Season

“Confident and optimistic” ahead of the second half of the season

At the start of the new week of training before the home game against 1. FC Köln, head coach Merlin Polzin spoke about players returning and the approach for Saturday’s night primetime clash.

The HSV coaches and players were back for training in Hamburg on Monday (13th January) for the first time after their training camp in Turkey. Despite the temperatures no longer being a pleasant 15 degrees, as was the case in Belek, the players were clearly excited to be closer to the return of league action in 2025. “It’s an exciting game,” said coach Merlin Polzin after training, adding “we’re really excited to prepare for it.”

Marco Richter and his teammates were back at the Volkspark to prepare for the game against 1. FC Köln.

HSV’s first competitive game of the calendar year is on Saturday night (18th January) at a sold-out Volksparkstadion against the in-form league leaders. Köln won eight of their last nine games before the winter break and drew the other match during this period. “They are a really strong side,” praised Polzin, who will be hoping for a repeat of what happened on matchday 1. The Rothosen won 2-1 in Cologne, though the opposition are clearly a better side now. “Köln have changed a few things to their game,” admitted Polzin, whose team will prepare for Effzeh’s strengths accordingly this week. “We have come up with solutions and answers to how we deal with them both in and without possession, but our focus, as it has been in recent weeks, will be on our own game.” Polzin doesn’t yet know what his starting XI will look like this weekend. Although the training ground was pretty busy on Monday, some players such as captain Sebastian Schonlau may not be 100% fit come Saturday. Following Monday’s session, Merlin Polzin discussed…

…the squad: Our medical team are doing some great work behind the scenes and they are doing all they can to get as many players back out there as possible. Aside from Noah Katterbach, we had all those who have been injured recently outside with us today. The lads either worked individually or completed parts of the team session and the plan is for them to slowly take part in more of training as the week goes on. There is a good chance that Daniel Heuer Fernandes, who was back in goalkeeper training today, can play against Köln. We’re also optimistic that Ransford Königsdörffer and Davie Selke can feature at the weekend. We will manage their workload every day to make sure they are ready. The same applies to Sebastian Schonlau, who has had a bit of a cold recently and can’t fully train after three weeks out. We need to speak to our doctors here and check things with them, but we’re optimistic. Matheo Raab was on the training ground for the first time again today. I was delighted to see him back, as was everyone in the team. We will also slowly increase his workload after his hand operation.

Jean-Luc Dompe & Co. get ready for Saturday’s visit of 1. FC Köln.

…preparing to play 1. FC Köln: The coaching team fully started preparations this morning. We know what to expect. 1. FC Köln have a lot of quality in their squad. Compared to our first meeting, they have changed their approach a little bit, including switching to a back-three and a few personnel alterations too. Nevertheless, their coach’s idea of how he wants to play is clear to see. They like to aggressively press their opponents high up the pitch and get the ball forward quickly. We have come up with solutions and answers to how we deal with them both in and without possession, but our focus, as it has been in recent weeks, will be on our own game. We want to continue working on our approach during this week and solidify our patterns of play. Our aim is to then put all that into practice on matchday.

…his expectations for the game: We were able to prepare well for the second half of the season in Turkey, but we’re now happy to be back training next to the stadium. The weather is obviously different here, which is why we went to Turkey, but we’re massively excited for league action to return. We’re looking forward to a home game at a sold-out Volksparkstadion and we’re confident enough to say that we want to get the win. We also believe that we can do that if we prepare well. We’re full of excitement and positivity. We want to play our own game and cause issues for our opponents. If we do that, it’ll be an exciting game of football.”