Focus on Freiburg

The Hertha players kicked off the week with the first training session ahead of Saturday’s away game against SC Freiburg (1/4/23, 15:30 CEST).

Niederlechner returns

Sandro Schwarz spoke to his players shortly before Monday’s session. The group included Florian Niederlechner, who had missed Friday’s charity match against Berliner AK due to muscular problems. Our number 7 knows this weekend’s opponents well, having played for Freiburg between January 2016 and June 2019. “They are a really solid team. They often win games via set pieces. We have to defend them well, work hard without the ball and be dangerous once we win it back,” said the forward.

Kempf trains individually – Šunjić missing due to private reasons

Hertha therefore know exactly what they need to be working on in training this week before the matchday 27 clash. Monday’s session, which saw 14 outfield players and three goalkeepers get to work in a mix of sunshine and snow, included passing drills and a match situation without goals. While Jean-Paul Boëtius (shoulder injury), Chidera Ejuke, Kélian Nsona (both doing rehabilitation training), Tjark Ernst (ankle) and Ivan Šunjić (private reasons) were all missing, Marc Kempf worked individually. Stevan Jovetić, Dodi Lukébakio, Jessic Ngankam, Peter Pekarík and Derry Scherhant are all still away with their national teams and will return over the course of this week.

“We need to remain positive and stick together, that’s the only way we can succeed,” demanded Niederlechner. “Improving our away form is also important. We need a win on the road, hopefully in Freiburg!” One man who could help secure the three points this weekend is Suat Serdar. The midfielder scored the winning goal in the match at the end of training, a lovely curling effort into the far corner of the goal. Let’s hope he can repeat the trick this Saturday down in the south of Germany!