and the perfect representative of his club: hes the master of the hapless bustle, of storming to the wrong place at the wrong time and of standing still with unbridled passion.Faced with this little resistance, there was no need for Huntelaar to jump or even strain his neck. He nodded the ball in ever so gently, the way an elderly flâneur at the Alster river would discreetly acknowledge a fleeting acquaintance. It was 1-0 to Schalke (after 34 minutes) and effectively game over. Hamburg tried to get back into it, without any conviction or ability. The visitors picked them off with two counter-attacks after the break. HSV keeper Jaroslav Drobny invited Jefferson Farfán to a second eight minutes after half-time before Max Meyers third pulled down the curtain three minutes later. Tens of thousands of Hamburg supporters left the stadium at this point. I think I might have gone home as well, said coach Bert van Marwijk. All considered, the crowd were pretty kind to us.Huntelaar had last scored in the Bundesliga in mid August. Two goals against Westermanns Hamburg as, it happens. He also scored four goals against the northerners last season and three in 2011-12 (Westermann only shut him out once in seven games, in a 1-0 win for HSV in 10-11). In a photo for an interview with Bild am Sonntag, Huntelaar pretended to be eating grass (Gras fressen is a German football term for an eagerness to play and fight) but perhaps the tabloid should have have dressed him up in full Jurassic Park gear. The Hunter, as they call him, just loves taking down HSV, the self-styled dinosaur of the Bundesliga. (They have never been relegated but itll be a struggle to hold on to that status if this performance is anything to go by).No wonder the 30-year-old forward told his manager Jens Keller that he was eager to play on Sunday after five months on the sidelines with a knee injury. Ive been looking forward to this game, my knee is fantastically stable, Huntelaar said.The Royal Blues have been the opposite of fantastically stable in his absence, thats why his return feels so momentous. Huntelaar wont just provide the goals that could help Schalke get back into the Champions League places after a rotten first half of the season – theyre only two points behind third-placed Dortmund after all other top teams behind Bayern failed to win in the Rückrunde opener – hes also the anti-Westermann for his particular team; a player who stands for everything that Schalke traditionally dont have. Clarity of purpose, efficiency, bloodymindedness, cold-hearted killer instinct. A lack of self-belief has never troubled him either. Theres no such thing as too much confidence, he told Bild before the HSV game, and he also sounded entirely believable explaining that it didnt matter to him that Holland coach Louis van Gaal never once called during his injury lay-off: I hardly picked up the phone anyway, I wasnt in the mood for small talk.Huntelaars reappearance might well pose a headache for the Van Gaal in a few months; the animosity between him and Robin van Persie poisoned the dressing room at the Euros. No such problems at Schalke though, where his top-billing is guaranteed. We saw today how much we missed him, said Keller. His presence is very important for the team, Meyer added.Huntelaar wont be able to cure all the systemic ills of the side but hell markedly increase their points tally simply by taking chances that lesser players would miss. That optimistic outlook could also influence Schalkes dealings in the transfer market. Sporting director Horst Heldt sounded as if he was actively inviting offers for Julian Draxler last week but after the match he briefed journalists that the attacking midfielder would not be sold this winter. Schalke could do with the money but now that Champions League qualification is within their grasp again, their need to cash in early – Draxler has a €45m release clause that can be triggered in the summer – has greatly diminished.The only sour note: similarly feverish speculation will follow in the wake of a good scoring run from Huntelaar, too. He will only have one year left on his contract come August.Talking points• Pep Guardiola took his false nine obsession to a new extreme on Friday night: Mario Mandzukic was deployed so deep against Gladbach that he never made it to the Borussia Park in the first place. The Croat was left at home in Munich. His performances in training werent good enough, sporting director Matthias Sammer explained. Some saw this development as the beginning of a long goodbye ahead of Robert Lewandowskis arrival next summer. But in Munich, they stressed that the decision should be seen as one-off, educational decision. The club have not decided to sell the player and will only take a view in a few months time. Mandzukic wasnt missed against the Foals, to be sure. Without Bastian Schweinsteiger, Arjen Robben, Franck Ribéry and Javi Martínez, the league leaders strolled to another three points and a 42nd league game without defeat. Against Stuttgart on Wednesday, theyll increase their lead to 13 points.• We all know about players scoring against their old teams but players scoring against their future teams is perhaps even more uncomfortable for everyone concerned. Ji Dong-won had only been on the pitch in Dortmund for a couple of minutes when he headed the 2-2 equaliser for Augsburg, where hell spend six months on loan before going to … Dortmund. Jürgen Klopp was trying desperately hard to stick to his new year resolution of being a little nicer to journalists but he couldnt hide his disappointment. Its not the start we wanted but thats what it is, he said.Jakub Blaszczykowski tearing his cruciate ligament completed a miserable afternoon. BVB sporting director Michael Zorc hinted that they might bring in a replacement.• The biggest surprise came courtesy of Freiburg. Christian Streichs side fought back from a 2-1 deficit at half-time to beat Leverkusen 3-2 at the Mage-Solar-Stadion. For Bayer, it was the third defeat in a row, for Freiburg a much-needed lift after a forgettable first half of the season. Streich had a simple explanation: without Europa League football, his side could go back to do what they do best. We put up a fight with all our strength and emotions, that wouldnt have been possible in November or December, he said.• Elsewhere, the new year brought big changes. Nürnberg coach Gertjan Verbeek, who had become to resemble a Waldschrat, the mythical creature from Franconian woods, was finally allowed to shave his beard after his side registered the first win of the season (He had vowed to keep the face hair growing during the winless streak). Der Club clobbered Hoffenheim 4-0. The weekend also saw a first home win for Eintracht (1-0 v Hertha) and a first away win for Hannover (3-1 at Kevin De Bruynes Wolfsburg) under new manager Tayfun Korkut. Any Winds of Change-based puns – the Scorpions are Hannovers most famous sons – should be avoided at all cost, however.ResultsGladbach 0-2 Bayern; Frankfurt 1-0 Hertha; Wolfsburg 1-3 Hannover; Stuttgart 1-2 Mainz; Freiburg 3-2 Leverkusen; Nurnberg 4-0 Hoffenheim; Dortmund 2-2 Augsburg; HSV 0-3 Schalke; Bremen 0-0 Braunschweig.SchalkeBundesligaEuropean club footballRaphael Honigsteintheguardian © 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. 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Posted on: Mon, 27 Jan 2014 14:14:42 +0000
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