"Invest in the team you want to be"

A total of 29 players have travelled to the camp, including Miro Muheim, who is back with the team following his World Cup campaign with Switzerland and subsequent holiday. After refuelling and settling into their rooms, the Rothosen headed out shortly after 16:00 for the first of seven training sessions during the camp. Temperatures of 33 degrees Celsius in Herzogenaurach were not the only reason the players worked up a sweat during the session of more than 90 minutes, with head coach Merlin Polzin and his staff also putting them through a demanding programme. The Hamburg-born coach reminded the squad beforehand of the high standards to which everyone has committed. “Our guiding principle is: Invest in the team you want to be. In other words, put everything into becoming the team we want to be. During this camp at the Home Ground, we want to focus solely on the things that matter to us,” Polzin explained.

The warm-up was followed by rondos, which offered an early indication of what was to come that afternoon: focus, precision and intensity. The players zipped the ball around during a series of passing drills, among other exercises. Team Blue and Team Red then played out a draw in an 11-a-side game, with Albert Sambi Lokonga operating as a neutral 12th man and providing an additional passing option for both teams. Martin Adeline produced an acrobatic effort but saw his scissor kick kept out by U21 goalkeeper Bennet Schmidt. The Rothosen finished by working on set pieces, while Polzin also spent some time speaking to new captain Nicolai Remberg away from the main group.

“This week will be another step up in intensity because we are moving further along in pre-season. We are raising the level in training again. We want to have a good week and then put the things we have worked on here into practice in the friendly against Lille,” said Polzin, looking ahead to next Saturday (8th August), when the Rothosen face the French top-flight side at the Volksparkstadion at 15:00. 

Before then, however, several demanding days lie ahead for the HSV party at the adidas Home Ground. “The complex is designed so that everything is close together and there are plenty of opportunities for people to spend time with one another. The training pitches are right outside the door. The conditions here are excellent, and the weather is on our side as well,” said Polzin.

Several players remained out on the pitch long after the session had finished and evening had already set in. Yussuf Poulsen, Albert Grønbæk and Fabio Balde played a two-touch game, while youngsters Louis Lemke and Thierry Sedlatschek took on two members of staff at football tennis. That brought the day to an end for the Rothosen, who are stepping up their preparations three weeks before their first competitive game of the season, away to SC Verl in the DFB-Pokal on 24th August.