European inexperience? Far from it!
European inexperience? Far from it!
Hertha’s Europa League adventure begins on Thursday (14.09). It is a big challenge, but not an unknown one for some of the squad players.
Berlin – Mathew Leckie is more than just Hertha’s top goalscorer this season with three goals from three games. The Australian also managed to encompass what many other players are feeling before the club’s return to European competition. “Playing in the Europa League is something special. We’re all very excited, all the players – the entire club in fact,” said the 26-year old before the first group game against Athletic Bilbao on Thursday (21:05 CEST). After eight years’ absence from the competition, the Blue and Whites are finally back in the group stages. Their goal? To do their club proud. “We want to qualify from the group stages and leave an impression on the competition,” said Leckie.
Curiously, Leckie is one of the handful of Hertha players who hasn’t yet had a taste of European football. The Australian national is burning to get going. “We want to make something happen. Three points from our first home game would be a good start,” confirmed the summer arrival, whose start to the season makes a mockery of his goalless stint in Igolstadt.
Bilbao are an experienced side however, and will be anything but easy to beat. The Basque team can draw on extensive international experience and have picked up seven points from their first three league games. Head coach José Angel Ziganda has real European experience at his disposal, in the form of players like Raúl García und Aritz Aduriz. Altogether, the team from Bilbao can boast 700 matches on the European level.
Kalou, the most experienced Herthaner
Hertha meanwhile, can draw on 387 matches in European competitions, if you include the qualification games against Brøndby Kopenhagen last year. Salomon Kalou is the most experienced player in the squad. He has played 77 times in Europe and won the Champions League with Chelsea in 2012. “The UEFA Champions League is a big challenge for all of us. It’s a completely different feeling and we will have to prepare ourselves for the test,” said the Ivorian, who will certainly be passing on a few tips to his team-mates. Valentin Stocker is another who knows what it takes to balance multiple competitions. He was a regular on the European stage with his former club, FC Basel, making 69 performances in total. Per Skjelbred has 48 under his belt, too. “It’s all about these evenings – these are the ones you become a footballer for,” enthused the Norwegian.
Group stages debuts loom
A little further behind are Vladimir Darida (34), Peter Pekarik (27) and Ondrej Duda (24), who are also familiar with the European stage. “It’s always nice to have a couple of midweek games and to be able to travel. These are great memories and experiences,” said Darida. Valentino Lazaro and Karim Rekik (both 19), captain Vedad Ibisevic (18), Rune Jarstein and Fabian Lustenberger (both 16) would definitely echo the statement.
Europe isn’t completely new territory for a few other players in the squad either. Alexander Esswein played six times for FC Augsburg, while Thomas Kraft played in goal against Copenhagen last year, but also four times for Bayern Munich. Mitchell Weiser was another to line up for Bayern and for both the Copenhagen qualifications matches last year. Niklas Stark, Marvin Plattenhardt, Genki Haraguchi and Sebastian Langkamp played the two matches against Copenhagen, too. “I’m pleased to be getting European experience at my age. It will be important for us to be physically ready,” said 29-year old Langkamp.
Looking forward to their first minutes of European football, alongside Leckie, are Maximilian Mittelstädt and Jordan Torunarigha, as well as youth players Arne Maier, Julius Kade and goalkeeper Jonathan Klinsmann. David Selke is also waiting for his first European performance, but will need a bit more patience having only made his first steps on the training pitches earlier this week.
Mathew Leckie only has a matter of hours to wait before making his European debut, and all those associated with the club will be hoping that the right words Leckie found before the game can be matched with a goal or two on Thursday!
Quoted
[>]It’s all about these evenings – these are the ones you become a footballer for[<]