Sidney Friede leaves on loan

Berlin – Almost a year ago Sidney Friede signed his first professional contract at Hertha BSC. Now the Berlin-born man will leave the club, albeit only on a temporary basis. Friede will go on loan to Royal Excel Mouscron until the summer. He will work with two familiar faces: Bernd Storck, the head coach, and Jürgen Rober, the sporting director. “Young players like Sidney need to get as many minutes under their belt at the highest level possible. We are certain that this loan will do him good, on a personal and on a footballing level,” remarked Michael Preetz on Thursday (17/01).

Friede arrived at Hertha in 2011, subsequently playing for every academy side at the club. As a central midfielder, he scored six goals in 30 appearances for the U17s. During his time with the U19s, he scored 17 goals and made 14 assists in 52 appearances. Since moving up to the U23s, he has been deployed mainly as a centre-half, making 41 appearances in the Regionalliga Nordost, scoring five times and assisting four goals. He has trained with Pál Dárdai’s first team for several years, but has only ever featured in friendlies – the last time being in the Telekom Cup last Sunday.