Mai applied that on matchday three when he headed a header to make it 2-0 against Hanover 96 four minutes after being substituted. However, he did not secure a place in the starting XI, but initially stayed away after Tim Knipping suffered a serious knee injury. Alexander Schmidt initially relied on Michael Akoto against Paderborn as the opponent had “two arrows ahead”, as the coach explained – a clue to May’s alleged weakness: speed.

However, the head coach had to correct himself in the game after an early 3-0 deficit, Mai brought stability to the back row, Dynamo did not concede any further goals. Now he was in it, but quickly owed Heidenheim 0-1 with a cross pass, then faltered in the loss to Darmstadt. Schmidt changed his defensive line again, spoiling May against Werder Bremen even the duel with his brother Lukas. He accepted this without a whisper. “I don’t remember an athlete who took it so sportingly,” Schmidt explained. “After all, he’s the captain.

Philipp Hosiner feels physically fit

Only. But the Second Division is a new stage in his career for May, including the aforementioned Schmidt. However, this does not apply to Philipp Hosiner. The Austrian is one of the most experienced professionals in Dynamo’s mid-youth squad, was champion in his home country with Austria Wien in 2013 and also top scorer, has in France at Stade Rennes and 1 FC Köln first and for Union Berlin in the second League played.

In Dynamo’s rise, the now 32-year-old forward was the second-best attacking man with ten goals and nine assists, just behind Christoph Daferner with twelve hits and seven appearances. Nevertheless, this season he only has 187 minutes of play, spread over six games as a supposed wildcard.

“I’ve seen a lot of things in football – better times and much worse times. At the moment I don’t feel like I’m far from the starting XI – on the contrary,” he said. said in an interview with SZ at the end of August – since then his situation has not improved much, most recently Hosiner was outside twice. Young dad feels physically fine – his wife Julia gave birth to their son Aaron in early June.

Pascal Sohm injured and missed the test match

“I have no trouble, if that doesn’t change I’ll be playing for a few more years,” he told Bild newspaper. His contract with Dynamo expires in June and he can imagine an extension. For an offer, however, he should be able to show off his existing skills more often. “I know that I can always help the team with my experience and my qualities, he confides confidently.

Schmidt refers to the “huge competition” on the offensive. Hosiner does not spread a bad mood, but tries to impose himself in training. He also scored the opening goal in the 4-0 friendly win over Viktoria Berlin, but is that really an argument? Or doesn’t the coach really trust him to execute the high number of runs his tactical system requires? After Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer and Heinz Mörschel have weakened recently, Hosiner may well be an option for the home game against 1. FC Nürnberg on Sunday.

Pascal Sohm, on the other hand, was less so, as the other guard striker missed the test match because he had sneaked into training. The protection was only a precautionary measure, as Schmidt pointed out, but it gave the 29-year-old no chance to recommend himself to a competition. Sohm has 137 minutes with six substitutions this season. In the year of his promotion, he was mostly a wildcard, but scored seven goals. However, as in May, the Second Division is uncharted territory for him. For an attacker, this is a real threshold that you can only cross if you play.

Paul Will was already strong, but consistency still lacking

The same goes for Paul Will, although at 22 he is in the best developmental age for a footballer. Nevertheless, the defensive man seemed to be further ahead, in preparation he had a regular place in the defense. But when Schmidt moved up to four backs, the ex-Bavarian was suddenly taken out, defensive midfielder Yannick Stark and Julius Kade being the first choice.

Will was “a little late at the moment,” Dynamo chief recruiter and team planner Kristian Walter said at the end of August, but: “We have high hopes for him, which is why we want to work with him. ” 3-0 victory against Bremen not quite convincing: good in a duel, too imprecise in the passing game. Sächsische.de gave him a rating of 4. The previous season he had received a consecutive one for his performance in the 3-1 win over Lübeck, when he had scored his only goal for Dynamo so far.

“The next step for young players is to become consistent,” then coach Markus Kauczinski said afterwards: “Everyone is capable of playing a good game, but what distinguishes a talent from a seasoned player is to add a similar performance. ” Will has so far lacked that consistency.

With Schmidt, however, no one is written off, no one on the squad should feel like a loser. “You always have to give the players the feeling: okay, you are important, wait for your chance,” said the 52-year-old football teacher. “I think I’ll pass this on to them. They know performance is important. There are no exceptions, not even for the captain.