Interview

Polzin: “It’s about something greater than the three points”

In an interview with HSV.de, head coach Merlin Polzin offers a personal insight into his day-to-day work as a coach, his values and his leadership style, and reveals what drives him in the job.

Merlin Polzin is very much in his element at the moment. Shorts, T-shirt, black football boots and whistle in hand, with his instructions ringing out across the training pitches and through the Ötztal. The HSV head coach is working with his squad with meticulous attention to detail, dedication and passion as they look to build on a successful first Bundesliga season following seven years in the second tier.

Amid the many demanding sessions at the training camp, the 35-year-old took time out for an in-depth interview with HSV.de, with the focus firmly on the coach. What drives him? How does he approach the job? And which values matter most to him?

HSV.de: Merlin, pre-season training is in full swing at the moment. How does the the scent of pitch make you feel after the summer break? What’s that like for you?

Merlin Polzin: The scent definitely evokes a feeling of excitement for me. It brings a smile to your face, because you know that you’re able to do what you love again: namely, being on the training pitch and doing what you love, together with the lads and the other coaches.

Does the start of pre-season make you reflect on these things more than usual?

This is now my tenth consecutive season as a head or assistant coach. It’s pretty normal now, to the point where it’s become a bit of a routine. At the same time, regardless of where we’re at in the season, there are always moments where you can sort of take a step back and let it sink it, that you’re watching the team train in front of the Volksparkstadion. That’s something very special. That then makes me think of how great our stadium is and everything that’s happened here already. Back in the day, I used to come here to watch training and now I’m standing on the pitch and there’s no one coming to shoo me away.

What would you designate as your place of work? The training ground, the dugout or your office?

Good question, maybe a bit of everything. There’s obviously the work we do on the pitch, but my office is also a very important place as that’s where I communicate and work together with the rest of my staff. Then there’s the individual meeting rooms, where we’re able to meet with the lads as a group or one-on-one. In the end, you could probably do this job from anywhere. It’s less about where you are, and more about what you do with your time and what your priorities are.

What items do you always have on you when you’re on the training pitch?

A whistle, a stopwatch, pen and paper. Occasionally I’ve got some throat lozenges with me as well. These are things I can’t do without and I always have them in my jacket or trousers.

Coaching is both a job and a passion. What is it that you find so fulfilling about it?

The fact that, together with the coaching staff and the team, you’re able to establish a set of standards and values through the work you do every day. Watching a bunch of individuals come together as a group, both on and off the pitch, is something very fulfilling. Working towards a shared goal and having something that you’re playing for is ultimately bigger than three points. If I think back to last season, our aim was to create moments that we’d like to frame and look back on forever – so that’s what motivates and fulfils us.

If you look back on your younger self, what would you say has changed the most?

I’ve become a lot more calm, especially when it comes to keeping my emotions under control and analysing certain actions. I’m observing things more from the outside, or from above. The decisions that I’m making now have much more far-reaching consequences, and aren’t as short-term as they might have been previously. The experiences that I’ve been able to gain have given me both peace of mind and the strength to make good decisions for the future.

If we zero in on your daily duties in training, what’s the biggest challenge that you have to deal with?

The biggest challenges are continuing to develop the team, managing a group of 26 outfield players – only ten of which can start on the weekend – and maintaining an overview of the ever-changing landscape of injuries, suspensions or players’ individual situations. At the same time, you also have to lead a staff of 20 to 25 people and make sure that you’re holding them accountable. You have to make sure that everyone stays focused in both good and bad times.

That’s all probably more important than the tactical side.

Yes, definitely. The tactics are ultimately also dependent on the quality of the players. If we take Fabio Vieira as an example, he would make excellent decisions all on his own. We didn’t need to help him out much. That also shows the quality of the coaching staff, to know not to interfere too much. On the other hand, there are moments and players that need to be kept in check more.

As a head coach, you sometimes have to have difficult conversations and make unpopular decisions. How do you deal with this side of the job? After all, it’s impossible to keep all 26 players happy.

No, the exact opposite! That’s an area where I’ve been able to develop myself further, because I had a chance to do so. At some point, I had to hold my first conversations and you quickly realise that it’s always different. One person will need more direct feedback, while the other needs to be left alone in order to first go over things by themself. Having a sense for everyone’s differences is one of the most intriguing things about being a coach for me. It’s something I really enjoy about my job. Above all, I value loyalty and dedication to the team – ‘we’ always comes before ‘me.’ It’s important to me that people are open and honest. I’m by no means perfect and I’m not saying that we, as a coaching staff, always have everything under control, but everyone should know where they stand.

A lot of that is likely down to your personality, but at the same time, it’s an area that you try to grow in. How did you manage to develop such a clear sense of what you want?

I spent four days alone in Madrid at the end of the summer break to write notes and think about what I want to achieve as a person and as a coach, and what I want to achieve with the team. It’s good for me to take time for myself in order to go over things. I really enjoy reading biographies and non-fiction books about leadership. I’m able to draw a lot of inspiration from other sports, such as American football or basketball. Most recently, I read The Art of Winning by Bill Belichick, and Phil Jackson and Coach K are also role models for me. Culture and mindset are two important topics to me. In Loic (Ed. note: Fave), I also have partner at my side who shares these values. We work extremely well together and we each have our area of responsibility, which helps us maintain the strength to tackle other areas.

Let’s talk about pre-season a bit. How far along are you in planning your approach for the upcoming season?

Loic, Richi and Max from my coaching staff have done a great job analysing and drawing conclusions from last season. We went over every training session, every game and every single phase of play with a different set of criteria. From there, we came up with a clear plan of what we wanted our squad and our style of play to look like. We realised what went well and which things we want to continue to develop. We were strong during the phases we controlled – good attacking, good defending – but in the moments in between, we were too slow on the uptake and, for various reasons, couldn’t maintain the intensity. The framework is in place. The team has been aware of this since day one of pre-season.

How difficult is to pass that on to the team?

We’re only been working with them for two weeks. You can see that the lads need the odd reminder here and there after being away on holiday. At the same time, you can also feel that we’re building something out on the training pitch. The framework is there. It’s about bringing in new elements and developing what we already have. We’re able to refer to a far different standard than we could last year, when it felt like we were starting from scratch.

Last question: the session on Wednesday looked like it was the peak of what you can push the team to at this moment. What’s it like for you to see how the lads are working at the moment?

I was looking forward to this day of training camp the most. Based on our data, it was our most intense session since we took charge in November 2024. The lads were fully on board. They know that HSV 2.0 should be defined by different attributes than last season. They handled it well. However, I also told them that that’s the standard we’ve set and that it’s nothing out of the ordinary. That’s what we demand of ourselves and each other. We won’t accept anything less.