Training, training, training

Jordan Torunarigha returned to team training on Tuesday (21/11/20). A trio of players continue to work individually.

Berlin – Results are what matter in football – which is why Hertha are anything but satisfied at the moment, with their seven points from the opening eight games putting them in 13th place. The numbers don’t reflect the strong performances Bruno Labbadia’s side have delivered at times this season. The fact remains that the team have picked up too few points. It’s a topic that Labbadia himself addressed once again during the first training session of the week on Tuesday. “I had a frank discussion about it with the team. We need to stop making mistakes, because that’s what’s causing us trouble at the moment,” he said.

Intense analysis

The head coach will likely still be thinking about Hertha’s most recent game against Dortmund, which ended in a 5-2 defeat despite the Blue-Whites taking the lead. The day after the game, the team had already began analysing what went wrong. “We included the team in that. Despite dominating and playing well, we conceded silly goals because we weren’t marking tight enough,” said Labbadia. The week began with further analysis and discussions, focused on the team’s attack. “It’s about how the team work both in and out of possession. There’s room for improvement there,” said Labbadia, who is looking to push his side to do better. “We are a team that still have a lot to learn and need to develop a sense of how to react in certain situations. We’re not as solid as we would like to be. There are still too many inconsistencies, but we’re seeing some progress,” he said about the current situation.

When it comes to developing consistency, there’s only one answer: training, training and more training. Today’s 90-minute session focused on in-game situations and finding the right solutions. “We need to work better together as a team. That means that everyone needs to dig deep and give that extra bit of effort,” said Labbadia. He also had some good news to share, as Jordan Torunarigha returned to team training for the first time since being sidelined by both injury and Covid-19. “He didn’t have any issues, and looked good. We’re taking it slow with him. When we feel like he’s ready, then we’ll bring him back,” he said about the centre-back, who has been out since late September. Omar Alderete and Matheus Cunha both trained individually as part of work-load management, as did Lucas Tousart, who returned to the squad for the first time against Dortmund. “These are just precautions. They will return to team training over the course of the week,” Labbadia said.

Ascacíbar to miss out 

In addition to Jhon Córdoba, Santiago Ascacíbar will also miss out on this weekend’s match in Leverkusen (Saturday, 19th Nov., 15:30 CET). “I spoke with Santi and it’s too bad that he will miss out yet again. It’s not easy for him, but he has plenty of support from us,” said Labbadia. The head coach now has just days left to prepare his squad for the upcoming challenge against a strong side, where they will be looking to head home with points in hand.