Interview

“We’ve clearly defined who we are”

HSV head coach Merlin Polzin discusses the training camp in Spain, his impressions of the latest signings, the current squad situation and the goalkeepers.

Hamburger SV are in the final phase of their six-week pre-season programme ahead of the 2025/26 Bundesliga campaign. Part of that schedule has been the ongoing training camp on the Balearic island of Mallorca, where the Rothosen have been focusing both on their playing principles and on building team spirit. Before tonight’s friendly against RCD Mallorca (kick-off 20:00 CEST) – the final test and dress rehearsal before competitive action begins – Polzin spoke to hsv.de about his impressions from the camp, the squad’s progress and his thoughts on the squad.

The Rothosen have grown closer together as a group in Spain.

hsv.de: Merlin, you said before the training camp that you wanted the team to grow even closer. How well do you feel that’s been achieved over the past few days, both on and off the pitch?

Merlin Polzin: We’ve made really good use of our time here in Mallorca to take the next steps as a team. On the pitch, we’ve been able to work in depth on the key aspects of our game, while off it we’ve had important conversations about who we are, what we want and what we stand for. We’ve only had two training sessions here, but they’ve been very intensive – focusing on getting in behind, defending behind our back line and reinforcing what we want to do from counter-attacks. Off the pitch, we’ve done a lot in both group and individual talks to clearly define our identity.

How well have the players taken those ideas on board?

We’re very pleased with the work put in, both on and off the pitch. For us it’s about driving the process forward and creating a culture that thrives on hard work and improvement. Developing that mindset and attitude has been front and centre here.

New signing Giorgi Gocholeishvili has made a good first impression.

Two new signings, Warmed Omari and Giorgi Gocholeishvili, have joined the squad during the camp. What’s your first impression of them?

Both have made a very positive start. For me, it’s important how new players are received by the group, and Warmed and Giorgi have been given a warm welcome here. They’ve integrated quickly and already shown glimpses of their quality in training. We’re confident they can strengthen us in the Bundesliga. Giorgi is already in good physical condition, so he’ll be getting more minutes on the pitch straight away.

Yussuf Poulsen, Immanuel Pherai and Bakery Jatta are all working on their fitness, while Jean-Luc Dompé is in rehabilitation training. How are they progressing, and when do you expect them back in full training?

They’re all making progress thanks to our medical team, but we have to take things day by day as they’re all at a different stage. I can’t and won’t put a specific date on when they’ll be back in full training. What I can say is that we’re doing everything we can to have them ready for the start of the league season – especially Yussi and Jean-Luc. For Baka and Manu, it’s likely to take a bit longer, but they’re moving in the right direction too.

New signing Daniel Peretz and Daniel Heuer Fernandes are competing for the number 1 shirt.

Tonight’s friendly against Mallorca will be your last before the season starts. How close are you to knowing your starting XI?

Against Mallorca we’ll be sharing out the minutes less evenly than in recent friendlies, so some players who are currently first choice in their positions will get more game time. That said, competition is all about pushing each other to the limit, and that’s what the players are doing every day in training. I’m glad to have decisions to make, because those decisions push us all forward and raise our level.

What about the goalkeeper position?

Wherever there’s a close contest between two players, we’ll share out the minutes so both can show what they can do. That’s the case in goal as well. We’ve agreed within the goalkeeping group that Daniel Peretz will play against RCD Mallorca and Daniel Heuer Fernandes will start in the DFB-Pokal in Pirmasens. Then we’ll assess both performances and make a decision.

What are you looking for from the match against Mallorca?

It’s the final match of pre-season, so I want us to put everything we’ve worked on into practice – both in and out of possession, and in how we present ourselves as a team on the pitch. We’ll play with maximum intensity and aim to give both ourselves and the fans a great feeling going into the season.

After the match you return to Hamburg for a final week of training before the DFB-Pokal tie away to FK 03 Pirmasens. Where do you feel the team is right now, and what still needs work?

We’ll analyse the Mallorca game to see where we stand and what we need to focus on next week. In our pre-season plan there are still many details to fine-tune, but our main goal now is to implement what we’ve worked on under competitive conditions. Against Freiburg, the first 70 minutes were already very good – and that’s the standard we want to meet again tonight against a strong opponent.