Löwen joins up for third week of pre-season
Löwen joins up for third week of pre-season
On Tuesday, Hertha players began the third week of pre season with two friendlies ahead of them. Eduard Löwen trained with his new teammates for the first time, with fellow U21 internationals Maier and Mittelstädt due to return on Friday.
After taking part in the U21 European Championship with Germany and being given a later return date to pre-season, new Hertha signing Eduard Löwen joined teammates in training for the first time on Tuesday (16/07/19). “I am very pleased to be here and to be able to finally get out onto the pitch for my new club – it’s been a long time coming,” said Löwen after a double session which marked his first in blue and white. Head coach Ante Čović was also pleased that his new number 7 had finally began to train with the club. “We’re pleased that Edu has returned fit. For him, it is about getting to know the team and how things work,” said the 43-year-old. “He is two weeks behind in terms of training; we will continue to introduce him to the team and he’s already doing a lot of drills with the group. But in terms of conditioning, he has to work individually.”
Busy week ahead with friendlies against Aue and Bochum
After two sessions on Tuesday, the ‘Old Lady’ will travel to FC Erzgebirge Aue (kickoff 18:00 CEST). “It is important that the guys get match practice and stay in good shape. We organised these fixtures in the schedule. We are planning on travelling to Aue with 20 players, so we can have a different team for each half,” said Čović on the upcoming game. On Saturday (20/07/19, 18:00 CEST), the team will face VfL Bochum in another away game. “In Bochum, we’re expecting a good test in which we will be able to give some players 60 minutes of game time,” said the head coach.
More intensity and more fire
Hertha will still train on Thursday (18/07/19, 15:00 CEST) and Friday (19/07/19, 10:00 and 15:00 CEST) before Saturday’s clash with Bochum, with Čović set to be at full strength from Friday, with internationals Arne Maier and Maximilian Mittelstädt set to return to training. The pair, who both rose through the youth ranks at the club, represented Germany and reached the final of the U21 EUROS before a taking summer break. Ahead of the upcoming days, head coach Čović claimed, “We’re now into the third week of pre-season and are upping the intensity. From there we will make the guys play more 6-on-6 than 8-on-8 – in this way, the players have less room to hide. It is more about winning duels and that means more fire in training.”