A new start

Schenkendorffplatz was a hive of activity on Tuesday morning as our team started training for the week, heading out onto the pitch at around 10:30 AM. All the eyes and cameras of the media were set up and their focus was on one man in particular: Felix Magath. Our new head coach did not stand out in the crowd of players who walked out into the field though; the 68-year-old made his entrance a few minutes later. He also did not stand out in the near 90-minute long session, deciding to stay in the background and watch on closely. The former midfielder was pleased with what he saw by doing that: “I’m satisfied with the first session. Everyone was awake and alert and did well. Credit to Tayfun Korkut – the squad I’ve found here is a very fit one,” explained Magath after the session.

Fotheringham gets the blood pumping

Mark Fotheringham was the man to lead large parts of training with Magath in the background. Our new assistant coach gave the 23 outfield players, including U23s Christalino Atemona and Marten Winkler, a warm-up before splitting them in to two groups to practise passing drills – the four goalkeepers trained amongst themselves. Niklas Stark and Stevan Jovetić could only work individually today, as did Kélian Nsona und Rune Jarstein.

Prince Boateng, returning from injury, was able to take part in large parts of training today, in a session where the whole squad, the veteran included got to experience Fotheringham’s energy. The Scot was very vocal and communicative, giving his instructions and praise in equal measure. The 38-year-old could be heard shouting his commands in the next drill, with barks of “hunt them!” and “press!” echoing around Schenkendorffplatz. The intensity and tempo of the day was high, especially in the final 11-vs-11 game with goalkeepers on the full-size pitch. Fotheringham also got into one or two detailed bits of work, too: one example was when the Scottish former midfielder stopped play at a corner and had it replayed.

Richter with a fine finish to end the session

Magath held several one-on-one conversations with his new players, including with Boateng, who finished his session a little earlier than his colleagues. As our number 27 made his way back to the dressing room, Marco Richter ended the session with a fine goal, the 24-year-old firing into the corner with a great effort. That was the end of a session which looked to kick off good preparation work for the game at home to TSG Hoffenheim on Saturday, but also hoped to start a successful final push for the season. Before the squad returned to the showers, Magath brought the team together and gave them a couple of words: “We’re going to be using the next few sessions to get as good an impression of everything as we can, so that we can start work in the right places,” said the Aschaffenburg-born Magath, who was already able to gain a good picture of his squad in the first 90 minutes of his Hertha tenure. It’s a squad who everyone of a Blue-White disposition will hope can celebrate at the Olympiastadion on Saturday.