First time as HSV captain: Why Polzin picked Remberg | OneFootball

In the rescheduled match against Bayer Leverkusen, HSV had to do without all three of its regular captains. There were various reasons for this.

Nicolas Capaldo, who had been wearing the armband in recent weeks, suffered an abdominal muscle injury against RB Leipzig (1:2) and will be out for "a few weeks." Another captain candidate, Miro Muheim, had to sit out due to a yellow card suspension.

And then there is Yussuf Poulsen: The 31-year-old was named team captain at the start of the season but, due to injury, has only played 268 minutes so far. The recently recovered Dane missed the Leverkusen match for load management reasons. In any case, he would not have been a candidate for the starting lineup.

Therefore, it was clear well before kickoff that HSV would need a new captain against the Werkself. A quick internal duel emerged between Daniel Heuer Fernandes and Nicolai Remberg.

Photo: Getty Images

Remberg experiences HSV defeat as captain

In the end, head coach Merlin Polzin chose Remberg. The midfielder, who was signed from Holstein Kiel last summer, wore the HSV armband for the first time and rewarded himself for a strong debut season in blue, white, and black.

But why was Remberg chosen over Heuer Fernandes? After all, the German-Portuguese has been under contract at Volkspark since 2019. "For me, it's important that the captain is active as a point of contact for the referee and in the center of the pitch," Polzin explained before kickoff in a Sky interview. This decision was "completely understandable" for Heuer Fernandes.

Nur die Raute – All the news about HSV

But all of that was for nothing: Against the Werkself, HSV suffered a well-deserved 0:1 defeat. It was not due to the performance of stand-in captain Remberg. The 25-year-old tirelessly worked the center of midfield as usual, won eight duels, and intercepted five balls. That did not lessen his frustration over the second defeat in a row. "We weren't really dangerous and didn't stick to our plan," he criticized afterwards. "Leverkusen was simply better today and deserved to win."

And yet: When Sky reporter Patrick Wasserziehr asked Remberg about the armband on his arm, he was clearly moved: "It's an absolute honor. If someone had told me this when I was a little boy, I wouldn't have believed it. It means an incredible amount to me."

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