"Refinement is good": This is how Walter trains in Steiermark

When Tim Walter was asked about his goals for the summer preparation before the departure for the training camp, the HSV coach perked up at the word "refinement". "That's good," the 46-year-old replied and then elaborated on the optimisations he would like to make to the system that is already working well. "Our construct is designed to be wide and get better at everything. Although we had the best defence, we can still make optimisations in that area," the coach explained - and is now following up with action in Styria. In almost every training session since their arrival, they have been working on aggressive counter-pressing. This means that after losing the ball, the team has to immediately win back the ball without taking a breather. In small fields, the intensity is often very close to the maximum. 

But interesting accents are also set in the offensive area. Sometimes the focus is on playing through the wings, which makes perfect sense in view of the 4-3-3 system practised very often last season. In order to remain as variable as possible in attacking play, the coach also repeatedly calls for vertical play through the centre, which is of elementary importance in a 4-4-2 basic order (especially with a midfield diamond). No matter in which areas work is done, an invaluable advantage lies in the continuity of the cooperation: "The progress doesn't come overnight, that's why I'm glad that I'm still here and can build on the foundation that has been laid," Walter said in this regard. In Styria, the coach is now continuing to feed this good foundation with hard work.