Next step: how HSV want to improve in possession | OneFootball

Despite comfortably securing survival, coach Merlin Polzin sees significant room for improvement for HSV as he looks ahead to the club’s second Bundesliga season.

Just a few days ago, Polzin explained in an interview with HSV.de that his coaching staff had carried out a detailed review of last season. The conclusion: “Our controlled phases were top-level – good attacking, good defending.” The problems, however, arose mainly in transition moments. “We were too slow mentally and, for various reasons, couldn’t reach the necessary intensity,” Polzin explained.

This gave rise to the idea of an “HSV 2.0” that is meant to be more dynamic, more aggressive, and overall more versatile. And Polzin has now made it clear in an interview with Mopo that this further development is not only meant to take place in the team’s work without the ball.

Photo: IMAGO

“When it comes to compact and deep defending, we were very difficult for opponents to play against last season,” said the HSV coach. At the same time, he pointed out that by the end of the campaign his team also ranked tenth in the league in possession. “So we are talking about a team that wants to have the ball.”

HSV transfers with a clear focus

This is exactly where the next step in development begins. “Now the aim is to make these moments much more intense, aggressive, and courageous,” Polzin announced. Specifically, that means: “It includes the wing-backs pushing up and down the pitch much more often, and us staying in higher pressing situations more frequently after losing the ball.”

HSV therefore do not just want to run more and with greater intensity, but above all to play more proactively with the ball. The transfers made so far also fit that approach. With Martin Adeline, Bilal Nadir, and Albert Grønbaek, who had previously been on loan, the club has mainly signed technically strong midfield players. One or two of the wing-backs mentioned by Polzin are also still expected to arrive.

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