Hamburg have signed Hungary international Zoltan Stieber from Greuther Fuerth, the club they beat in the Bundesliga relegation playoffs earlier this month.
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Just over a week ago, Stieber played the final pass to Stephan Fuerstner who pulled Greuther Fuerth level in the second leg of their relegation playoff against Hamburg.
But the second division side was unable to find the back of the net again, and the Bundesliga side, with a 0-0 draw at home and a 1-1 result away, managed to stay in the top flight on away goals.
"We wanted to win promotion by all means. It's a weird feeling," the 25-year-old Stieber was quoted on the Hamburg website following his transfer to Die Rothosen.
"HSV are a big club, Hamburg is a big city -- and it's a great chance for me to play here. I am looking forward to playing in the Bundesliga next season."
Perfekt - Zoltán #Stieber ist Hamburger! Willkommen beim #HSV: http://t.co/eB9o1kao0U pic.twitter.com/Bs0XLJC2LJ
- Hamburger SV (@HSV) May 26, 2014
Hamburg sporting director Oliver Kreuzer welcomed Stieber -- who signed a contract until 2017 -- saying: "We are delighted that Zoltan opted to join the HSV. He is a versatile attacking player with quick movements, good skills and a lot of pace. Zoltan perfectly fits our profile, because we want to bring more pace into our attacking game."
At the age of 17, Stieber left Hungary for Aston Villa. This was followed by a loan stint at Yeovil Town, from where he made the move to Germany. Stieber slowly worked his way up the ranks at Koblenz, Aachen, Mainz and Fuerth, for whom he scored nine goals and set up 11 more last season.
