Hannover 96: Coach Stefan Leitl: Tresoldi boost with Gavi tactics | Sports
Hannover 96 and FC Barcelona are (soccer) worlds apart. But that’s exactly why the Reds can learn a lot from Barça.
Nicolo Tresoldi and Pablo Martín Páez Gavira, Gavi for short, are 15 days apart.
The storm jewel of 96 came of age on August 20, signed his first professional contract at 96 on his birthday – until 2026.
The contract of Spain’s World Cup star Gavi, which he extended in mid-September – five weeks after his 18th birthday on August 5th, is just as long.
That’s it for similarities. Gavi (17 senior caps) is miles ahead of Tresoldi (four U19 appearances). But coach Stefan Leitl (45) has made it his task for the second half of the season to at least narrow the gap.
Tresoldi Boost with Gavi Tactics!
The 96 coach: “Gavi has already played over 40 La Liga games and has been led there before – through short appearances, then regularity. That will also be the step in Nico’s development.”
Nico made his first professional steps at Leitl without stumbling: Second division debut at 17 in Lautern (1:2), first starting eleven in the second division one day before his 18th birthday in Magdeburg (4:0). But in the last seven games before the break, Nico only played twice for a total of 16 minutes.
Not enough for its enormous potential – and Leitl’s claims.
That’s where the coach wants to start in the preparation (from January 2nd): “If we can get him to play regularly. That will be his personal next step, we want to support him there.”
Tresoldi stormed in more than half of the competitive games (10 out of 19), five times even from the start. That’s good, but there’s still room for improvement. That is exactly what the coach sees as his job. This is one of the reasons why the Reds are planning without further storm reinforcements during the winter break. Because every further attacker would automatically shorten the possible deployment times of Tresoldi.
Already in the first half of the season Nico had a performance hole after being substituted at half-time in the derby (1:1). Added to this was self-doubt because he hadn’t scored yet. “We talked about it,” says Leitl. “He needs this looseness and youthfulness for his game.”
And just goals. Tresoldi did that with the U19 national team – and then turned it up again with the Reds. Lead: “Yes! He scored there and came back full of energy. Through such experiences you gain self-confidence and mature as a personality. You notice that with Nico.”
Tresoldi is certainly not a Gavi. But 96 is definitely not Barça either.