As of: February 12, 2024, 4:24 p.m
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Jonas Boldt, Hamburg SV sports director, drives his car into the parking lot in front of the Volksparkstadion.
© Rabea Gruber/dpa
Coach Tim Walter has to leave Hamburger SV.
But he also leaves traces.
Now his previous assistant Merlin Polzin has - for the time being - the chance to complete the promotion project.
Hamburg - With serious faces and visibly embarrassed, the Hamburger SV players went to the training ground right next to the Volksparkstadion.
There, on Monday afternoon, their previous assistant coach, Merlin Polzin, faced them in a new role.
After the second division football team separated from the previous head coach Tim Walter, the 33-year-old will initially look after the third-place team and will be in charge on the bench in the game at Hansa Rostock on Saturday (1 p.m./Sky).
“He definitely gets the chance, and with full conviction,” said sports director Jonas Boldt at a press conference shortly before the training session.
Polzin has helped shape a lot in the last three and a half years.
“Hence the belief that we have great coaching talent here.”
According to Boldt, the fact that he has just acquired the pro license required for the Bundesliga does not pose a problem with the regulations. The sports director also admitted that other coaches are also being spoken to at the same time - names such as Steffen Baumgart and Raphael Wicky are being discussed.
“We don’t want to commit to any time frame,” said the 42-year-old.
“Of course we will consider what could be medium and long-term solutions.
Merlin Polzin will definitely play a role in this.”
In the morning, the club announced that they were separating from Walter after more than two and a half years.
In addition to the 48-year-old, his assistants Julian Hübner and Filip Tapalovic were also released with immediate effect.
“Releasing Tim is a decision that was definitely not easy for me,” said Boldt.
“But recently we noticed that the stability and conviction had been lost to some extent.
We therefore feel compelled to act.”
The decision was not unexpected.
Three days earlier, the sports director had already indirectly moved away from Walter after the wild 3:4 in the northern duel against Hannover 96.
The management no longer trusted the trainer to successfully implement the promotion project.
Walter had been informed personally by Boldt.
The coach was disappointed with the decision.
“I would have liked to continue to contribute to achieving our season goal together,” he said in the HSV statement.
“I would like to thank HSV, the office and the extraordinary fans for more than two and a half years of great cooperation.”
His previous assistant Polzin took on the new task with “shining eyes and a completely clear yes,” Boldt reported.
Polzin immediately conveyed an idea of “how we should tackle things here now.”
Daniel Thioune's long-time assistant and former VfL Osnabrück youth coach is supported by Loic Favé, who was hired as sporting director of the youth performance center during the winter break.
In addition, Sven Höh remains goalkeeping coach.
The hope is that Polzin or possibly another head coach will accomplish what Walter has been unable to do since 2021.
In the last two seasons he and the team got stuck in relegation.
This season, regular downward swings repeatedly put the project in danger.
The six-time German champion HSV has already failed five times in its attempt to return to the first division.
Before Christmas, Walter was already in question.
After an analysis of the first half of the season by sports director Boldt and sports director Claus Costa, he was once again given a clear mandate to stabilize his team defensively.
But eight goals conceded in the first two home games of the new year against Karlsruher SC (3:4) and Hannover 96 (3:4) made it clear that the team had regressed rather than made progress.
After discussions with the players, Boldt saw growing uncertainty.
Even though Walter didn't achieve the big goal of promotion, he achieved a lot in the two and a half years.
He identified with the club, the city, the fans.
For him, the position at HSV was, above all, a matter of the heart.
“He lived the club with all his heart and soul,” said Boldt.
Walter also passed this on to his players.
Walter formed a unit with them.
The fans accepted Walter as their coach and the players as their players.
On social media, many supporters expressed their understanding of the club's decision and at the same time thanked Walter.
The Volksparkstadion was and is regularly sold out with 57,000 spectators.
This ensured that the club is currently in a better financial position.
The spectators were thrilled by Walter's style of play, which provided a spectacle with an offensive that was outstanding by second division standards, including players such as goal scorer Robert Glatzel and Laszlo Benes.
But at the same time, the fans could also despair at the sometimes naive defensive work of the players.
But Walter didn't abandon his style.
As third in the table, HSV is still in the middle of the promotion race.
More stability and less spectacle - that is now the task and opportunity for Polzin.
dpa