sabbi moves inside to get some of the ball and tries to play a combination which fails after a teammates first poor touch which visibly frustrates sabbi
Sabbi is very fast and strong. He has a ton of confidence but there are times when he needs to give the ball up. In other words, he needs to play smart.
His team is certainly trash... It is actually quite painful to watch them... at least that was how I felt watching them this weekend.... and then the coach takes Cappis and Sabbi off early... Cappis looked great in the 1st 25 minutes and Sabbi is their goal leader. Go figure... in a tie game... lets take out our best players. I have been told it is because there is a short turn-around for their next game.... but tied on the road against a good team? I don't get it. At any rate, Sabbi certainly has a nose for the goal but he does hold onto the ball too long at times.
On the bench: Opstillingen mod AC Horsens: Jesper Bøge er tilbage i startopstillingen i stedet for Frans Putros. Derudover spiller Pål Kirkevold og Julian Kristoffersen fra start, mens Emmanuel Sabbi er på bænken, og en ukampdygtig Imed Louati er gledet helt ud af truppen#HobroIK #sldk pic.twitter.com/cRIHhCVGLB— Hobro IK (@hikfodbold) December 6, 2019
Because of the structure of the Danish League, so far the team is not dead last and far in points, it makes little difference to finish 7th or 14th. Hobro (and Horsens) are relegation group fodder, and today's game is one they should have won. But Sabbi didn't get time, after a couple of mediocre games. Still, he remains their best goal scorer with six.
Actually, with 3 relegation spots this season, the two bottom teams are as good as relegated, because they can not be saved by play-off's. What Hobro need, is to finish in 11th place, because then they will end up in the relegation group stage with Silkeborg and they have only managed to pick up 7 points so far, while Hobro has 16 points, and with Hobro not losing all that many games, it would be Silkeborg going down, while Hobro then at least will be secured a relegation play-off. Standings : https://www.bold.dk/fodbold/danmark/3f-superliga/
This can hardy be the reason ... He suffer from a minor injury and I also suspect that they want him sold in the winter transfer window and so they do not want to take any risks with only 1 game left before the winter break.
I think Hobro did a fairly good job against Horsens, though obviously they could have used Sabbi to score a decisive goal ... but this was noe of the few games were they actually had most ball possession (52%), more passes (390 v 358) and also a slightly better passing accuracy than their opponent ... but you can watch the highlights here, with some good attempts, but also some very good goalkeeping as usual :
Btw, I suspect that Hobro will end up in the relegation play-off's, either facing Horsens or SønderjyskE ...
Transfer News : Several Danish sports and soccer newspapers are now reporting that Sabbi is on the verge of either moving abroad or being sold to FC Midtjylland or Brøndby in the winter transfer window. Hobro director of Sport Jens Hammer came close to selling Sabbi for a record fee this summer, but the club in question withdrew in the last minute. Hammer subsequently said he would like to extend with Sabbi whose contract expires next summer, but this will hardly be possible. Have you given up on extending ? "- We pretty much have. So January is the last chance to get money for him. We also recognize that we are a selling football club. If it's the right offer for the club and for the player, we would like to sell our players." "- We have actually been in dialogue with some clubs about Sabbi. We have also received specific bids, he says. - These are foreign clubs. There are two to three that are really interest him. We also think it's the best step for him. Now he has played three years in Danish football, so we think that is a natural step for him. " Jens Hammer told tipsbladet.dk Emmanuel Sabbi's team-mate in the opposite wing position, Edgar Babayan, is also attracting attention. Already this summer, Randers FC made a bid for the Armenian national team player, and after scoring a goal in a NT match against Italy a month ago, they have noticed him abroad. "- There have been a lot of more or less loose queries, especially after he scored that goal against Italy. It was really something that resonated. We just have to say that. It was on an A-national team against Italy, and it was a great goal, Jens Hammer said. "- There are a lot of people who have asked about him and what his contract situation is. Also from some of the big addresses all over [Europe]. But there has been nothing concrete [on Babayan, ed.]. There has not been an actual offer we have been in need of dealing with. This has only been the case with Sabbi," Hammer said "- Right now we are in a negotiating situation and Sabbi is also in a phase where he is considering what is best for him." According to BT Sport, then there is also great interest from Danish clubs. It has previously been known that Brøndby,have shown interest in Sabbi, and according to B.T. Brøndby now have competition from the Superliga top team, FC Midtjylland, in the fight for the Americans signature. According to BT, two foreign clubs showing great interest in Sabbi right now is a French team and Dynamo Dresden from the German 2. Bundesliga. ---- Personally I think a move to Dynamo Dresden would be a terrible move, but obviously they need a player like Sabbi to save themselves from relegation. Babayan's goal against Italy in the Euro-20 qualifiers btw :
Thanks for taking the time to give us the update. I agree about Dresden. joining the cellar dweller of any league in January is tough. What do you make of Cappis situation at Hobro?
Cappis has not been a regular starter for all that long and being a defensive minded midfielder, they are really the kind of "Italian style" team with much focus at training on the tactical aspects and every little defensive advantage he is able to learn much from. Obviously, if they suffer relegation, he should probably move on.
On the bench: Så kan vi præsentere opstillingen til dagens kamp mod Brøndby IF.Mathias Haarup er ukampdygtig, og han er derfor ikke med. I stedet spiller Frans Putros på venstre back, og derudover er der genvalg til de spillere, som startede i vores seneste kamp.#HobroIK #sldk #BIFHOB pic.twitter.com/TvO3Br2nJf— Hobro IK (@hikfodbold) December 15, 2019
57’ Første udskiftning i kampen: Emmanuel Sabbi kommer ind i stedet for Mikkel M.P. #BIFHOB 1-1— Hobro IK (@hikfodbold) December 15, 2019
Brøndby IF v Hobro IK, 1-1 0-1 Julian Kristoffersen (8) 0-1 Yellow card: Christian Cappis (23) 1-1 Simon Hedlund (37) Attendance : 9,703 Referee : Michael Tykgaard More match facts : https://www.transfermarkt.com/spielbericht/index/spielbericht/3210410 Hobro line-up 4-4-2 Jesper Rask – Jesper Bøge, Anel Ahmedhodzic, Rasmus Minor (C), Frans Putros – Mikkel M.P., Jonas Brix-Damborg, Christian Cappis, Edgar Babayan – Pål Kirkevold, Julian Kristoffersen Subs : Mikkel M.P. <–> Emmanul Sabbi (59) Julian Kristoffersen <–> Imed Louati (62) Pål Kirkevold <–> Mads Hvilsom (83) Bench : Adrian Kappenberger, Kerim Memija, Oliver Thychosen, Hamse Hussein. Cappis playing all 90 minutes while Sabbi was back from injury and got to play a bit more than half an hour when Hobro managed to hold Brøndby to a draw in the last match before the winter break .. a very good away result, also considering that all their 3 main rivals, SønderjyskE, Esbjerg and Silkeborg lost their games ... and Hobro will be facing SønderjyskE away the 16. February 2020 in their first game after the winter break. Superliga Standings : https://www.bold.dk/fodbold/danmark/3f-superliga/ Highlights :
Transfer news : Besides some Danish and other European clubs, the big Danish soccer website Bold.dk are now reporting that also several MLS clubs are showing interest in signing Sabbi. ----------------------------- The Winter transfer window is the last chance for Hobro to get any kind of money for the talented winger/striker, who came to Hobro on a free transfer in the summer of 2017, but Hobro do not want to sell him to everyone or at any price just to make a profit. "- It is essential that we find a club that is proper for Sabbi and he must be able to continue his development there. He is really good, but he is still not a complete footballer either, if we are to be honest. So it's about finding a proper club that also want to pay what we want," [Hobro director of Sport] Jens Hammer said. Sabbi is in the spotlight of several MLS clubs according to what bold.dk have learned, but he is also attracting interest here in Europe: "- There have also been European clubs. We have been talking to several and been in actual negotiations with some, but right now there is non [negotiations going on]," Hammer said, adding about the situation: "- Right now they (an interested club, ed.) are looking at their situation and we are looking at our." This past summer, Jens Hammer announced that they were more than near a record sale of Sabbi, but as we know, the deal ended up falling to the ground and at Hobro they are ready to accept if Sabbi end up leaving Hobro on a free transfer this summer" " - We've had him for three seasons while playing Superliga, and this is really worth a lot of money for a club like ours. That's how the premise is when we pick up players on a free transfer. Either you sell them them early on, or [keep them] like this. - Sabbi has gradually become better and better for us. After all, he didn't play [Superliga] for us at first, so it's been a long process. But early in the process, we knew that he did not want to extend his three years. It has been no secret." Sabbi is the top scorer for Hobro this season with six goals. https://beta.bold.dk/fodbold/nyheder/hobro-skal-finde-en-ordentlig-klub-til-sabbi
The main problem with Sabbi being this close to being able to sign with a club that do not need to pay much of a transfer fee if any at all, is that the Hobro management may feel the urge to make some sort of quick profit, though I do not think they are going to do so in a season with 3 relegation spots. Then rather keep him to the end of the season, so he can help them escape going down, which will be worth much more to them financially. I also suspect that Hobro do not want to sell him to another Superliga team, unless of cause Brøndby or FC Midtjylland make them a big offer they can not refuse. Brøndby have not been doing too well in their last games before the winter break, but on the other hand they are not doing all to well financially. There is also the possibility that AGF Aarhus is going to accept a big offer on their top-scorer and highly talented right winger Mustapha Bundu, that then will force them to sign a replacement. Sabbi may on the other hand feel the urge to sign with a foreign club that will promise him a big sign-on fee and pay raise, but he should be very careful not signing with the wrong kind of club in a winter transfer window where it's mainly going to be clubs in Europe who find themselves in trouble and need some fairly cheap reinforcements to escape relegation and so will make promises they are not able to keep, to lure him in... and signing with an MLS club to get a pay raise and become a designated player at this point in his career, where he still has much to learn, would not be the right move for him in my opinion.