Staying in rhythm

Hertha BSC train with a diminished squad during the international week 

Berlin – Barely had the season begun – just one DFB-Pokal and one Bundesliga game have been played – before the first international break was upon us. The observant fan would have counted 13 Herthaner players missing from training due to international commitments at the Schenckendorffplatz on Tuesday afternoon. There is nothing new on the injury front though: Julian Schieber, Davie Selke, Valentino Lazaro and Jonathan Klinsmann are still out, while Alexander Esswein conducted an individual program because of back injury.

Tuesday was an opportunity for some U23s and U19s players to join first-team training. Dennis Jastrzembski, Florian Krebs, Shawn Kauter, Maurice Klehr, Jessic Ngankam, Nikos Zografakis and Leon Brüggemeier all stepped in to fill the gaps. “They will train with us the whole week,” explained Pál Dárdai. “You need at least 16 players to make a training session worthwhile.” The team’s goal is to stay in rhythm during the international break: “We’re going to work on our finishing and on individual areas for improvement over the next few days,” continued the head coach.  

Back in training for the first time in over a year is Kauter. “He’s played very well so far with the U23s. I’m pleased that he’s back in the team but we will build up his strength slowly,” said Dárdai. The first day of training started with dynamic stretching before moving on to passing exercises. It finished with a match on a small pitch. The squad will train twice on Wednesday, but only once on both Thursday and Friday.