Team

Miro Muheim: A man for corners

The left-back has impressed this season as a corner specialist, continuing his development as a key player at HSV. Muheim has led from the front when it comes to minutes played and challenges won.

When Miro Muheim steps up to take a corner, the opposition most certainly know they have to be on their toes. The 26-year-old defender has been responsible for the most dangerous corner-kicks in the second division in 2024/25, with four of his deliveries resulting in goals, the most recent of which by Davie Selke in the 3-1 home win over 1. FC Magdeburg. Muheim has also recorded two assists from open play, putting him joint top of the assist charts for the whole division, along with Köln’s Leart Paqarada.

The Swiss defender only took 29 corners in the whole of last season, compared to 42 already this term. Only Karlsruhe’s Marvin Wanitzek (50) and the aforementioned Paqarada (45) have delivered more. However, rather than the quantity, it’s the quality of his corners that has been so impressive. HSV’s threat from corner-kicks has been a welcome addition to their arsenal, allowing the team to score their goals in different ways, something that opposition coaches have noticed too: “Aside from their individual quality and strength in depth, HSV’s biggest asset this season has been their success from set pieces. It’s a big difference compared to recent years,” explained Paderborn coach Lukas Kwasniok.

Teamwork and Polzin’s ideas

Although Muheim – who, among other clubs, spent time at Chelsea’s renowned academy – will take the bulk of the credit for his dangerous set pieces, a lot of teamwork and planning has gone into the various variations. One example of these variations was for Selke’s goal in the 3-1 win over Magdeburg, when Schonlau and Meffert both successfully blocked off defenders in different areas of the box, allowing Selke a free run at the ball. “We have different variations. Merlin (assistant coach Merlin Polzin) is doing a great job on this with us. We work on our patterns and variations during the week, and, as you can see, it’s working really well,” said Muheim.

When asked what makes a good corner, Muheim jokingly answered: “a corner that finds a teammate”, adding: “it has to have pace on it. The guys in the middle also have to time their run well, that’s important too.” In order to get all this right, the team have to work hard on the patterns. As part of that, the left-footer has the same ritual before each corner. “I take four steps back, take a deep breath and then look to make eye contact with the guys in the box. I then lift my right arm up to signal that I’m about to take it and then put the ball into the box. It’s always the same,” he revealed.

Ever present and tough tackler

Miro Muheim’s corner-taking abilities are not the only impressive thing about him either. Since his move to HSV in summer 2021, the committed and passionate defender has improved with each year, developing into a key player and leader for the Rothosen. ‘Quattro M’, who made his 100th competitive appearance for the club at the start of this season, is a regular in the Hamburg side, and has played all 810 possible minutes in the ongoing campaign. At HSV, only Jonas Meffert has also been an ever present.

His physicality and stamina help him when it comes to winning duels. The Zürich-born left-back has won 58.82% of his challenges this term, the second-best rate behind Sebastian Schonlau at HSV. On top of that, he’s won an impressive 76.47% of his aerial duels, a club best – and only nine players in the division can boast a better rate. It just shows that Muheim is not just a corner specialist but is also impacting games all over the pitch.