Interview

Meffert: “Our togetherness is a real strength”

Jonas Meffert spoke to HSV.de ahead of the start of the second half of the season about the positive feeling going into the clash with 1. FC Köln as well as for the remainder of the campaign.

Bundesliga 2 is finally back and what a way to kick off the second half of the season! 1. FC Köln visit a sold-out Volksparkstadion on Saturday for a crunch match against HSV. For one player in particular, the match will possess even more significance. Jonas Meffert, who grew up Cologne, explained to HSV.de that this upcoming meeting with FC will be no ordinary game for him.

HSV.de: Meffo, how do you feel ahead of the second half of the season, having had some time to recharge during the short winter break and following the training camp preparations?

We are feeling very good, very positive in fact. The last match before the break also played a role in that. We went into the training camp with this good feeling, which benefitted us. We did have a couple of key players missing but nevertheless the high level of quality and intensity on show was good to see. The friendlies went well, even if we did suffer blows in the match against FCSB both in terms of the result and the injury to Noah Katterbach. The performances were good, though.

What has been the focus of the preparations?

We worked a lot on defensive work, especially on how we press depending on the situation. In terms of when we have possession, the coaches wanted us to play with more freedom and to be more creative. They also just wanted us to have fun with it.

Are those also the key changes that you have seen in training sessions, now under the guidance of Merlin Polzin?

There have definitely been changes. We now do a shorter warm-up in the fitness centre so that we can focus on playing a lot more. We play eleven-a-side more often so that we can become even more accustomed to distancing. Training is also made to be a lot more about competition. The changes are certainly noticeable. We also don’t drop from a back four into a five-man defence anymore, which is the thing that affects me the most, personally.

Besides the work in training and tactical aspects, has the feeling in camp also changed somewhat?

Team spirit is very important to Merlin, which is something he is always reiterating. I did think that the mood within the squad was good even before the training camp, but that certainly did us good, too. We spent a lot of time together there, which ultimately brought us closer to one another.

Merlin and the other members of his coaching staff are only a few years older than you. Does age have an impact on the relationship between a coach and the players?

Definitely not for me, personally. If you perform to the best of your ability, then it doesn’t matter how old you are. If one of us players is still playing great football at the age of 35, then of course he’ll make the team. It doesn’t matter whether he’s 25 or 35. The same also goes for the coach. If he leads good training sessions, gives you valuable adjusts and helps you to develop as a player while setting the team up in the best way to tackle the opponent, then you immediately gain respect for him. I had another very young coach in Ole Werner when I was at Kiel, and he showed everyone straight away that he was very good at his job. That also applies to our current coaching staff here in Hamburg.

We’ll shift our focus now to the second half of the season, which all kicks off with a crunch match at a sold-out Volksparkstadion. Not only will this be a great game for the fact that it is against the league leaders, under the floodlights, but also against your home-town club. How excited are you for the clash?

It’s extremely exciting, for all of us. Obviously, the game has added significance for me, personally. Cologne is my home city and everyone I know from that region is an FC fan. Therefore, I had to make sure to get lots of tickets so that friends and family could come along to watch.

You mention that you still retain a connection to your home city. Do your friends and family talk about FC as they do about HSV here in Hamburg?

For sure. It’s pretty much the same. When someone from home asks me what it’s like with HSV, I always reply that it’s like FC but in a bigger city. Apart from that, it’s really very similar. Each club has such a huge following both in the city and the surrounding region. Unlike here, there is no real Cologne derby, so it feels like everyone there is an FC fan. The media also holds a great influence on both, which was noticeable for Köln as well when their coach was called into question right at the start of the season.

Köln came through these difficulties very well and went into the winter break top of the league. How do you view the upcoming opponent and how do you need to set up in order to prepare for this challenge?

The changes they have made are noticeable. I am also still very good friends with Leart Paqarada after we were both in the Bayer Leverkusen youth set-up, someone who has been at Köln for several years now. He told me that FC have focused on defensive work and that the entire week of training is spent preparing in this fashion. They have the quality up top to always pose a goal threat. That’s how they like to go about things, which seems to be very effective for them. I think the rest of their success is a result of that self-confidence gained from repeated victories. Your attacking flow comes more naturally that way, which is something that was evident for FC in the run-up to the winter break

What does that mean for how our team will approach the game at the weekend?

It’s going to be a very tricky game, since Köln come here with a lot of confidence and off the back of a string of wins. It will also be a special match for FC because our stadium is somewhat bigger than theirs. We won the reverse fixture thanks to a strong first half showing, even if many Köln fans may have felt that a 2-2 draw would have been a fairer end result. Therefore, they will be wanting to make up for that loss, but I remain confident that we can show who the better team are, especially playing here at home with the backing of our fans.

A lot of these Bundesliga 2 crunch matches end up being very entertaining affairs, full of goals. Do you expect this game to follow that same pattern?

I can imagine it being a lively contest, even if Köln do play with a more cautious approach these days in comparison to our meeting earlier in the season. We won’t be waiting to see how they go about things this time around, though. I’m confident that we will score a few.

Looking now beyond the matchday 18 clash, what will be important over the course of the second half of the season in order for the overarching target for the campaign to be achieved?

We are not going to win all 17 games, but at the same time, we may have an off day and still get a result. There will always be criticism, but the important thing is to stick together as a team and stand by what we are trying to do so that we can build consistency. In my opinion, we've been near perfect for two seasons now, racking up 66 points in one campaign. 99% of success is dependent on how you yourself go about things but luck also plays a role – something we haven’t had in the past. You have to just keep going to try and create a bit of luck for yourself and that’s what we aim to do.

Which other factors play a role in achieving success?

I see consistency as vital. Everyone needs to consistently bring their A-game in order for the team to do well. We have so many good players that everyone will have to sit on the bench from time to time. At that point is it really important to remain focused and to keep giving it your all so that when your chance comes along, you are ready to take it. This is the sort of mindset that we have instilled over the past weeks, as the home game against Fürth showed as well as the celebrations after winning 5-0. Our togetherness is a real strength so it’s crucial that we can maintain that over an extended period of time.