Team
21.10.25
A full Volkspark
Preparations for HSV’s weekend clash at home with VfL Wolfsburg are well underway, with Tuesday’s (21st October) training session seeing a brilliant level of attendance both on the pitch and on the sidelines. The Rothosen will need all the numbers they can get this weekend, as they look to overcome what proves to be a tough test in the Bundesliga (25th October, 15:30 CEST).
Merlin Polzin led his team out to training on Tuesday afternoon, at which point Hamburg’s famous miserable weather made an appearance, and the heavens opened. Unsurprisingly, this meant that the team were unable to complete their planned 90-minute training session in front of a number of fans who had turned out to watch the session, despite the horrible conditions.
Gocholeishvili and Vieira complete parts of training
Those spectators who braved the elements were able to see a whopping 31 players in action during Tuesday’s session. Four goalkeepers took to the field: Daniel Heuer Fernandes, Daniel Peretz, Hannes Hermann and Fernando Dickes, as well as 27 outfield players. In amongst those 27 players were Giorgi Gocholeishvili and Fabio Vieira, who completed the first few bits of team training, before moving to a different pitch with rehab coach Sebastian Capel to work individually with a ball at their feet. Gocholeishvili was seen wearing a temporary protective mask, having suffered a facial injury in training last week. “We hope that he can get a fitted mask as quickly as possible, so that he can make a full return to training. Until he gets one, he can’t really get involved in any challenges. It was good that he was out there today though; he’s no longer in pain,” explained Merlin Polzin after the session.
Four players from the youth sides were also given the opportunity to train with the first team: Louis Lemke, Jason Bissi Mouelle, Henri Schümann (all U19s) and Shafiq Nandja (U21). Only Warmed Omari, who has now had his stitches removed after an operation following his ankle injury, Fabio Balde (ankle issues) and Gui Ramos (personal reasons) were missing from Tuesday’s session. Jordan Torunarigha, Silvan Hefti, Jonas Meffert, Bakery Jatta and Emir Sahiti all played the full 90 minutes in Sunday’s friendly against VfL Osnabrück and so were given a reduced workload and the chance to get out of the rain a little earlier than their teammates.
Merlin Polzin: “We are fully focused”
The aim of Tuesday’s training session was to have the players work more with the ball at their feet. Divided into several groups, the players worked on various different drills, before opening up into matches on different pitch sizes. The Rothosen look to be preparing intensely for their upcoming clash against VfL Wolfsburg. “We absolutely want to win at home, but we also know that if we drop our level just two percent from the Leipzig game, we will lose. We need to prepare with intensity, as we know the challenge that awaits us on Saturday. We are fully focused and keen to put in another good performance in front of a home crowd,” said Polzin, outlining his side’s plan for matchday 8. One thing the Rothosen can always rely on is the support from the fans, as the Volksparkstadion is once again expected to be full this Saturday. Whether it’s a thrilling weekend Bundesliga clash or a cold, damp midweek training session, the players know that the fans will always be right behind them.