"I’m proud of the boys!"
"I’m proud of the boys!"
Munich/Berlin – FC Bayern Munich and Hertha Berlin played out an exciting and emotional opening game to kick off the 57th Bundesliga season, one which ended in a hard-earned point for Hertha. The players were, as you would imagine, extremely happy with the result as they gave their post-match thoughts: “When I think about how we played today, I feel really proud,” said Vedad Ibišević. “When you work so hard and invest so much in a game, it’s a shame not to win it but we can be happy with a point,” said the captain. The quotes from the game are as follows:
Niklas Stark: We competed well, but if the game had lasted 15 minutes longer, I think we would have been in trouble – so we can be happy with the point. We tried to show our footballing quality and have an impact on the match, but we have to work on our game and make quicker decisions in the future. Of course it’s incredibly difficult to keep out Lewandowski and the pacey wingers that Bayern have at their disposal but we did a good job of it playing as a team and we pushed them back a lot. We’ll gladly take a point here and build on our momentum in the coming games.”
Vedad Ibišević: “We really worked for each other out there today; it was great. When you work so hard and invest so much in a game, it’s a shame not to win it but we can be happy with a point, although we always want to win. We went in to the game wanting to maintain this attitude, but you can only get so far against a team like this. We had to put in everything we had as a team but with the help of a little luck, we came through – I’m proud of the boys!”
Dodi Lukebakio: I enjoyed being back in the Bundesliga again. I feel at home here at Hertha and I’ll always give my all for the team to pay them back for their hospitality. The whole team worked hard today, and grabbing a goal made me really happy. No matter who you are, you’re never guaranteed to score in Munich so I’m happy with how we’ve started the season!
Rune Jarstein: We believed in ourselves from the very beginning. For the first 20 minutes we had a lot to deal with but after that we played much better. We scored two great goals: of course there was a bit of luck involved but you need that in Munich. The fact that we conceded a penalty is a real shame but all in all we can be extremely happy with how we played. To take a point away from Munich is really good.
Mathew Leckie: Bayern had their chances, but as a team we showed a good mentality and that really helped us out on the pitch. As a team it’s a step in the right direction and I think, under the circumstances, we had earned a point.
Marko Grujić: We played very well in the first half, especially after Bayern scored their goal. We responded really well and I’m so happy to have scored: the injury though, I’m far less happy about. It was a super way to start off the season but conceding the penalty that made it 2-2 really annoyed me. Lewandowski is an experienced player and he knows his way around the penalty area. I will have to learn from this mistake.”