Teams | August 7, 2013 at 03:56 PM
DFB Cup for starters
DFB Cup for starters
On Sunday (04.08.13) Hertha face Neumünster in the DFB Cup.
Berlin - The long wait is finally over! After weeks of stamina-sapping pre-season training, Hertha coach Jos Luhukay and his team finally face “proper” action on Sunday (04.08.13, 16.00 CET), as they take on VfR Neumünster at the Grümmi-Arena, in a 2013/14 DFB Cup round one encounter. The home side have increased the capacity of their ground to 8,000 and are hoping to attract a bumper crowd.
After Berlin boss Luhukay announced Fabian Lustenberger as his new captain for the season on Friday, all attention turned to the DFB Cup. Hertha BSC had worked their socks off during the six week pre-season period, hoping to do better in the cup than they did last season as they lost to minnows Wormatia Worms in round one. The newly-promoted Bundesliga 2 champions will have their work cut out as they take on Schleswig-Holstein-based Neumünster, but Luhukay told the press this week: "We are well prepared and know what to expect. The fact is that as a Bundesliga side we simply have to reach round 2." When asked at the pre-match press conference whether he had practised penalties Luhukay simply answered: "No."
"Game of the year" for Neumünster
Neumünster are not short of confidence ahead of the visit of Hertha: "Tradition meets tradition and we are not without a chance", recons VfR representative Jörg Zenker. In their last DFB Cup tie nine years ago, Neumünster battled hard but lost 0-3 in the end to Hannover 96. Neumünster defender Hannes Schäfke would not be drawn into tipping a result for the game, but promised home fans that the team would try their best.
The Grümmi-Arena has been spruced up ahead of the "game of the year." The terracing has been fitted with rubber mats and three camera towers have been installed, as well as room made for media representatives. VfR hope that they can cause a major upset with an 8,000-strong capacity crowd behind them. New Hertha skipper Lustenberger remains optimistic, following the hard work put in by his team ahead of the game. In nine pre-season friendlies the capital city side left the pitch victorious in eight. The only draw was against RAD Belgrade.
Dress rehearsal for Bundesliga opener
Luhukay has an almost fully fit squad to choose his side from, with the exception of Pierre-Michel Lasogga (anlke) and Ronny (bruising) who have already been ruled out. The Hertha boss rightly views the cup game as a dress rehearsal for his side's Bundesliga opener - at home to Eintracht Frankfurt. Hertha made a total of nine summer signings, four of which have a good chance of making the starting line up in Neumünster: Sebastian Langkamp, Johannes van den Bergh and Alexander Baumjohann have justified hopes of starting the game, while Hajime Hosogai has tough competition for a spot in central defensive midfield in new skipper Fabian Lustenberger, Peer Kluge and Peter Niemeyer.
Levan Kobiashvili, Roman Hubnik and Maik Franz did not make the squad. Christoph Janker, Fabian Holland, Philip Sprint and Ben Sahar played for the reserves against Auerbach on Saturday. So things look good ahead of the round one clash. Hertha fans can only hope that the team has forgotten what the Worms did to them at the same time last season...
Come on boys make us proud!
Possible line-ups:
VfR Neumünster: Hesse - Thomas, Bönigk, Schäfke, Nagel - Zekjiri, Schlagelambers, Moslehe, Rave - Harrer, Kramer
Hertha BSC: Kraft - Pekarik/Ndjeng, Langkamp, Brooks, van den Bergh - Lustenberger, Hosogai/Kluge - Allagui, Baumjohann, Schulz - Ramos
After Berlin boss Luhukay announced Fabian Lustenberger as his new captain for the season on Friday, all attention turned to the DFB Cup. Hertha BSC had worked their socks off during the six week pre-season period, hoping to do better in the cup than they did last season as they lost to minnows Wormatia Worms in round one. The newly-promoted Bundesliga 2 champions will have their work cut out as they take on Schleswig-Holstein-based Neumünster, but Luhukay told the press this week: "We are well prepared and know what to expect. The fact is that as a Bundesliga side we simply have to reach round 2." When asked at the pre-match press conference whether he had practised penalties Luhukay simply answered: "No."
"Game of the year" for Neumünster
Neumünster are not short of confidence ahead of the visit of Hertha: "Tradition meets tradition and we are not without a chance", recons VfR representative Jörg Zenker. In their last DFB Cup tie nine years ago, Neumünster battled hard but lost 0-3 in the end to Hannover 96. Neumünster defender Hannes Schäfke would not be drawn into tipping a result for the game, but promised home fans that the team would try their best.
The Grümmi-Arena has been spruced up ahead of the "game of the year." The terracing has been fitted with rubber mats and three camera towers have been installed, as well as room made for media representatives. VfR hope that they can cause a major upset with an 8,000-strong capacity crowd behind them. New Hertha skipper Lustenberger remains optimistic, following the hard work put in by his team ahead of the game. In nine pre-season friendlies the capital city side left the pitch victorious in eight. The only draw was against RAD Belgrade.
Dress rehearsal for Bundesliga opener
Luhukay has an almost fully fit squad to choose his side from, with the exception of Pierre-Michel Lasogga (anlke) and Ronny (bruising) who have already been ruled out. The Hertha boss rightly views the cup game as a dress rehearsal for his side's Bundesliga opener - at home to Eintracht Frankfurt. Hertha made a total of nine summer signings, four of which have a good chance of making the starting line up in Neumünster: Sebastian Langkamp, Johannes van den Bergh and Alexander Baumjohann have justified hopes of starting the game, while Hajime Hosogai has tough competition for a spot in central defensive midfield in new skipper Fabian Lustenberger, Peer Kluge and Peter Niemeyer.
Levan Kobiashvili, Roman Hubnik and Maik Franz did not make the squad. Christoph Janker, Fabian Holland, Philip Sprint and Ben Sahar played for the reserves against Auerbach on Saturday. So things look good ahead of the round one clash. Hertha fans can only hope that the team has forgotten what the Worms did to them at the same time last season...
Come on boys make us proud!
Possible line-ups:
VfR Neumünster: Hesse - Thomas, Bönigk, Schäfke, Nagel - Zekjiri, Schlagelambers, Moslehe, Rave - Harrer, Kramer
Hertha BSC: Kraft - Pekarik/Ndjeng, Langkamp, Brooks, van den Bergh - Lustenberger, Hosogai/Kluge - Allagui, Baumjohann, Schulz - Ramos