Big week ahead

Two teams, two games, one play-off. Everything comes down to the next two games. Hertha head coach Felix Magath and his team have six days of preparation for two games against Hamburger – after meeting in the capital on Thursday (19/05/22, 20:30 CEST), the two sides will face each other in Hamburg the following Monday (23/05/22, 20:30 CEST). “The boys have to have the belief that we can do it. It’s our job to manage them so that they work passionately and can defeat the opposition,” said sporting director Fredi Bobic. “It’s about Hertha BSC and only Hertha BSC and our survival,” added Magath.

The team began the week of training for the first leg at the Olympiastadion on Monday. The session consisted of a warm-up, some passing and shooting drills and a game and lasted around 75 minutes. Niklas Stark and Linus Gechter returned to the pitch, while Marcel Lotka was absent after suffering light concussion and a broken nose against Dortmund. Prince Boateng did not train due to personal reasons. Alexander Schwolow, Lukas Klünter and  Dong-jun Lee worked individually, while U19 players Luca Wollschläger and Julian Eitschberger were involved. Márton Dárdai and Davie Selke, who were suffering from muscular problems, were absent alongside Anton Kade, who had a minor ankle issue.

Mini training camp on the schedule

A large part of those missing today will be cleared for the team’s training camp in Kienbaum on Tuesday. “We have to be wary of the players’ regeneration and also make sure that they have clear heads. The Olympic training centre has exactly the right conditions for us to do that,” said the head coach on the 48 hours in Brandenburg. “Also,” he added, “we want to be together and able to focus on ourselves,” in order to give our all and achieve our goal in the two upcoming games.