Season

A full circle moment

HSV are busy preparing to welcome Karlsruher SC to the Volksparkstadion this Sunday, as they look to earn their 10th win under Merlin Polzin. “We’re eager to prove ourselves against Karlsruhe again,” said the head coach.

After two days off over the Easter weekend, the Rothosen picked up preparations for the business end of the season with 22 outfield players and four goalkeepers taking part in training on Tuesday. On Sunday, HSV will host ninth-place Karlsruher SC for their penultimate home game of the season at the Volksparkstadion.

Merlin Polzin and his assistants Richard Krohn and Loic Fave (from r.) took charge of their first match for HSV against KSC earlier this season.

This Sunday will mark a full circle moment for HSV head coach Merlin Polzin and his assistants Loic Fave and Richard Krohn, as the trio took charge of the club ahead of the meeting with KSC earlier this season. At the time, HSV were sitting in eighth place and went on to win 3-1 in Karlsruhe. Polzin's tenure therefore got off to a successful start, while HSV have earned nine wins, six draws and suffered just two defeats in the time since, having scored 37 goals and conceded 19. This add up to 33 points in total, at an average of 1.94 points per game. Additionally, the Rothosen were also able to climb the table during this time, even going top at one point. As they prepare to welcome KSC this weekend – who were themselves in second place when these two sides last met on 1st December 2024 – HSV now find themselves in second place with the best record of any side in the second half of the season.

The Volksparkstadion in particular has been a real fortress this season, with the defeat against Eintracht Braunschweig on 11th April marking the Rothosen's first defeat on home soil this season. As training got underway on Tuesday, Polzin was without those players working their way back from long-term injuries, as well as Sebastian Schonlau (back problems) and Fabio Balde (ill). Afterwards, he spoke to the media about…

Left-back Nicolas Oliveira is available for selection again.

…which defenders are available: Nicolas Oliveira was able to complete his rehab training a little bit sooner than expected, but we were in close contact with the medical staff the entire time. He was back in training today and could be an option to make the matchday squad against Karlsruhe. We hope that Miro Muheim will be able to train partially next week again. He’s also working hard on his comeback in order to hopefully be ready to return against Darmstadt.

"It wasn’t a setback but simply a result that we weren’t satisfied with."

…the game at Schalke: It’s natural to be frustrated about games like that, especially towards the end of the season when the pressure and stress is increasing for every team. Emotions were high that evening and in the days that followed, as it didn’t feel good. At the same time, we have already analysed the game thoroughly and saw areas in which we were far more dominant and well-structured than against Nürnberg, for example. The difference this time was that we didn't score when we needed to and that we instead invited our opponents to do so. We were very self-critical as a team and have put the game behind us. It wasn’t a setback but simply a result that we weren’t satisfied with. That won’t throw us off course or invite in any doubts. We’re still focused on ourselves.

…the overall situation ahead of the season run-in: We don’t want to sugarcoat things: if you find yourselves a man up for that long, then you always have to manage to win the game. But, we’re not letting what others have to say affect us. I can understand why those with an attachment to the club would be feeling nervous. After all, in sport and in football, it’s only possible to achieve something if you feel like you have something to lose. Otherwise, there’s nothing at stake. We know that there’s a hell of a lot at stake, because we’re very close to achieving our ultimate goal. It’s important that we turn this pressure into a source of energy and courage. We also need to be certain about what path we’re on and what we can influence versus what’s out of our control. That affects not only the basics, but also our principles. It’s not about being perfect right now, but about managing to do the things we need to in order to be successful on the pitch. We’re in an automatic promotion spot at the minute and are convinced that we will manage to end the season there as well. We’re eager to prove ourselves against Karlsruhe again.