“Show the right character on the day”

Hamburger SV are heading down south this weekend, with a 15:30 CET kick-off at 1. FC Heidenheim scheduled for Saturday. It will be the third meeting between the sides this current campaign, having already faced off in Hamburg on matchday 4 of the Bundesliga season (2-1), as well as away at the Voith Arena in October for a second-round DFB-Pokal clash (0-1). The two clubs met regularly during a number of recent years spent together in the second division, and so HSV head coach Merlin Polzin was quick to describe the upcoming game as a “tough challenge” on Bundesliga matchday 21 against a particularly aggressive and combative team.

The 35-year-old Hamburg native spoke in detail about...

...the squad: Alexander Rössing-Lelesiit is out, as we all know. He’s working through the first phase of his rehabilitation program in Norway. It’ll do the lad some good to be able to spend a few days at home. Even with the strong performances he’s put in and the incredible development he’s shown, it’s important that we don’t forget how young he is. Fabio Balde is unavailable for this weekend’s game, as he’s still training individually. Jean-Luc Dompe won’t be with us, and neither will Nicolas Capaldo, as he’s serving a yellow-card suspension. Everybody else is match fit for Saturday. We’ll wait and see after tomorrow’s training session as to who looks most ready to be involved in Heidenheim.

...winter incomings: Everybody who’s come through the door has arrived with a huge smile on their face, and they all seem to be brimming with energy. In Otto Stange, we’ve got someone who doesn’t hide his love for the club. He’s in brilliant shape right now. The same goes for Philip Otele, who’s already shown glimpses of what he can offer us in this week’s training: a real cutting edge going forward as well as a brilliant ability to create chances for his teammates, or indeed get in the right positions himself. He’s had a lot of match experience recently, and so he’s absolutely ready to be involved this weekend. Albert Grönbaek is coming off the back of one or two injuries. We’ve been increasing his workload in training bit by bit as the week’s gone on, so that the jump isn’t too much for him. That’s been working well, and he’s been fully integrated into team training. The main things I’ve picked up on with him are a real sense of excitement he shows when he gets on the ball, the way he’s constantly opening up pockets of space, and how he can really invigorate the team’s attack. I’m really pleased with how this group has come together. I know how much work Claus and his team have put into the squad planning.

„I expect Heidenheim to play the way Frank always wants to: as aggressive as possible, man-to-man and strong in the tackle“ 

...Saturday’s opponent: Head coach Frank Schmidt is an absolute legend of the game in my eyes, as he has been for some time, when you stop and think about how many years he’s been doing this job and to what level he’s taken Heidenheim. We’ve already played them twice so far this season. In the reverse fixture, it was a fairly different game, as we were still in the very early stages of our development as a side. We didn’t look good off the ball, but with a few strong moments, we were able to secure the three points. In the cup, it was a different story. I think we put in a very focused and composed performance. We allowed them little to no chance of getting anything out of us and deserved to make it through to the next round. I expect Heidenheim to play the way Frank always wants to: as aggressive as possible, man-to-man and strong in the tackle. They’re a tight-knit group that have developed that togetherness over many years. This team will be highly motivated, and they’ll have extra fuel to add to the fire after already losing to us in the league and the cup this season. We know that it’ll be a different kind of challenge from the recent game against FC Bayern, but it absolutely won’t be an easier one. For us, it’ll come down to showing the right character on the day in order to take control of the game. We need to be at our maximum level if we want to pick up three points on Saturday.

...the difference between HSV’s record home and away: We want to establish Hamburger SV in this league, and we need points in order to do that. Whether we do this at home or on the road isn’t of major concern to me. We’ve already won two games away from home in the Pokal this year. There's nothing concrete stopping this team from winning away from home. Of course, we want to give everything we’ve got to win this game, regardless of whatever odds you draw from our record so far this season.