“We want to come up with a perfect end to the season”

Hamburger SV are preparing to host SC Freiburg this weekend, with the Bundesliga matchday 33 clash scheduled to kick off at 15:30 CEST on Sunday. The match will be HSV’s final home game of the season, and is a perfect occasion to celebrate the club’s now confirmed survival in the top flight. In Freiburg, the Rothosen are set to face an opponent currently sitting seventh in the table and who booked their place in this year’s Europa League final with a win on Thursday night, surely one of the greatest achievements in the history of the club. HSV head coach Merlin Polzin touched on this and much more in his press conference on Friday afternoon. He went into detail on...

…the squad situation: “Everyone will travel to Leverkusen. That means the entire staff and squad will make the trip so that we can approach this final match together once again. With Robert Glatzel and Nicolas Capaldo, we’ll wait and see after tomorrow’s final training session. Neither of them have trained with the team yet this week. In Capaldo’s case, it’s nothing serious and he’ll train with the squad tomorrow. He’s a hugely important player for us and I hope he can get the chance to produce another strong performance on Saturday. If he’s on the pitch, I’m convinced he’ll do exactly that, and maybe make the case for himself personally as well - I sincerely hope he can find a place in Argentina’s World Cup squad.”

…Miro Muheim’s chances of featuring: “Miro has completed the full team session yesterday and he’ll get some minutes. He and the medical department have done a really good job there. He won’t be able to play 90 minutes, but there’s a good chance we’ll see him in the second half. It’s an important signal not only for everyone around HSV to see that he’s fully fit and available again, but also for one or two colleagues further south of us.”

…the goal for the final game of the season: “We want to come up with a perfect end to the season for ourselves and for our fans – with three straight wins. That’s our aim. We’ve prepared seriously and thoroughly for the match. We want to approach the game by giving absolutely everything we still have left in us after such a demanding season.”

…his approach to farewells: “There’s a very strong connection between the coaching staff and the players. For us, it’s all about helping them develop in the best possible way. It’s completely normal that there will be lads who won’t return for next season. But there’s no sense of melancholy about it. Nowadays, there are countless ways to stay in touch, and we absolutely will. That’s why we’ll keep the farewells low-key and natural. To the lads heading off to the World Cup, I wish them the very best for the tournament.”

…his thinking around the team’s playing style next season: “It’s our responsibility to keep developing in this area, to take the next steps and work on winning more and more games in the Bundesliga. We have a clear idea and a clear direction for how we want to approach next season. But that won’t happen overnight. At the same time, the path that kept us in the Bundesliga – one we fully believe in – will remain the foundation. We won’t make the mistake of thinking next season will suddenly be about completely different things. We want to keep improving step by step.”

…new board member for sport Kathleen Krüger: “We’ve spoken, and it was a very positive conversation. We’re on the same wavelength when it comes to HSV and the development of the club. I’m delighted the club has found a solution that can hopefully help all of us move forward. I can hardly wait for us to get started together after the summer break. I’m really pleased that she’ll become part of our HSV and hopefully help us continue the positive journey we’ve been on over the last two seasons.”