Derby mode

Hertha BSC are hard at work preparing for Friday night’s derby against 1. FC Union. A trio of players took part in individual training on Tuesday, as the preparations kicked into full swing.

Berlin - After starting the week with a recovery session, head coach Bruno Labbadia welcomed his side to the Schenckendorffplatz for their first session of the week on Tuesday (01/12/20). The Blue-Whites will not have any days off after their draw in Leverkusen on the weekend, not when they have a massive game against local rivals Union to prepare for on Friday night. “A derby is always something special, but we’re taking the same approach we do to every game. First and foremost, it’s about the three points,” Bruno Labbadia said about the game. “Winning the derby would be a real treat!”

Labbadia knows well what it feels like to win the derby, having overseen a dominant 4-0 victory against Hertha’s counterparts from Köpenick in May of this year. “We obviously still have good memories of this game, and would love a repeat,” he said. The one black spot on the night is the fact that it will take place behind closed doors at the Olympiastadion. “It would be fantastic if we were able to play in a sold-out stadium,” Labbadia said. “Regardless, it’s still a derby, and we want to win.”

Determination meets excitement

A win against Union, who are currently in sixth, would also be Hertha’s first at home this season. “We have some tough games left in the lead up to Christmas. The game against Union is very important to all of us. Now would be the perfect time to finally win at home,” said Dodi Lukébakio, who scored in this fixture earlier this year. Friday’s game will be Alexander Schwolow’s first Berlin Derby. “We’re all extremely excited. But, we still need to remain focused on ourselves and play good football in order to win,” Schwolow said. 

Hertha are now working hard to prepare for Friday’s match. There are several training sessions planned this week, including the usual discussion and analysis sessions. The fact that Union have had an extra day off after the weekend is of no importance to the Herthaner. “It’s up to us to determine how we approach the game and dictate how it goes. It’s those last bits of effort that we are adding through training and our preparations,” said Labbadia.

While Jhon Córdoba continues to work on his comeback after suffering a severe ankle injury earlier this season, Santiago Ascacíbar (muscle issues) and Omar Alderete (groin issue) both took part in individual training. Matheus Cunha also trained individually as part of workload management. Jordan Torunarigha has had no issues since returning to team training last week, as he and the team are fully focused on Friday’s floodlight derby.