“I’m enjoying my time on the pitch”
Veteran: someone who is very experienced in an area; is also known as an expert or legend. A prime example of the French word is undoubtedly Hertha’s Peter Pekarik. 402 professional games, 184 in the top German division and 162 for the capital club. Pekarik has been with Hertha for eight years now, only Thomas Kraft has played longer for the blue and whites.
The 33-year-old went through a lot in these 2,833 days on the Spree, especially this season. "I've never had a season like this with four coaches and the Corona crisis. It's been a turbulent season. Nevertheless, I'm happy about the great results we’ve been getting and the fact we’re moving up the table: we're back! But we want more points," said the right-back, who is a first team regular again after a great performance in Paderborn.
With the trust of the coach and attacking freedom
After a calf injury that put him out of action for a while, Pekarik has now become a first team regular under new coach Bruno Labbadia and consistently plays full games for Hertha. “I’m happy that the new coach trusts me and I always try to help the team - I go full throttle, and I’m really enjoying my time on the pitch. It is really fun at the moment, I’m really enjoying my football," said the right back.
This desire has been reflected in his performances recently. With a deflected volley, 'Peka' had a huge hand in the first goal during the 3-0 away win in Sinsheim and had another huge part to play in the first goal against FCA last Saturday. Speaking of FCA: His performance against the 'Fuggerstädter' gave him a place in the sportschau team of the week (together with Per Skjelbred). The Slovakian international, who has 91 caps, owes this attacking flair to his new coach. “This is what the coach wants us to do. He wants both full-backs to get forward and use the space. It’s great for me because I get to put in a lot of crosses and get a few assists,” explained Herthas number 2.
Surprising second placed BVB?
Pekarik wants to continue this new-found attacking flair on Saturday (06/06/20, 6.30 p.m.) at second place Borussia Dortmund. "It will be a similar game to Leipzig. BVB have great quality and they’re without a doubt one of the best teams in the league. But we’ll still try to play good football and play as a team. Hopefully if we do that we can pull off an upset,” he said looking ahead to match day 30. As a veteran and with the experience of almost 200 Bundesliga games, Pekarik knows exactly what he’s talking about.