Newly formed HSV only partially ready for the Bundesliga
Bundesliga newcomers HSV haven't been convincing in their preseason, suffering five defeats in their friendlies. There's not much time left until the start of the season, but coach Merlin Polzin still has plenty of work to do.
Test matches are for testing and don't have much meaning—a phrase often heard in professional football and also heard at HSV during preseason. At the end of their short training camp in Mallorca, Hamburg lost their final test match against Real Mallorca 2-0.
A bitter setback and the fifth consecutive defeat in friendly matches for coach Merlin Polzin's team. HSV has only scored two goals in these five matches, but conceded 14. That's saying something.
Polzin: "We hoped we would have already made further progress""Of course, we hoped we'd already advanced," said Polzin after Saturday's defeat in Mallorca. HSV doesn't seem to be truly ready for the cup match in Pirmasens next Saturday (1 p.m., on the NDR Livecenter ) and the Bundesliga season opener one week later with an away game at Borussia Mönchengladbach.
That things aren't going smoothly for Hamburg was also evident at Real Mallorca's "Antonio Asensio" training ground. After a casual move, goalkeeper Daniel Heuer Fernandez yelled at defender Aboubaka Soumahoro: "Keep your focus, this can't be true, Abu." Not everything can be perfect in the newly formed defense; automatisms take time, which HSV no longer has.
Gocholeishvili an immediate reinforcementIn coach Polzin's preferred 5-2-3 formation, Giorgi Gocholeishvili, recently signed from Shakhtar Donetsk, will start on the right flank; he's an immediate addition. The 24-year-old right-back was a regular for FC Copenhagen last season and put in a decent performance against Real Mallorca. The second new signing, Warmed Omari, still needs some time to settle in. The center-back from Stades Rennes also moved to Hamburg on loan and isn't yet fit enough to play 90 minutes.
"Anyone who supports HSV wants new signings who are young and fast, have played 34 games in their last 16 matches, and are also internationals," Polzin explained. "But we have to put it into perspective: As a newly promoted team, we're now reaching for a higher tier, but it's still not as high as what other Bundesliga clubs are offering."
The face of the team changes radicallyWith the new signings of Jordan Torunarigha, Nicolas Capaldo, Nicolai Remberg, Rayan Philippe, Yussuf Poulsen, Daniel Peretz, Omari, and Gocholeishvili, the pressure on the existing squad is increasing. The face of the team is changing radically, and not many of the former promotion heroes will retain their starting places.
Interest in Vuskovic's brother, Schonlau on the benchAnd HSV remains active in the transfer market. The club is said to still be strongly interested in Luka Vuskovic. The brother of HSV pro Mario Vuskovic, who was banned for doping, is under contract with Tottenham Hotspur. In the best-case scenario, HSV could only loan the 18-year-old. There's not much activity in terms of departures at the moment. Polzin has held several player talks in Mallorca in order to further slim down the squad. The signs are particularly clear for Sebastian Schonlau. Last season's captain sat on the bench for 90 minutes of the friendly against Mallorca.
Peretz or Heuer Fernandes in the HSV goal?The battle for the number one spot is also still undecided. Challenger Peretz is in good form. However, Fernandez will start in goal for the cup match in Pirmasens, and only then will Polzin decide who will be the starting goalkeeper for the Bundesliga season.
Strange days for KönigsdörfferRansford Königsdörffer currently has the best chances in attack. It's been a strange few days for the 23-year-old, who played in Hamburg, Nice, and Palma. Königsdörffer was already out of the squad, but then passed the medical for French first division club OGC . He has barely missed a game due to injury at HSV in the past three years. "I don't know what they found. Maybe they were mistaken," said Königsdörffer.
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In any case, after his failed move to Nice, he immediately returned to full-throttle action at HSV. His teammates were happy to be back, he said. "I dream of playing in the Premier League someday. Now a great opportunity has arisen for me to play internationally abroad. But that wasn't meant to be; I have to accept that, and I'm coming to terms with it," the attacker said.
Poulsen is suffering from a strainHSV's priority now is to quickly extend the striker's contract; otherwise, the 23-year-old can leave on a free transfer at the end of the season. It won't be a good time for HSV, that much is clear. Königsdörffer is a regular in attack, and Robert Glatzel is also urgently needed, especially since new signing Yussuf Poulsen is taking a step back with a strain. Some HSV fans will likely miss Davie Selke, who is already scoring for his Turkish club, Basaksehir.
Polzin's plan: Be defensively stable and switch quicklyThe young coaching team, led by head coach Polzin and assistants Loic Fave and Richard Krohn, appeared very relaxed despite the daunting Bundesliga challenge in Mallorca. Even the poor results in friendly matches seem to have had no effect on that.
The trio has a plan: be defensively solid, switch quickly, and hope that a strength from their promotion season remains. HSV has always been dangerous from set pieces. The coaching trio's contracts have just been extended until 2027. "This has a lot to do with trust and conviction," said sporting director Stefan Kuntz, who accompanied the training camp in Mallorca throughout.
Polzin and his team still have a lot of work to do. HSV didn't impress in preseason, and there's not much time left until the Bundesliga kicks off.
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