All information accurate as of August 19th, 2026.
Club Name: Hamburger SV
Founded: 1887
Stadium: Volksparkstadion – 57,000 capacity
Nickname: HSV, Die Rothosen (The Red Trousers)
Titles: Bundesliga x3, DFB-Pokal x3, DFL-Ligapokal x2, European Cup/UEFA Champions League x1, European Cup Winners’ Cup x1
Head Coach: Merlin Polzin
Captain: Nicolai Remberg
Mascot: Dino Hermann the T-Rex
Goal Song: Scooter – Always Hamburg
2025/26 Season: 13th
Opening Fixture: Dortmund (A)
In the last 10 years or so, German clubs have become known for platforming young coaches with limited backgrounds as professional players and proving that they can manage at the elite level – Thomas Tuchel was one of the first, then it was Julian Nagelsmann, and then Domenico Tedesco, Fabian Hürzeler and Ole Werner. Hamburger SV’s very own Merlin Polzin is the latest in this increasingly long line.
At just 35, Polzin is quickly making a name for himself. Having started as an assistant coach at VfL Osnabrück while studying in the city, Polzin found himself following head coach Daniel Thioune to HSV. With Thioune now head coach at eternal rivals Werder Bremen, the story adds some extra spice to the Nordderby this season. Polzin became permanent head coach for the first time in his career in November 2024, after Steffen Baumgart was sacked, turning the club’s season around to achieve promotion in 2nd place after seven years away from the top flight.
Having proudly been the only club to have featured in every season of the Bundesliga until that relegation in 2018, the club’s return was of such huge importance to the fans and to the Bundesliga in general.
Polzin is extremely analytical and keen on fine details; he even records his own team talks and listens back after to avoid repetition. Usually setting his team up in a 3-4-3, which really is the flavour of the day in Germany, HSV’s gameplan is usually to crowd the centre to win the ball back and trust themselves to defend crosses from wide areas provided opponents can work the ball out there.
Let’s start with the outgoings, as they are much more significant than the new acquisitions. Hamburg’s two best players last season (and joint-top scorers on seven goals apiece) returned to their North London homes after the conclusion of their loan deals – midfielder Fábio Vieira to Arsenal, and centre-back Luka Vušković to Tottenham Hotspur, now of Brighton. These are significant gaps to fill, and Vušković has not yet been replaced except for his older brother Mario, who is due to return from a doping ban in November and could perhaps be the solution. That said, four years away from the pitch is tough for anyone to overcome.
Two other outgoings are in the striker position - Robert Glatzel, who returns to the second tier with Wolfsburg, and Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer to Mainz. 21-year-old left-winger Fábio Baldé, an academy graduate, has moved on to Strasbourg for €7m, presumably since HSV don’t usually play with traditional wingers. They also need to sign a new right-back as French 22-year-old William Mikelbrencis was released despite featuring in 25 league games last term, eventually signing for PAOK.
Coming in to fill the number 9 spot is Patson Daka, who has struggled terribly for form with two successive relegations at Leicester City, hardly an inspiring solution. Last season’s club captain Yussuf Poulsen is the only other senior striker at the club, but fitness issues have reduced the 32-year-old to a bench role. 19-year-old Otto Stange has played a lot in pre-season but it’s a big ask for him to take the mantle.
The main incomings have been in midfield. Defensive midfielder Kofi Amoako comes in for €1.8m from Dynamo Dresden, and Marseille’s Moroccan central midfielder Bilal Nadir joins on a free. As more attack-minded midfielders, Albert Grønbæk’s loan from Rennes was made permanent for €4.7m, while French playmaker Martin Adeline cost HSV €4m to make the move from Troyes.
Dutch defender Sebastiaan Bornauw returns to the Bundesliga with Hamburg, having joined Leeds United from Wolfsburg last summer but struggling for game time under Daniel Farke. He will be Vušković’s replacement, initially on loan, but with an option to buy of around €5m according to Florian Plettenberg’s reporting for Sky Sports DE.
Having signed from Darmstadt in 2019, goalkeeper Daniel Heuer Fernandes has spent six of the last seven years as the undisputed number 1, and despite one or two infamous errors, he has largely been reliable and certainly proved his worth last season. Sander Tangvik, one of Norway’s backup goalkeepers at the World Cup, is waiting in the wings to seize his chance, so Heuer Fernandes cannot afford to slip up.
Being a side that doesn’t score too many goals, with just 40 in 34 games in 2025/26, Heuer Fernandes has a big role to play in Polzin’s side overall. Six clean sheets may not sound like an incredible statistic, but it can be the difference between Klassenerhalt and relegation, acutely important when you’re a newly promoted side.
With so many new central midfielders, it’s difficult to know if Polzin is looking at any of them to potentially replace captain Nicolai Remberg or Albert Sambi Lokonga. Polzin constantly has to adapt his ideas to achieve results, and you can bet on his choice of starting XI to change plenty of times throughout the campaign.
13th. Hamburg certainly have enough to stay up, but losing the quality of Fábio Vieira and Luka Vušković is so hard to replace for a team with a limited budget that did exceptionally well to get those two to join in the first instance. Polzin is smart but he’s not a miracle worker, so I think maintaining a safe distance from relegation is an achievable but boring target for HSV to work towards.
1 - Bayern München
2 - Borussia Dortmund
3 - Bayer Leverkusen
4 - Eintracht Frankfurt
5 -
6 -
7 -
8 - Union Berlin
9 -
10 - Schalke
11 - Mainz
12 -
13 - Hamburg
14 - Augsburg
15 - Borussia Mönchengladbach
16 -
17 - Köln
18 -
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