Teams | May 11, 2013 at 01:51 PM
Reach for the stars!
Reach for the stars!
A point away to Köln on Sunday will be enough to send Hertha up to the top flight as Bundesliga 2 champions.
Berlin - "Division two never again!" is the title of the football song being sung by Hertha players and fans since the capital city side clinched promotion on matchday 30 - the slender 1-0 home victory over Sandhausen. The song has been sung at the Millerntor stadium in Hamburg, at the Olympic stadium in Berlin and will surely be heard at the RheinEnergieStadion in Köln, where Hertha play their penultimate game of the season on Sunday (12.05.13.).
Hertha's final away game of their division two season promises to be a tough one, as the league leaders travel to lock horns with fourth placed Köln: "It will be a tough game, because Köln will throw everything they have at us", knows Hertha's Cameroon-born midfielder Marcel Ndjeng, referring to Köln's tiny glimmer of hope of reaching the promotion play off spot. "Köln will be playing to win, but so will we", added Alfredo Morales.
A point to become champions
Four points behind third placed Kaiserslautern with a far inferior goal difference, means that Köln are grasping at the proverbial straws: "Our chances have of course not improved with recent results but we still have a chance. As long as that is the case we will be giving our all", explained Köln coach Holger Stanislawski. As if Köln's situation was not precarious enough, they host the best away team in the division on Sunday at their sold out stadium which will be packed with 50,000 fans. Since winning just once at home in the first seven games of the season, Köln are now unbeaten in nine (7 wins, 2 draws).
Stanislawski's side have collected an impressive 27 points since the winter break - second in the division only to Hertha (36 points). The team of head coach Jos Luhukay go into Sunday's eagerly awaited clash six points clear of second placed Eintracht Braunschweig, so a point on Sunday will be enough to send them up as champions. Luhukay: "We have achieved our goal of immediate promotion, now we to go up in top spot." The Dutchman knows Köln very well. Between 2002 and 2005 he was Co. trainer under Friedhelm Funkel, Marcel Koller nd Huub Stevens. On November 1st 2003 he made his debut as a Bundesliga boss while at Köln, albeit as interim coach.
Ronny and Pekarik suspended
Luhukay is without two key players on Sunday: Top scorer Ronny (18 goals) and in-form right back Peter Pekarik are both suspended, after picking up fifth bookings against Aue last time out. Luhukay will decide on his final line-up on Sunday. Others out are skipper PeterNiemeyer (after effects of concussion) and Fabian Holland, Hany Mukhtar, Felix Bastians and Marvin Knoll.
"It will be an emotional game and we are very keen to win it", says Sami Allagui. Hertha BSC want victory on Sunday to ensure that they will be handed the Bundesliga 2 silverware in front of their home crowd after the final game of the season against old rivals Energie Cottbus.
That is the time to sing that famous song "Division two never again!"
Hertha's final away game of their division two season promises to be a tough one, as the league leaders travel to lock horns with fourth placed Köln: "It will be a tough game, because Köln will throw everything they have at us", knows Hertha's Cameroon-born midfielder Marcel Ndjeng, referring to Köln's tiny glimmer of hope of reaching the promotion play off spot. "Köln will be playing to win, but so will we", added Alfredo Morales.
A point to become champions
Four points behind third placed Kaiserslautern with a far inferior goal difference, means that Köln are grasping at the proverbial straws: "Our chances have of course not improved with recent results but we still have a chance. As long as that is the case we will be giving our all", explained Köln coach Holger Stanislawski. As if Köln's situation was not precarious enough, they host the best away team in the division on Sunday at their sold out stadium which will be packed with 50,000 fans. Since winning just once at home in the first seven games of the season, Köln are now unbeaten in nine (7 wins, 2 draws).
Stanislawski's side have collected an impressive 27 points since the winter break - second in the division only to Hertha (36 points). The team of head coach Jos Luhukay go into Sunday's eagerly awaited clash six points clear of second placed Eintracht Braunschweig, so a point on Sunday will be enough to send them up as champions. Luhukay: "We have achieved our goal of immediate promotion, now we to go up in top spot." The Dutchman knows Köln very well. Between 2002 and 2005 he was Co. trainer under Friedhelm Funkel, Marcel Koller nd Huub Stevens. On November 1st 2003 he made his debut as a Bundesliga boss while at Köln, albeit as interim coach.
Ronny and Pekarik suspended
Luhukay is without two key players on Sunday: Top scorer Ronny (18 goals) and in-form right back Peter Pekarik are both suspended, after picking up fifth bookings against Aue last time out. Luhukay will decide on his final line-up on Sunday. Others out are skipper PeterNiemeyer (after effects of concussion) and Fabian Holland, Hany Mukhtar, Felix Bastians and Marvin Knoll.
"It will be an emotional game and we are very keen to win it", says Sami Allagui. Hertha BSC want victory on Sunday to ensure that they will be handed the Bundesliga 2 silverware in front of their home crowd after the final game of the season against old rivals Energie Cottbus.
That is the time to sing that famous song "Division two never again!"
Possible line-ups:
1.FC Köln: Horn – Brecko, Maroh, McKenna, Hector – M. Lehmann, Matuschyk – Chihi, Clemens, Bröker – Ujah
Hertha BSC: Kraft – Ndjeng, Lustenberger, Brooks, Kobiashvili – Morales, Kluge – Allagui, Ben-Hatira, Schulz – Ramos