Hamburg coach Polzin after Kuntz exit: 'Of course he will be missed'

SV Hamburg coach Merlin Polzin has said that former board member for sport Stefan Kuntz will be missed but that the club will be able to deal with the situation.

"Of course he will be missed," Polzin said. "The club is at the centre, and we all act accordingly. We are convinced that we will continue to make good decisions."

Hamburg announced on Friday that Kuntz had left on December 31 for "personal family reasons."

Kuntz arrived in May 2024, was a key figure in Polzin becoming interim and then head coach in late 2024 and the club's promotion back into the Bundesliga after seven years in the second tier.

"First and foremost I am extremely grateful for the experiences we had together. That he trusted our coaching team, that we could get promoted together, that he helped with his experience in difficult times and had a lot of trust and openness towards us," Polzin said.

Hamburg have said they will not look for replacement immediately and are "competitive and able to act", according to supervisory board chairman Michael Papenfuss.

The team is 13th in the Bundesliga which resumes next weekend, with Hamburg playing in Freiburg.