The joys of training
“Football is a beautiful sport,” said Pál Dárdai last Sunday. Even if our most recent results have not been the most positive for those in blue and white, nobody would contradict our coach on that statement. Another rule in our sport is relevant now: The end of every game means the start of work for another. Dárdai put this rule into better context by saying “We need to concentrate our frustration into positive energy,” or in other words, keep fighting. The next chance will come, even if there’s an international break to deal with first.
The charm of training clear to see
On Tuesday afternoon, the balls started flying round Schenkendorffplatz once again, in the classic weather of a Berlin autumn, with driving rain and seven Herthaner off representing their countries. Our head coach will, of course, work with his coaching staff to address the key problems the team have had in the next few days. “We need to work on our attitude towards set pieces, in order to keep goals from going in,” explained Dárdai. To start the week, the team worked for 90 minutes, with intensive tactical and shooting work coming after a warm-up. The planned friendly game against Erzgebirge Aue was called off on Sunday. “Given the number of injuries and players on international duty we have, it makes no sense to play the game,” said the 45-year-old.
As well as the players away on international duty, Hertha also have a few players on the injury table. Lukas Klünter, Jordan Torunarigha, Myziane Maolida and Linus Gechter were all already out, and Márton Dárdai also picked up a muscle injury on the last matchday. “It would be great if they were all fit and we had real competition for places. Being able to name the same team for a few games would also be nice. It’s not easy, but we’ll accept this situation for what it is and try to get the most out of it,” added the coach.
Stark and Zeefuik training individually
Dárdai wasn’t able to name any set dates for the return of the injured players. While Deyovaisio Zeefuik and Niklas Stark trained individually, Rune Jarstein was another absentee. After completing most parts of team training last week, the 37-year-old had to sit out training due to some knee issues. Stevan Jovetić was still training with the team before he heads off to join up with his national team. U23 players Jonas Michelbrink, Marlon Morgenstern, Julian Albrecht and Timur Gayret, as well as Tony Rölke from the U19s all took part in the session with the first team on Tuesday. A number of youngsters will get the chance to impress over the coming days, with one eye already on the next match on 16th October against Eintracht Frankfurt. “We need to bring our good training performances onto the pitch at the weekend,” demanded Dárdai.