Team

Katterbach: “I have made good use of my time with the U21s”

Left-back Noah Katterbach discussed the past few weeks in a media round, speaking on his temporary spell with the U21s, what he learnt from the experience, and his recent return to first-team training.

Defender Noah Katterbach can already look back on a rollercoaster of a year in 2025. The 24-year-old suffered an ACL tear in his right knee on 10th January during the winter training camp, a particularly bitter pill to swallow after having sustained the same type of injury in his left knee during his time as a loan player at Hamburger SV. The full-back, who made a permanent switch to HSV from 1. FC Köln between the successive injuries at the start of 2024, proved his mettle and recovered from the injury in record time – it took him just 179 days, or just under six months, to make a return to team training in July and be ready to get stuck into the new Bundesliga season.

The chance to add to his tally of 40 Bundesliga appearances, however, has evaded Katterbach so far this season. He was only included in the matchday squad for one of the first four matchdays and was moved down to the second team towards the end of September as a result of misconduct on his part. On Monday, 13th October, a constructive conversation was held between him and the sporting leadership as well as the coaching staff at HSV, as a consequence of which the 24-year-old is set to rejoin the first team. “Noah found the situation of his significant injury and pre-season a difficult experience. He noted that he is back on the right track now, and we have also acted in his interests to prevent further injury. When you see that you’re not included in the squad or you’re not seeing any minutes on the pitch, it can lead to discontent. That is understandable,” said head coach Merlin Polzin, showing understanding for the left-back’s frustration whilst also stressing: “Our responsibility to deliver success for the team is nevertheless focused on ensuring that everything is moving in the right direction. That was not 100% the case before.”

Katterbach himself also expressed his thoughts today in the media round: “I gave it everything I had after my injury to make it back onto the pitch in good time. I was over the moon after having recovered, and wanted to get up and running right away. That’s why I was so deflated to see that I was no longer being selected in the squad. After that, I developed a bad attitude, which was seemingly impossible to ignore for those around me. I understand that it was not the right way to go about things.” It was also out of character for the former Germany U21s player, as he went on to explain: “That’s not who I am. I usually approach this kind of thing with a positive attitude. If you look at my record so far at HSV, I’ve faced a few obstacles and always reacted to them positively. That’s why I embraced the decision that came out of my discussions with the club and made good use of my time with the U21s, in order to develop further as a person and to take the time to reflect.”

That attitude has served Katterbach well over the last few weeks. Katterbach threw himself into his role with the U21s, starting three games and recently providing an assist in the 6-2 derby victory over Werder Bremen II. “The time there has done me a lot of good. The boys were incredible, we made good progress as a team, and for me it was so important to get some match experience back out on the pitch. I made the best out of the situation and so I feel I’m coming off of it stronger than before.”

Now Katterbach is hoping to get back into the thick of it with the first team. “There’s been nothing to suggest that he can’t go back to being a normal member of our first team,” said Polzin in summary, opening the door to a return for the left-back. He now has exactly the same opportunity as everyone else in the team: prove to the coach on the training pitch that it’s worth selecting him for the matchday squad. “I’m going to try as hard as I can to do just that. Back when I tore my ACL, I said that I wanted to focus on myself and what I could personally impact. That’s why I’m somewhat disappointed with my own behaviour looking back. I want to make positive progress going forward.” Noah Katterbach now wants to end his tumultuous 2025 with positive experiences, hopefully adding a successful return to the first team to his growing list of comebacks.