Hamburg looking to move on from Yussuf Poulsen captaincy amid continued injury struggles | OneFootball

Hamburg captain Yussuf Poulsen and his head coach Merlin Polzin have given indications that the Danish international will not be serving as the Bundesliga squad’s skipper in the forthcoming league campaign. Polzin’s decision to award Poulsen the captaincy led to the relatively young coach incurring plenty of criticism last season.

The fact that – during Hamburg’s first pre-season game of the season on Saturday afternoon – Poulsen was only capable of playing 33 minutes hasn’t helped matters. It looks to be another season of careful injury management for last summer’s blockbuster transfer. The captain’s armband may go to someone else.

Yussuf Poulsen grappled with five injury related absences last year

The 86-times-capped Danish international remains only 32-years-of age. Poulsen nevertheless managed only one start in his paltry 15 Bundesliga appearances, lasting just over an hour during a matchday ten draw against Borussia Dortmund in November of 2025. A few weeks later, Poulsen scored his lone league goal for Hamburg in a December derby victory over northern regional rivals Werder Bremen. 

At only one point in his 15 league substitute appearances was Poulsen introduced before the hour-mark. Poulsen’s struggles with various injuries have been going on for over two years now. The former RB Leipzig legend has, as a result, spent the entire summer rehabbing at the training facility of his hometown club Lyngby in Copenhagen. Poulsen did score in the 3-2 away loss to Austria Wien.

Hamburg statements on the matter

“We knew beforehand that Yussi could go for half an hour,” Polzin – as quoted by Kicker – noted after the match. “We didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks. Yussi’s body is what it is. He’s an important part of our team, whatever his playing time and whatever his role.

“Just one start for him last season was, of course, unsatisfactory for both him and us,” Polzin still went on to say. “We have to draw lessons from that. Yussi is full of energy and really looking forward to a season with more starts.

“But the team isn’t complete yet,” Polzin concluded. “There are issues that need to be discussed internally first before they’re made public.”

“I’m not afraid and will do whatever is asked of me,” Poulsen – for his part – said.

GGFN | Peter Weis