Staking a claim
Staking a claim
Shots came in left, right, high and low on Nils Körber’s goal. Assistant coach Eddy Sözer got a group of players together to test the young goalkeeper with shots, free kicks, and passing drills. The Herthaner celebrated great saves and goals, and the few attempts that went high and wide also got a laugh. After a derby victory, long weekend, and sunshine for the start of training on Tuesday, the good mood was hardly surprising. “The schedule’s been kind to us and we’ve used that for our benefit. We worked with the whole squad on Saturday and then gave them Sunday and Monday off. That had nothing to do with winning the derby,” said head coach Bruno Labbadia after the almost 90-minute-long training session on Tuesday morning. He made clear: effort levels remain high despite the relaxed atmosphere.
Managing workloads at the start of the week
The boss split the players into groups depending on their playing position for the first hour, some worked individually. In the afternoon, focus turned to the style of play. “We’ll take a close look at the training sessions,” said the 54-year-old. In Matheus Cunha, the side are missing a “player of great quality” on Saturday at Borussia Mönchengladbach according to Labbadia; he is suspended after picking up too many yellow cards. “It will be interesting to see who puts their hand up this week and pushes to take his place. There are a few different options with different styles of play. You can’t replace Matheus, but we have different options to take his place, maybe a striker or attacking midfielder,” said Labbadia. “We definitely want to remain adaptable and keep our way of playing.”
Krzysztof Piątek und Javairô Dilrosun, who both made a mark after being subbed on against Union, are two options. “Hopefully those goals will help Krzysztof. Jav has shown what he can do with a bit of time. We need his dynamism. He has lots of potential, and we want to see even more from him,” said the head coach, who also named Mathew Leckie and Jessic Ngankam as options.
Alderete and Córdoba are making progress
There were no injuries to report from the derby, so only Jhon Córdoba and Santiago Ascacíbar are currently out injured. “Both are making progress. Santi is back training individually, and we’re looking to get Jhon back on the pitch training individually as soon as possible too,” reported Labbadia. Omar Alderete, who missed the derby with a pelvis injury, could have recovered in time for the weekend. “He’s getting closer and closer to full fitness. We need to make sure he’s fully fit so that it doesn’t recur,” said the head coach, who is pleased to have so many options. “It’s good for any side when there are lots of options. The competition for places brings a greater intensity, everyone has to give that extra percent to keep their place.” And perhaps it’s that that won’t just see to a successful trip at the weekend, but will keep spirits in camp high.