“The atmosphere is sure to be electric”

On Thursday morning (23rd January), Merlin Polzin was very vocal as he led team training, preparing his side for the upcoming task at the weekend. Following the session, the head coach then made his way to the press conference room where, at 14:00 CET, he answered questions from the media. He spoke with a lot of enthusiasm and optimism ahead of his team’s latest challenge away to Hertha BSC. He was then, however, thoughtful when discussion turned to the incidents in the lead-up to the home match against Köln and the long-term injuries sustained by Noah Katterbach and Bakery Jatta. A wide range of topics came up in relation to “the exciting and challenging task that awaits us in Berlin,” as Polzin described the clash away to Hertha BSC. Merlin Polzin on...

...the incidents in the lead-up to the Köln game: Both the team and coaching staff hope to embrace HSV and everything that means in order for the spirit of the club to influence our work. On Saturday, however, focus shifted to something other than football. After the game, we gradually learned of what had happened. HSV has already made several statements regarding the events. Violence is never a solution and we as a club want to distance ourselves from this. These events do not align with the values held at HSV. While these were shocking events, at the same time, we also have to be careful not to generalise all football fans.

...squad updates: Noah Katterbach and Bakery Jatta have both picked up long-term injuries and so we will unfortunately be without them over the coming months. Nevertheless, the boys of course remain part of us and part our journey so we want them to be involved in as much as possible in order to have them around. ‘Baka’, for example, was back here today and got a lot of encouragement from the lads. Besides them, Immanuel Pherai received a knock to his lower leg last week. We were initially optimistic at the start of the week, but it looks now like he won’t make the squad at the weekend. The same applies to Fabio Balde, who is still in recovery training. Ludovit Reis has returned to team training and has made a good impression, bringing lots of energy.

“We need to be at the top of our game if we are to get a result in Berlin”

…the opponents from the capital: It will be a tough test so we need to be at the top of our game if we are to get a result in Berlin. Hertha are a talented side who possess a lot of individual quality, but they also function well as a unit. ‘Fielo’ (head coach Cristian Fiel) is a coach who, in my opinion, gets his teams playing a very interesting brand of football. The atmosphere is also sure to be electric inside the Olympiastadion. Travelling to Berlin is always special for me as someone who is so passionate about football.

...ramifications of being top of the table: It’s not something that really concerns us within the team. We just want to go out there and win every game and do so by playing football in the way we want to. We simply focus on things game by game rather than on where we are in the table. Instead, we are just concentrating on what we need to do in Berlin in order to withstand the pressure. The important thing is to do perform well each week regardless of whether we are playing against the team in first or twelfth place.

...potential new signings to strengthen the squad: We definitely have options within our squad already in order to replace injured players. At the same time, though, we have to remain in constant dialogue with the scouting department. We have a close relationship with those guys and hold them in high esteem. They invest everything they have in order to make sure we are best equipped for being able to achieve. That’s something we’ve already seen in the past. It is our duty to HSV to do what’s best for the club. Our main focus is on the Hertha game, but there is also work being done in the background.

“We can only achieve what we set out to if everyone pulls their weight”

…the role of captain Sebastian Schonlau: It’s great that we are back to full strength in defence with the return of ‘Bascho’. He is key for us. That is not solely due to the fact that he is captain, but also because of his quality and calmness on the ball as well as the cleverness he demonstrates in making tackles. However, the other lads did really well in defence during the friendly matches and against Köln. It’s not hard to choose who is going to play, but we can only achieve what we set out to if everyone pulls their weight.