“We will need to give our all!”
Around 121 hours after the final whistle blew in Bochum on Sunday, Hertha will be back in action on Friday night at home to Greuther Fürth (17/9, 20:30 CEST). The ‘Old Lady’ will be hoping to record a second straight win against the promoted side at the Olympiastadion. “It’s an important game for us. We desperately want to win to continue building the momentum. The lads are working hard, and the team spirit is spot on – it needs to stay like this,” explained head coach Pál Dárdai on Wednesday at the pre-match press conference. Fredi Bobic also spoke to the media alongside Dárdai about…
…the mood in camp:
Pál Dárdai: The lads have trained well, particularly on Tuesday. Their tackling and intensity were really good. The performances in training after the win in Bochum have improved, also due to more positivity from that result. This just shows how important victories can be.
…the squad:
Pál Dárdai: We’ll have to wait and see regarding Márton Dárdai and Krzysztof Piątek – we don’t want to make any mistakes and throw the lads back in too soon. If Márton’s not ready, then we’ve got Linus Gechter. We’re really proud of Linus, he’s one of our own. We’ve introduced him step by step during the summer and he trained with us before then too. His body language is great and he’s got a good presence. I wouldn’t have any worries if we had to play him because I know him. None of the lads from the academy have ever let me down! It looks like we’ll name Davie Selke in the squad to give us another option up front.
...the game against Greuther Fürth:
Pál Dárdai: I’m just coming from our video analysis meeting about the opposition. We sat down with the whole squad and looked at various clips. Fürth can play with several systems, they’re aggressive and compact – which we will be prepared for. I’m expecting an eventful evening. It’s an important game for us. We desperately want to win to continue building the momentum – we will need to give our all! The lads are working hard, and the team spirit is spot on – it needs to stay like this.
…the crowd situation:
Fredi Bobic: The 3G rule is still in place on Friday. We will continue to follow developments closely. All clubs are aiming to fill stadiums either in the short or the long term. Watching the Champions League on Tuesday night makes everyone want more fans back. We can’t have a two-tier society regarding this matter.
..Suat Serdar’s development:
Fredi Bobic: We were quick to get Suat – thank god! All coaches he has ever played under have praised him. Now he needs to continue working hard as a young player, and we’re the right club to help him. He has everything that he needs for his position, and the win in Bochum could give him a real boost.
Pál Dárdai: Our job is to keep Suat playing at the same level that he was in pre-season and at Bochum. Suat is satisfied here in Berlin and at Hertha, and has the potential to keep improving. We need to get that out of him together!