Returning with more experience and confidence

Upon returning to Hertha, Ondrej Duda spoke to us about his first chat with Bruno Labbadia and his aims with the capital city club.

Since last Thursday, Ondrej Duda has been back at Hertha BSC’s Schenckendorffplatz after spending half a season on loan in England at Norwich City. Despite the gruelling training sessions, the Slovakia international is visibly pleased about his return. "It feels good to be back. I am delighted to be reunited with the lads in Berlin," the 25-year-old told the press on Wednesday. After returning from England, the midfielder was given nine additional vacation days by the coaching team, before his full return to the pitch. 

Despite not managing to avoid relegation with Norwich City, who finished bottom of the Premier League and will enter next season’s Championship, Hertha’s number 10 gave a positive summary of his time in East Anglia. "It was a good spell for me personally and, above all, it was a new and important experience for me," said Duda, who made ten appearances (nine starts) in England’s top flight. "Before the corona interruption, it was going well for us and we had a realistic chance of surviving," he added.  

Nice talk with head coach Labbadia

As of now, Duda’s mind will be shifting from Premier League to Bundesliga. He and his teammates are currently laying the foundations for what they all want to be a successful season for the Old Lady of Berlin, for whom the Slovakia international has already made 70 appearances. "We’re training hard and everyone is giving their all. We’ve got over a month still to prepare for the season as best we can. It’s looking good so far," said Duda, summarising the first few days’ work under his new head coach Bruno Labbadia. The pair had been in touch before Ondrej’s return to Berlin and the coach had made a good first impression on his attacking player. After meeting the 54-year-old coach in person, Ondrej Duda said the following: "We had really nice chats – the coach indicated to me what kind of football he wants to see us play and I can fully get on board with it. He wants us to play active football with an intense pressing game. Preseason is now the time for us all to get used to this." 

Ondrej Duda is confident that the combination of trust from the man in charge and a successful preseason will result in more game time in Hertha colours. "I feel great and I want to find my role in the team! We have a good team and we can achieve a lot next season. We definitely want to finish higher than in the season just gone," said Duda, looking ahead to the 2020/21 campaign. A challenge he will be taking on in familiar surroundings: In Berlin, with Hertha BSC.