According to Kicker, Hamburger SV manager Merlin Polzin has confirmed that he has reached a basic agreement on a new contract with his coaching staff, with formal signing expected to be completed soon. At the same time, he made clear that the club will no longer pursue a center-back from the free-agent market.

The 35-year-old Polzin stated: "We have indeed reached a basic agreement. The club will announce it formally soon. The contract hasn't been signed yet, but we are on a very good path, and there is great trust between us."

He also expressed his pleasure that assistant coach Loïc Favé will remain with the team. Favé had previously attracted interest from Hannover 96. Polzin said: "Of course, I am very pleased that Loïc will continue to work for Hamburger SV. His work is excellent and very important to me."

Rather than focusing on his own future, Polzin is currently more concerned about the team's poor start to the league campaign. Hamburger SV has lost all three opening matches, with zero points, zero goals scored, and 12 goals conceded. Defensive stability has therefore become the team's most pressing issue.

For this Saturday's match against Cologne, Sebastian Bornhau will continue to miss out due to a muscle injury. "He is recovering, but he won't be fit for this weekend," Polzin said.

Polzin acknowledged that the team's overall structure has shifted somewhat following the arrivals of Zackaria El Ouaadi and David Forza. "Sometimes our positioning is not right, and currently the different parts are not yet fully coordinated."

However, he also emphasized that Hamburger SV's recent two 0-5 defeats cannot be generalized. They previously lost 0-5 at home to Mainz, and then suffered another 0-5 loss away at Leipzig. Polzin stated: "The analysis matches our first impression from the sideline. In fact, we played some very good phases. The Mainz match was disastrous, but I won't let anyone say the Leipzig performance was worthless either."

Regarding the current unstable three-center-back system, Polzin explicitly ruled out the possibility of acquiring a free-agent to strengthen the center-back position. "No, we won't do that. It's true that we're not yet fully coordinated and not sufficiently stable, but I have complete confidence in our current players."

According to plan, Mario Vuskovic will regain eligibility on Matchday 10 against Werder Bremen on November 22. Until then, Hamburger SV will manage with their existing defensive line. For this weekend's match against Cologne, recently returned Walfred Omari is expected to get more opportunity than young player Shakir Nandji.

When discussing Vuskovic, who will soon complete a roughly four-year ban from competitive play, Polzin did not predict whether the player could immediately provide help at competitive level, but offered positive comments about the player's current condition.

He said: "Of course, Mario still lacks match fitness, but his physical condition is very good, very strong, and I feel very positive about it. His presence and energy in the dressing room are impressive. He has a very strong personality and brings a lot to everything he does."

"He is not a savior, and I know he hasn't played competitive football for a long time, but his presence alone can bring something to our team."

AI翻訳。

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