Mario Vuskovic returns to professional football on Sunday, exactly 1,467 days after his last competitive appearance, when Hamburger SV hosts his boyhood club Hajduk Split in a friendly match at the Volksparkstadion.
Over 50,000 spectators are expected for the fixture, which marks the official expiration of the defender’s four-year suspension for EPO doping, as reported by n-tv.de. The Croatian center-back, who has consistently maintained his innocence, will wear the number 44 shirt previously held by his younger brother Luka during the club’s survival campaign last season.
Polzin manages Vuskovic's return pressure
Trainer Merlin Polzin acknowledged the immense emotional weight surrounding the fixture while attempting to shield the player from external pressure. “Es ist ehrlicherweise schwer zu sagen, wie er sich am Sonntag präsentieren wird,” Polzin told n-tv.de.
“Ich finde es schwierig einzuschätzen, was das in ihm auslösen wird. Wir freuen uns alle einfach brutal darauf.” Polzin added: “Wir wollen gar keinen Druck aufbauen. Mario wird sich selbst dem größten Stress aussetzen, weil er gut performen will.”
The coaching staff plans to monitor performance data closely to determine how long Vuskovic can sustain his physical effort on the pitch after such an extended layoff, according to reporting by the Hamburger Abendblatt.
Performance manager Basil More-Chevalier and his team will evaluate data during the match to identify the right moment for a substitution, recognizing that the player would likely continue playing through cramps rather than ask to leave the pitch.
Market value reset and documentary premiere in Hamburg
Transfermarkt.de values Vuskovic in the low six-figure range ahead of his return, down from five million euros in November 2022 before his suspension and subsequent drop to zero in March 2023, MOPO reported.
Tobias Kröger, markets lead at the portal, said that the player must rebuild his valuation through on-field performances over the coming months. Kröger also cited past high-profile doping cases such as Paul Pogba and Mykhailo Mudryk to illustrate how the market reacts to lengthy suspensions.
The return coincides with the world premiere of the documentary Akte Vuskovic – Doping. Skandal. Zweifel. at the Cinemaxx near Hamburg’s Dammtor station on Monday, scheduled a day after the match and on the player’s 25th birthday, according to WELT.
Competition for places in the 2. Bundesliga
While the friendly against Split carries immense emotional significance, club officials emphasized that everyday squad competition remains standard. Polzin said that the defender must earn his minutes through sporting merit rather than romantic sentiment.
“Wir werden ihm nichts schenken, und das will er auch nicht,” Polzin said, as noted by SPORT1. “Er wird sich fortan mit den anderen Spielern auf seiner Position battlen, und seine Einsätze muss man sich mit Leistungen verdienen.”
Vuskovic could theoretically feature in competitive league action following the international break, potentially returning during the North derby against Werder Bremen on November 22.
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