"This is our chance to show that we can do more!"

Statistics are often of great interest, sometimes informative, sometimes curious. Marko Grujic could write a book about it. Of 51 possible Bundesliga games in his year and a half at Hertha BSC, the Serb has missed 14, of which the Old Lady managed to win just one. Ironically, that win came against Bayern (2-0 in September 2018). However, Hertha’s number 15 has enjoyed a special moment of his own against the record champions since then, putting the capital city club ahead on Matchday 1 of the current season in the Allianz Arena. The game ended 2-2, but "to score against a club as big as FC Bayern was certainly one of the best moments of the Hinrunde for me," said Grujic looking back. We also spoke to Marko about the reasons behind improved performances under Jürgen Klinsmann, about going head-to-head with an old acquaintance from Liverpool and about what could be the recipe for success on Sunday.

herthabsc.de: Marko, when fans look back on the opening game of the season against FC Bayern München, they will inevitably think about your goal to put the team in front. After colliding with Benjamin Pavard, you showed great desire to get the ball into the back of the net before receiving medical treatment. What are your memories of this moment and that game?

Grujic: Scoring against a club as big as FC Bayern was definitely one of the best moments of the Hinrunde for me. It’s a shame about my mistake to give away the penalty in the second half, but in the end we were of course pleased with a point in Munich. It’s difficult to get anything in that stadium. A repeat on Sunday will be challenging, but we will throw everything we have at them to get something from the game!

herthabsc.de: Despite picking up a point away to Bayern, the first half of the season was less than satisfactory – only towards the end of the year did things start clicking again. What do you put it down to that the team is on the right track again under Jürgen Klinsmann?

Grujic: The new coach and his backroom staff have brought new energy to the team and have given us some wind in our sails. We hadn’t been able to play to our best before, and we weren’t representing Hertha BSC well enough on the pitch. But we identified what we were doing wrong and have since been working intensively on correcting those weaknesses.

herthabsc.de: Could you describe whether, or to what extent your game has changed under the new coaching team?

Grujic: The way we’re approaching games now; from a deep, compact defence, means it’s all the more important that we keep the ball when we’ve won it back. I am expected to help make this happen. Furthermore, I have more attacking duties now, and am supposed to get more involved there. I like this new role – I like to be nearer to the opposition goal, like in Frankfurt (smirks). Now I hope I can perform better in the second half of the season and help the team even more!

herthabsc.de: In Orlando and Berlin you focused on the second half of the season. What are your impressions of the team now with the restart on the horizon?

Grujic: After some intense training sessions at the camp, we’ve now got a difficult start to the year in facing Bayern, but every single one of us believes we can take points from them. We will give our best to get a positive result. The second half of the season gives us all the chance to prove that we haven’t played to our best yet, and that we can do more!

herthabsc.de: Have you set any targets for the second half of the season? Either for yourself or for the team?

Grujic: My priority applies to both me personally and to the team, and that is to improve! We can all improve as individuals and subsequently we will strengthen as a team, so that we can perform consistently. That has to be our aim for the remainder of the season.