Preparation and concentration

Pascal Klemens won the ball with a strong challenge before giving in straight on to Mesut Kesik. He then turned and found Ibrahim Maza upfront, who tried to take an early shot. Those at Hertha training were able to get a good look at lots of young Blue-White talents . The trio belonged to a group of six academy players who took part in first team training at Schenckendorffplatz. Veit Stange, Peter Matiebel and Joel da Silva completed the group of six for a 75-minute training session – the first training session ahead of a particularly challenging away game.

First session of the week without six players

Playing Bayern on Saturday presents a huge challenge for the ‘Old Lady’, despite the home sides’ recent difficulties. Ahead of the away game against the record champions, the coach’s focus remained on Hertha building a foundation: “We have to go those extra couple of metres and still be more compact. The concentration also has to be better and the mentality has to change. With tactical disciple and preparedness we can do it,” said Pál Dárdai, explaining the plan for the coming days.

After an hour-long video session on Tuesday, 24 outfield players and three goalkeepers took to the training pitch at 11:00 CEST. Those absent included Márton Dárdai and Marco Richter (both muscle problems), Tolga Ciğerci (stomach bug) and Tjark Ernst (illness). Stevan Jovetić (calf) trained individually, while Ivan Šunjić was missing due to disciplinary reasons. The boys worked on their passing and shape on small pitches, focussing on playing quickly and communicating a lot. “Play the ball and show for it, play it and show for it,” was the instructions coming from the coach.

The team will need a similar energy and passion for the game in Munich on Sunday. “We have to be determined and the players have to work together, this is the only way!” explained the Hungarian looking ahead to the game against the Bundesliga’s current second-placed side – and the 47-year-old knows what he’s talking about. The Hertha head coach has stood on the sidelines against Bayern more than against any other team (12 times). This experience definitely doesn’t hurt their preparation. “We now have a long week ahead of us,” stated the head coach, looking ahead to the weeks training, with sessions open to the public until Wednesday. Anyone who knows the head coach will know his plan for the week: “We have to keep working.”