Polzin reveals: Kompany’s message before his move! | OneFootball

Merlin Polzin led HSV back onto the road to success, but he remains a young coach who is very open to advice.

As is well known, he is in close contact with club legend Horst Hrubesch, who achieved great success as a coach, especially with the DFB youth teams and the women’s national team. “He is the greatest advisor—and also the greatest critic. In addition to his expertise, it’s his human side that stands out. When things are going well, he says: ‘Okay, congratulations, keep it up.’ In moments when things are a bit stuck, it helps to benefit from his experience,” Polzin reported in his interview with Bild.

It’s not about implementing the thoughts of Hrubesch, who “gets in touch on all channels,” but rather “about reflecting with each other and helping each other that way,” the 35-year-old continued. Polzin is currently the youngest first-division coach, although he is still older than his assistants Loic Favé (33), Richard Krohn (30), and Max Bergmann (28). The Bundesliga was new territory for the quartet. But they quickly established themselves and developed HSV into a more than competitive team, which is currently unbeaten in six games.

Photo: Getty Images

Polzin continues to draw on Kompany’s advice

Polzin also found the away game at FC Bayern (0:5), where he met Vincent Kompany for the first time, to be helpful. “For Vincent, it was a completely normal encounter, where after the game you exchange a few words with the opposing coach. For us, however, it was special and instructive to have the opportunity to talk to him, because he has already achieved so much as a player and coach,” emphasized the Hamburg native.

The exchange with the successful Munich coach, who himself wore the HSV jersey for two years as a player, left a lasting impression: “The advice he gave us, we took with us on our journey. We still incorporate it today, especially after games that didn’t go so well.”

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Polzin revealed one detail from his conversation with Kompany: “After the first leg, he advised us to approach the situation more objectively. Of course, you have to win games in the Bundesliga to achieve your goals. But in our situation, a defeat means something different than in a promotion battle or a title race, where you have to win every week. He knows the situation from England, where he was promoted to the Premier League with Burnley. He was right.”

Furthermore, the conversation also touched on “topics such as team management or developing a conviction.” Just a week after the thrashing in Munich, the first win of the season followed. The team now sits in eleventh place with 26 points. “If, after a year and a half as coach, you can say we got promoted after seven years and established HSV in the league, that would be a huge success,” Polzin emphasized again, highlighting how important staying in the league would be.

Photo: IMAGO

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.