“Brimming with power, energy and conviction”

Hamburg has been slowly brewing to football-fever pitch this week, as the city’s infamous derby fast approaches. The fiery clash will kick off proceedings on matchday 19 of this Bundesliga season, with the iconic rivalry between Hamburger SV and FC St. Pauli ready to be played out for the 113th time on Friday night at 20:30 CET. As the only city derby in the current top-flight campaign, eyes all over Germany will be glued to the battle, not just those watching the action intensely across Hamburg and her suburbs. HSV head coach Merlin Polzin discussed the emotions tied to the fixture and his own plan for the game in his press conference on Wednesday (21st January).

The Hamburg native spoke in detail about...

...the squad: It’s a relatively short one today. Yussuf Poulsen is still out, as we expected, and he’s still working through his rehab. Gui Ramos is also unavailable, as he’s currently involved in discussions regarding his future. Everybody else is fit and ready to be involved.

...approaching the tie: We’re aware of our record at the Millerntor over recent years, which has not been good enough in terms of results and sometimes in terms of performances too. For us, though, it’s not about correcting things from the past, rather we’re focusing on the here and now and what’s happening today. We’ve been training really well this week, preparing for what awaits us on Friday night. There’s been a really clear understanding between us as a coaching team and the players about how we want to play and what to be aware of, what to look out for in the game. We’re brimming with power, energy and above all a conviction that, together with strong HSV support at the ground, we can make Friday night a really special experience. Right now, though, I’m not interested in slogans and chants directed at others. We don’t want to talk, we want to deliver. That’s the clear message to the boys, and that’s where our conviction lies.

"For us, it’ll all hang on using those emotions to give us that extra fire" 

...the meaning of the derby: City derbies are always something special. They aren’t all that common in Germany, in this season we’ve got the only one here in Hamburg. That’s really something special. As well as that, there’s always the situation in the table and now a reverse fixture to think about. All that makes for more than enough motivation. For us, it’ll all hang on using those emotions to give us that extra fire and to help us along the way. At the same time, it’s important that we keep a cool head and don’t allow ourselves to become fixated on things we can’t control. It’s a game that everyone really looks forward to. We can be proud of the fact that we have two top-flight sides here in Hamburg. Everyone knows that it’s derby time on Friday night, whether or not you support one of the two teams.

...HSV’s development: We’ve clearly come a long way as a group. That was clear to see in the game against Gladbach, especially in contrast to the reverse fixture. We also expect the progress we've made to be on display this Friday night, not least because we couldn’t put out the same team in the first derby that we’ll see this time, after the upheaval of the summer and all the comings and goings. We’re a different HSV this time.