Hamburg SV has announced a contract extension for its coaching staff, signaling stability ahead of the club’s return to the Bundesliga. The extension, which secures the commitment of head coach Merlin Polzin and his team, was revealed on Saturday. The previous agreements, set to expire at the end of the current season, have been prematurely extended for a further two years.
“We are taking this step with full conviction and our message to the coaching team and the wider environment is clear: we want to provide security and support for the challenges ahead” stated Sporting Director Stefan Kuntz. “A fierce competition awaits us in the Bundesliga and we will inevitably face crises. We are ready to tackle this challenge sustainably together with Merlin, Loic and Richard. We demonstrated last season that we form a strong unit capable of finding solutions even in the face of setbacks.
Hamburg native Polzin initially joined the club as an assistant coach in the 2020/21 season. He assumed the role of interim head coach during the recently concluded 2024/25 season, later receiving full confidence and an agreement to see out the remainder of the campaign.
The coaching team was further strengthened with the addition of co-coaches Loic Fave and Richard Krohn, both deeply rooted in the Hamburg football scene and previously involved in the club’s youth development program. The trio took over the reins of the team in November 2024, finding the side in eighth position and subsequently guided Hamburg SV back to the Bundesliga after seven years in the second division, achieving an average of 1.86 points per game.
“The HSV is a club known throughout my hometown. Since joining, it has been a great source of pride to wear the diamond on my chest” Polzin commented. “The past few months have been particularly intense, especially with the promotion to the Bundesliga. I speak on behalf of the entire coaching team, as we first-hand understand what this club means to the people and we are therefore very pleased to have been strengthened once again in this configuration by the management and governing bodies”.
