Back in training!

Hertha BSC will restart training again as they prepare for the upcoming 2017/18 season. There is much work to do as this time, the club will be contending with the Europa League.

Hertha BSC will restart training again as they prepare for the upcoming 2017/18 season. There is much work to do as this time, the club will be contending with the Europa League.

The Hertha players have now had almost 40 days’ rest. Time for sightseeing, holidays, time to switch off and to recover. However that time is slowly coming to an end and on Monday (03/07/17), head coach Pál Dárdai is asking his players to return for the first time since the end of the season. “Finally it’s time to start again. My batteries are charged, I’m buzzing and I am looking forward to being in training again, Dárdai said.

The head coach did confess that he had not missed football too much over the past few weeks. “He was good to get some space and not always think about football but that spark and excitement has been growing in the past few days,” said the Hungarian. Dárdai, his coaching staff and the players can get back to what they are all passionate about, football. After all, it will also be a very special season since Hertha will be competing on the European stage in 2017/18. The Blue-Whites fans have also been noting this date down in their diaries. Anyone who wants to come and watch the team train in their first session back can also look forward to some drinks and refreshments in the Olympic park.

Internationals to return later on

There will still be some Hertha men that will not be partaking in training immediately. Niklas Stark, Mitchell Weiser and new signing Davie Selke still have holiday to take after the U21 European Championship, as is also the case for Marvin Plattenhardt, who has been in action with Germany at the Confed Cup in Russia. He is expected to rejoin the team on 17^th July. Vedad Ibisevic, Vladimir Darida, Genki Haraguchi, Rune Jarstein, Peter Pekarik and Ondrej Duda will also have some extra time off after competing with their countries during the international break. The same goes for new signing Mathew Leckie, who has also been playing at the Confed Cup with Australia. Julian Schieber continues to work on his recovery in rehabilitation.

So as to accommodate for the late arrival of many established first-team players, Dárdai will be calling upon the services of a number of players from the youth academy that will be looking to secure a place in the main squad for the new season. “Our youngsters can now take that next step and show what they can do,” said Dárdai.

Training camp to start at end of the week

Following the first training session on Monday, the Blue-Whites will crack on with an intense programme. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday will include two training sessions on each day, the first at 10:00 CEST and then at 15:30 CEST. The team will then train again at 10:00 CEST on Friday before heading to their training camp in Bad Saarow for a week. There, the team will face Oranienburger FC in a friendly match. Hertha have about six weeks to make sure they are in tip-top condition for the start of the season as the club celebrates his 125^th anniversary.