Matters could have hardly gone better in Hamburg on Sunday evening. Merlin Polzin’s Hamburger SV shocked visiting Mainz 05 with a 4-0 pummeling to secure their second Bundesliga victory of the season. Polzin’s new 3-4-3 functioned perfectly even in the absence of the suspended Fabio Vieira. The Arsenal loanee’s former Gunner teammate Albert Sambi Lokonga stepped in to make his Bundesliga starting debut.
Within six minutes, Lokonga had his first Bundesliga goal. Lokonga’s fellow new summer acquisition Rayan Philippe added a brace. Polzin’s back-three functioned perfectly fine without the injured Warmed Omari. Former midfield starter Nicolas Capaldo slid into the back three to take Omari’s place and registered an assist. Though he didn’t get his sought after goal, striker Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer also added an assist.
In general, the victory provided Polzin with a chance to revel in the “footballing automatisms” his tactics and coaching have put into place. The manner in which the constellation continued to click despite some personnel shifts was absolutely a testament to the stable system Polzin and his staff have implemented. Polzin made certain to make reference to this whilst taking his “victory lap” at the post-match press conference.
“I’m very optimistic heading forward as I see that we’re all pulling in the same direction,” Polzin said. “We’re progressing and one can see that in our play with the ball and against the ball. We’ve more steps to take, but one senses – and this is vitally important – that the team is finding out who they are and the connections are getting better.
“The players need to feel it on the pitch,” Polzin continued. “And that’s not something one can get from a PowerPoint presentation or a motivational speech from the coach. That’s something one gets when one trains a lot and spends a lot of time with others. When one doesn’t do it just for oneself, but for one’s teammates and colleagues who are working alongside you left and right.“
