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Patson Daka required only 28 minutes of action to make a major impression on his Hamburg debut. The 27-year-old directly contributed to all three goals as Hamburg concluded their Austrian training camp with a 3-1 friendly victory over 1. FC Heidenheim.
Daka replaced Yussuf Poulsen in the 34th minute and immediately won the penalty from which Albert Grønbæk opened the scoring. Shortly after half-time, the Zambian international supplied Rayan Philippe for Hamburg’s second before scoring the third himself.
The former Leicester City striker was then withdrawn as planned following only three days of team training.
Merlin Polzin praises Patson Daka
“It’s nice to see how Patson is contributing,” HSV head coach Merlin Polzin – as quoted by Kicker – remarked afterwards. “The connection among the players is always very important to me. That connection can’t be fully established in such a short time, but he’s full of life and very communicative.”
Daka’s enthusiasm off the charts
As noted in previous Get German Football News coverage, Daka arrived in Hamburg determined to put several difficult seasons behind him. The former Red Bull Salzburg attacker also expressed his desire to remain with HSV beyond the initial term of his contract.
“I’m never afraid of the future,” Daka said at his official introductory press event. “I trust God, and my present is the future because tomorrow is not guaranteed. What I do today determines what will happen to me tomorrow. When I experience a difficult moment, I do something about it.”
“My desire is to remain here for as long as possible,” Daka continued. “Everything is possible. I want to help the group quickly.”
Three days of training and 28 highly productive minutes suggest that Daka has already begun fulfilling that wish.
