Hard work in Harsewinkel

The Hertha team bus arrived at the hotel Klosterpforte at 13:02 on Tuesday afternoon. Four goalkeepers and 15 outfield players made the trip to the west of Germany. “We will use our time here to grow closer together as a group and to focus on our upcoming matches,” said head coach Felix Magath. After arrival, the team ate together before getting straight to work. Fitness coach Markus Hödl led the activation session on the pitch. Henrik Kuchno and Werner Leuthardt then took over with some resistance sprint drills.

Lotka returns, extra session for the goalkeepers

The hard work didn’t stop there though for our Herthaner. Niklas Stark, Marco Richter & Co. then had to complete some intense strength and endurance circuits, which combined jumping, medicine balls and stabilisation and coordination exercises. Marcel Lotka was part of the squad in Harsewinkel, the first player to return from international duty. He, along with the rest of the players, put in a real shift and was rewarded with a game at the end of training by coach Magath. Following that 90-minute session, the lads went for ice baths to cool down. However, the goalkeepers remained out on the pitch for an additional session with Andreas Menger and Ilja Hofstädt, whilst Mark Fotheringham and Vedad Ibišević did some laps in the sun. “It was an intense start to the training camp. The lads were fully committed to the session, so we didn’t work on any tactics,” explained the 68-year-old, who is looking forward to more players returning on Wednesday from international duty. The Hertha squad will continue to train in Harsewinkel for the coming days as they prepare for the upcoming away game at Bayer 04 Leverkusen (2/4/22, 15:30 CEST).