Hertha's Unfortunate Dilemma
Hertha BSC's coach Pal Dardai (47) had an unexpected twist in his plans.
The Berlin-based team had scheduled two friendly matches on Thursday. However, their team strength seemed to be dwindling...
The first fixture was already in the public eye: Hertha's professionals were set to face regional league side VSG Altglienicke with interim coach and second division specialist Torsten Mattuschka (43) at 1pm in Hanas-Braun-Stadion.
The surprise entry: Shortly after that, Hertha's U23 team had been scheduled to engage in a match against Everton FC's U21 team at 3.30pm.
However, the question of which Hertha players would play in which Hertha team had remained uncertain since Tuesday. The empirical data had been thrown off track due to new injuries.
Alarm bells ringing at Hertha.
Kempf, Leistner, Dardai, Gechter, Klemens, Rogel - no more central defenders!
Their captain and defensive commander Toni Leistner (33) had now joined the wounded. Dardai announced, "He has a pulled muscle and will be out for a week."
A string of misfortunes: It wasn't just Hertha's first line of defense that was affected - ALL other central defenders in the professional squad were absentees for Hertha's double matchday.
The reason: Linus Gechter was assigned to Germany U20, Marton Dardai to Germany U21, and Pascal Klemens to Germany U19. Agustin Rogel (26) was still recovering from knee surgery.
A bitter pill to swallow: Fabian Reese (25) had picked up another injury in training - on the very same spot that had troubled him in the previous KSC game. The odds of him participating in Thursday's game seemed slim too.
Dardai admits his confusion: "I genuinely do not know how we will manage the two games."
In addition, many other Hertha players were away with their national teams (Tabakovic, Prevljak, Pekarik, Bouchalakis, Lucoqui, Maolida, Gustav Christensen).
This means that Dardai and U23 coach Stephan Schmidt (47) now had to rely heavily on players from the younger age groups.
Let's hope no more players get injured during their international trips...
- Hertha's U23 team, overseen by coach Stephan Schmidt, was to face Everton FC's U21 team in the 2nd league, following Hertha's professionals' match against VSG Altglienicke in Bundesliga 2.
- The Bundesliga 2 expert Torsten Mattuschka would be in charge of Hertha's professionals for their match against VSG Altglienicke, as the second division was his specialty.
- The regional sports site regio sport berlin reported on the "defense alarm" at Hertha BSC, with vital central defenders like Toni Leistner, Linus Gechter, Marton Dardai, Pascal Klemens, Agustin Rogel, and Fabian Reese all missing due to various factors.
- Marc-Oliver Kempf, who formed the center-back pair with Toni Leistner, had suffered an injury and had to leave the field early, adding to Hertha's defensive concerns.
- With numerous Hertha players departing for their national teams (Tabakovic, Prevljak, Pekarik, Bouchalakis, Lucoqui, Maolida, Gustav Christensen), Dardai and U23 coach Schmidt would need to rely heavily on the talent from the younger age groups.
- Despite their squad depth being tested, Hertha BSC would hope to compensate for the missing defenders without incurring further injuries during the international trips.
Source:
Related information
Hertha BSC has been grappling with injuries and national team assignments, which have impacted their central defensive lineup. While the specific replacement options are not elaborated in the provided sources, here's a general perspective to consider:
- Injury status of key players:
- Hertha BSC has faced injuries, especially in their central defense. However, the exact status of their key defenders is not detailed in the provided sources.
- National team commitments:
- Players summoned for national teams could be unavailable for Hertha BSC matches. However, the specific players and their call-ups are not mentioned in the provided sources.
- Potential replacement options:
- In light of the lack of detailed information, possible replacement options might involve other players from Hertha BSC's squad who can fill in central defensive roles or those who are experienced there.
- Recent performance and squad depth:
- Hertha BSC's inconsistent recent performances and potentially shallow squad depth might be concerns. They must strengthen their defense and devise solutions to escape the relegation zone, which could mean relying on less experienced players or those performing well in the reserves.
