Excitement ahead of league opener

Hertha BSC welcome 1. FC Nürnberg on Matchday 1 (25/08/18) of the new Bundesliga season. Despite injury concerns Hertha remain confident.

It’s 10:00 on a Wednesday morning in Berlin. The fans who turned out to watch Hertha’s training session look annoyed. Why? Because, unlike usual, the team hasn’t turned up on time. Eventually, half-an-hour late, the team arrive. The reason? Head coach Pál Dárdai decided to start Wednesday morning analysing the DFB-Pokal game against Braunschweig with his squad.

Once back on the field, however the focus of the session was solely on making effective runs and passages of play. “It’s all about possession. We want to make space for our forwards. When we have more space and time, we have more options and can make better decisions,” explained coach Pál Dárdai, emphasising the need to work on these areas until they become instinctive. Dárdai hopes his team show this on Saturday when Hertha welcome 1. FC Nürnberg to the Olympiastadion.

The countdown is on

The excitement has been growing daily in the Hertha camp ahead of the showdown with newly promoted FCN. It’s no surprise, since the game will be the first league fixture since 12th May. “We want to win and are well prepared, but we know Nürnberg will come out fighting,” commented Dárdai. Like his coach, Salomon Kalou is hoping for a win; “Naturally we are very excited and are looking forward to playing in front of our fans,” he told.

It’s 10:00 on a Wednesday morning in Berlin. The fans who turned out to watch Hertha’s training session look annoyed. Why? Because, unlike usual, the team hasn’t turned up on time. Eventually, half-an-hour late, the team arrive. The reason? Head coach Pál Dárdai decided to start Wednesday morning analysing the DFB-Pokal game against Braunschweig with his squad.

Once back on the field, however the focus of the session was solely on making effective runs and passages of play. “It’s all about possession. We want to make space for our forwards. When we have more space and time, we have more options and can make better decisions,” explained coach Pál Dárdai, emphasising the need to work on these areas until they become instinctive. Dárdai hopes his team show this on Saturday when Hertha welcome 1. FC Nürnberg to the Olympiastadion.

The countdown is on

The excitement has been growing daily in the Hertha camp ahead of the showdown with newly promoted FCN. It’s no surprise, since the game will be the first league fixture since 12th May. “We want to win and are well prepared, but we know Nürnberg will come out fighting,” commented Dárdai. Like his coach, Salomon Kalou is hoping for a win; “Naturally we are very excited and are looking forward to playing in front of our fans,” he told.

Dárdai will have to do without certain players in the Bundesliga opener. Mathew Leckie, Vladimir Darida and Peter Pekarik will all definitely miss out. David Selke will also not be available, despite having been back training individually in the last few weeks. Marvin Plattenhardt (sore foot), Vedad Ibisevic (sore hamstring) and Maximilian Mittelstädt (shoulder problem) sat out of Wednesday’s morning session as a precaution. The trio completed individual workouts indoors. A sore wisdom tooth also kept Jonathan Klinsmann away from the training pitches.

Those three then sat out of the afternoon session. “They need to take it easy. The plan is that they will return to training on Thursday. We’ll just have to wait and see,” explained Dárdai. The 70-minute afternoon session saw a smaller squad train, including newcomer Marko Grujic and all those who didn’t feature in the Braunschweig game. All injury-free players will train before Saturday’s game behind closed doors.

Dárdai will have to do without certain players in the Bundesliga opener. Mathew Leckie, Vladimir Darida and Peter Pekarik will all definitely miss out. David Selke will also not be available, despite having been back training individually in the last few weeks. Marvin Plattenhardt (sore foot), Vedad Ibisevic (sore hamstring) and Maximilian Mittelstädt (shoulder problem) sat out of Wednesday’s morning session as a precaution. The trio completed individual workouts indoors. A sore wisdom tooth also kept Jonathan Klinsmann away from the training pitches.Those three then sat out of the afternoon session.

“They need to take it easy. The plan is that they will return to training on Thursday. We’ll just have to wait and see,” explained Dárdai. The 70-minute afternoon session saw a smaller squad train, including newcomer Marko Grujic and all those who didn’t feature in the Braunschweig game. All injury-free players will train before Saturday’s game behind closed doors.

Quote

[>]
The plan is that they will return to training on Thursday.
[<]

-Pál Dárdai on Ibisevic, Plattenhardt and Mittelstädt