St. Pauli's Attacking Options - Kauczinski's Choices

St. Pauli's Attacking Options - Kauczinski's Choices

St. Pauli over the last few seasons have had a recurring issue, an unidentifiable source of goals. Nullifying an opponents attack hasn't really been an issue, with the likes of Soren Gonther, Lasse Sobiech and Christopher Avevor tightening things up over the years, it's notoriously been the lack of goals which the fans have been calling for. There's no hiding the fact that in the previous handful of seasons the majority of goals scored have been sourced equally throughout the squad. In fact, in the 17/18 season there were five players sharing the accolade of top scorer - three of those being traditional midfielders. Things haven't changed for this season either, as you're reading this Christopher Buchtmann has 4 goals to his name for this campaign, the current leader. After a tough previous year, with a team consistently relying on a goal-saturated midfield, the summer break had fans rubbing their hands with anticipation of packing a striker, notorious of putting away his chances.

As Aziz Bouhaddouz departed the club, for Al-Batin, in stepped his replacement - Henk Veerman, who arrived from SC Heerenveen in the summer. A seemingly 'like-for-like' replacement for the Moroccan international, who left due to a mixture of lack of play time and dropping down the pecking order. Veerman, standing at an impressive 200cm tall, appeared to be an obvious 'target man' upon his addition to the club. However, his so far brief time at St. Pauli has revealed a more complicated and refined striker than most expected...

Henk Veerman - Traditional Centre-Forward

When I first saw that St. Pauli had signed the dutch centre-forward, I had instantly stereotyped him as 'The Dutch Peter Crouch'. The 27-year-old had an almost identical build to the Englishman, notorious for his headed goals and poacher-like instincts from inside the box. He seemed a good addition to the squad, with smaller options available on the pitch it was evident that an aerial threat wouldn't go amiss. I have been surprised with what he's brought to the table so far this season, the beautiful back-heeled assist for Sami Allagui from the SV Sandhausen game from a couple weeks back was pure genius. He has a wonderful awareness about him and his pace and acceleration isn't at all bad for someone of his stature. Veerman has been a great asset coming on from the bench and that's where I think he works best from. The centre-forward is more than capable of being the spark that gives St. Pauli a critical boost in the dying stages of a game. 

Essentially, Henk is the complete forward, and has made an impressive start to his St. Pauli career. He has offered a wide range of abilities which are crucial for a modern forward. I think he's not just replaced Bouhaddouz, but actually given his teammates a more hardworking and clinical frontman. As mentioned, he has worked wonders as a later addition to a game, when called upon. Will Markus Kauczinski chance him as a starter? I'd prefer him not to, as we have all seen the Dutchman work very well when rising from the bench. If it's not broke, don't fix it.

Dimitrios Diamantakos - Winger / Centre-Forward

The Greek forward has once again linked up with former manager, Kauczinski. The two met at Karlsruhe SC in 2016 where Diamantakos was clearly appreciated. Diamantakos has never been overly prolific during his career, having started off his work with Greek powerhouses, Olympiacos. It's fair to say that the 25-year-old didn't arrive in hamburg expecting to be a fan-favourite by all means. He knew the work he'd have to put in and a frustrating spell at VFL Bochum left Diamantakos wanting first team football. After joining St. Pauli in a tough campaign battling relegation in 2018, the forward managed to chip in with a handful of goals, mainly as a substitute to Allagui and Bouhaddouz. This season may allow a change of fate for Diamantakos, having seemed to have found confidence in the last few weeks in particular. Having scored two in his last four, could we be looking at a player looking to solidify his position in a competitive St. Pauli front-line?

Diamantakos is a great mover, off the ball in particular. When in his preferred central role, he will be trying to find two or three yards of space inside the 18-yard box. The Greek likes to play on the last man, which does suit to the more creative players such as Mats Moller Daehli and Richard Neudecker who will be looking for that critical pass. I think he'll retain his place as the leading striker for the next few performances. Diamantakos will need to stay on his toes though, with competing teammates fighting for a chance to appear in the starting XI. Kauczinski seems to see a lot of good in him, so I can't see the coach rotating anything whilst Diamantakos could (extreme emphasis on could) be entering his peak.

Sami Allagui - Centre-Forward

The final option for Markus Kauczinski is the veteran Tunisian striker - Sami Allagui. A controversial performer for fans, Allagui has had plenty of time to settle in, but the statistics aren't doing a lot for the ex-Hertha Berlin forward. Only 7 goals in a St. Pauli jersey, not great considering the bags of experience he has gathered over the many seasons Allagui has had at this level. However, some fans will dispute that the 32-year-old has just had an unfortunate beginning to his career, here in Hamburg. Originally working alongside Aziz Bouhaddouz, Allagui wasn't getting much support. A frustrated Allagui lost confidence very quickly, as goals were sparse and chances were plentiful. Some fans admired his tenacity and hoped that with time would come an increase in conversions. Kauczinski frequently rotated the front-line, struggling to find out who was fitting with who, and where? Jan-Marc Schneider often making the odd appearance, impressing where Allagui could not. Over the past couple of years the centre-forward has passed in and out of the starting XI. However, the striker now has an eyebrow-raising two in two, competing with Diamantakos. A brief spell out with a broken rib enough to allow Allagui to get into the right mindset?

Allagui demands a bit more from his teammates, usually working with Veerman or Neudecker will improve his performance, whereas Diamantakos is more likely to work comfortably more independently. The Tunisian can often miraculously find the ball at his feet with little explanation as to how it got there, but it's his conversion rate which leaves both fans and Kauczinski asking questions. I think patience is wearing thin with a lot of supporters, but after scoring with his first touch over the weekend, will Allagui be expecting to start against Holstein Kiel? It's unlikely, in my opinion, but with Diamantakos' performances fluctuating, the coach may be willing to give the most experienced of the three a chance.

All three of these centre-forwards offer something unique and obviously Kauczinski will select based on not just form alone. Looking at the bigger picture though, who are St. Pauli looking at to be consistently hitting the back of the net? As said at the start of this article, the team are heavily reliant on Buchtmann having a strong scoring season, with the addition of Sobiech also chipping in last year. Another low-scoring season could mean trouble for the boys in brown, replicating the 17-18 struggle. Kauczinski will need to asses and with all forwards proving their worth in recent weeks, nobody is guaranteed a place in this ever-changing squad.