Nur die Raute
·29 de julio de 2025
Polzin honest: What HSV still need for Bundesliga promotion!

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Yahoo sportsNur die Raute
·29 de julio de 2025
The heavy defeat against Olympique Lyon has somewhat dampened HSV's anticipation for the Bundesliga start. However, Merlin Polzin does not want to be discouraged by the result.
In an interview with Sky, the coach gave an honest interim assessment of the preparation so far after the crushing 0:4 defeat against the French team. Despite critical words towards his team, the 34-year-old is convinced of the correctness of the path taken.
"We deliberately decided to structure the preparation in such a way that we face very strong opponents after all the years in the 2nd Bundesliga," Polzin explained, referring to the matches against Copenhagen, Graz, and Lyon. "This way, you immediately see what is still missing to be able to compete in the Bundesliga."
What is still lacking at the moment? In the first half, there was mainly a lack of necessary compactness: "We were positioned at the wrong height and couldn't defend the opponent's overloads well," Polzin explained. Although the sometimes extremely high pressing led to numerous ball recoveries near the goal, the Rothosen wasted the best opportunities. "We need to be more consistent in finishing and hit the target more often."
Another central aspect: the mentality. "In the Bundesliga, it's about celebrating every action," emphasized Polzin. Scenes like tackles or cleared balls should be understood as "sparks" that can turn games around. The native Hamburger is aware that HSV will be able to define itself much less through moments of brilliance than in previous years.
Personnel issues were also addressed. In the goalkeeper duel between Daniel Heuer Fernandes and Daniel Peretz, Polzin does not want to commit yet. "I am very happy that we have two goalkeepers with extremely high quality," he explained diplomatically.
Regarding Robert Glatzel, who only played for 30 minutes against Lyon and had to line up behind Ransford Königsdörffer and Yussuf Poulsen, Pozlin said: "Bobby knows exactly what I expect from him. He knows my standpoint, and we have agreed that he will work to the maximum on certain things."
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.