Interview with Hamburger SV

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Hello and warm welcome to the latest edition of our newsletter! In this issue, the following topics take center stage:

1. ⚽Interview with Merlin Polzin and Loïc Favé

2. 👉3 New Exercises!

3. ✒️Participate in the interviews!

⚽Interview

Dear Community,

We are excited to share an exclusive interview with you featuring Merlin Polzin and Loïc Favé, the assistant coaches of the Hamburger SV professional team. We had the opportunity to ask them five intriguing questions, and we're thrilled to now share their insightful perspectives with you. A heartfelt thank you to Hamburger SV for their valuable time and gracious support.

1. How should a comprehensive post-match analysis look like, which adequately addresses both victories and defeats?

Merlin Polzin: Firstly, it's crucial to evaluate and compare our pre-game objectives with the actual outcomes. Secondly, regardless of the result, we need to analyze our overarching game plan in key phases like build-up play, pressing, and defensive organization, while also assessing individual player performances within these aspects.

2. How important is it for a coach to develop their own understanding of the game, and what factors limit the implementation of their own game plan?

Loïc Favé: It's always crucial for a coach to have a clear vision of how they want their team to operate in specific phases of the game. However, the starting point always lies with the team itself and the players available. Trying to force a particular style of play onto a team when it doesn't suit the current players is counterproductive. Nevertheless, it's essential to establish fundamental principles that the team can adhere to, such as a high pressing strategy or emphasis on winning back possession.

3. How important is nonverbal communication for a coach?

Merlin Polzin: Nonverbal communication is incredibly important. When working with players and people in general, a lot is conveyed through proximity. Players interpret your gestures and facial expressions on match days or during training sessions and react accordingly. As a coach, this allows you to influence a lot of aspects of the game.

4. How do you tackle the challenge of training players with varying skill levels while simultaneously strengthening the team as a unit?

Loïc Favé: One doesn't exclude the other. To develop a team, you must always start with the individual player and their level of ability. Every player is different, and through coaching, you can adjust how intensely you train each player in specific areas. Particularly in youth development, organizing drills where players of similar skill levels work together allows us to address this challenge effectively.

5. How significant is mental training in your player preparation, and how can amateur coaches effectively incorporate it into their training sessions?

Merlin Polzin: It's essential to start with the individual, as every person and player has accumulated different experiences. Therefore, mental training plays a significant role. It's not just about grand concepts; even small details matter. Setting measurable goals and visualizing them, reflecting on and questioning things are crucial. Even in amateur settings, there's much influence to be had, primarily through communication and interpersonal relationships.

Loïc Favé: It's crucial not to treat mental training as a separate entity. Every action in football has a mental component - players always have thoughts about the previous or upcoming actions. Therefore, even in youth development, it's important to integrate mental training early on.

👉3 New Exercises!

3 new exercises are out. Get unlimited access to all existing and upcoming videos with our monthly or yearly subscription.

Exercises:

✒️Participate in the interviews!

We've dedicated a lot of time to bring you more exciting interviews with professional clubs. In this endeavor, we want to actively involve you by collecting your questions. Help shape the interviews by submitting your questions. We will select the top five questions and forward them to the professional clubs.

Send your questions here: [email protected]

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