Hertha Berlin were definitely a positive surprise in the early part of this season. The lively performances of Pal Dardai's team in the opening matchdays peaked with much celebrated home wins against the two top teams from Mönchengladbach and Munich at the end of September. The surprise 2-0 victory over the record champions from Bavaria was followed by a bad run of six games without a win in the league.The performances of the Berlin club stabilised between early and late autumn – eighth position after 16 games is respectable and they are only one point behind a European spot but at times they have appeared capable of much more. Above all, the impressive performances in front of their own fans stand out. the 15 points gained at their own ground of the Olympic Stadium is the fifth best return in the league and that also serves as a warning to FC Bayern who are away to Hertha in the DFB Cup Round of 16 at the start of February.
34 years old, a Champions League winner and an over ten years younger top talent as competition – nevertheless, Vedad Ibisevic is always a first choice up front at Hertha Berlin. Even at his advanced age, the Bosnian has not lost his sense of where the target is and with six goals to his credit so far this season, he is second top goalscorer behind playmaker Ondrej Duda ( pictured above) who scored his seventh goal of the season against Augsburg. Of all the current Bundesliga players, only Robert Lewandowski, Claudio Pizarro and Mario Gomez have found the back of the net more often in Germany's top flight than the reliable Bosnian (116 for Alemannia Aachen, 1899 Hoffenheim, VfB Stuttgart and Hertha). At the start of the season,Ibisevic mostly performed as a lone striker but Dardai has recently played with two strikers fielding Davie Selke, who was injured at the start of the campaign, alongside his captain. In addition to the experienced Ibisevic and goalkeeper Rune Jarstein (also 34) a number of youngsters have been in the spotlight this season: The two homegrown talents Arne Maier (19) and Maximilian Mittelstädt (21) have become regular starters with the latter scoring his first Bundesliga goal last weekend in the 2-1 defeat at VfB Stuttgart. The Dutchman Javairo Dilrosun, on loan from Manchester City, has proved to be a sensation on the wing. However, the 20-year-old will miss the final game of the first half of the season against the Werkself due to a thigh injury.
At the moment, Dardai not only has Dilrosun's absence to worry about. In Marko Grujic and Karim Rekik, two other first-team regulars will definitely be missing against Bayer 04 and Niklas Stark, Salomon Kalou and Arne Maier are in a race against time to be fit. Dardai is running out of players, above all, in the centre of defence. The regular central defender duo of Stark and Rekik are sidelined as are two options for holding midfield Grujic and Maier. Some of the remaining alternatives are carrying knocks but are expected to make it for the weekend. "To be honest, we don't have a really fit number six at the moment," said Dardai ahead of the game against Augsburg before adding: "The players will have to grit their teeth and carry on."
Perhaps the biggest strength for Hertha remains the excellent youth development policy at the club. In addition to Maier and Mittelstädt, central defender Jordan Torunarigha (21) is another promising homegrown player who regularly starts in the first team. U19 international Dennis Jastrzembski (18) plus the coach's son Palko Dardai (19) are also on the verge of playing a bigger role in the first team. Whether all the players can imitate the success of a Jérôme Boateng, who also began his career with the Hertha youth teams, is obviously open to question. Nevertheless, the large pool of talent and Dardai's confidence shown in playing them plus the fact they form a significant part of the Hertha Berlin squad means there is not too much dependence on expensive new signings.
In view of the long injury list, the management at the club from the capital will be happy to see the winter break – and also with the results achieved to date as they continue the trend of recent seasons.Under Pal Dardai consistency is the watchword at a club that used to switch between Europa League qualification and the second division with his predecessors. With the Hungarian at the helm, Hertha have finished between sixth and tenth position in the league. It appears to be very realistic that Hertha Berlin will end this season in a similar position.
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As in the previous away fixture in Rheinhessen, Bayer 04 and Mainz 05 were locked in a thrilling battle on Bundesliga matchday 5. And once again, the Werkself proved to have the greater stamina. The home side equalised the early two-goal lead secured by Robert Andrich (5’) and Patrik Schick (9’) before the half-time whistle, thanks to a brace from Anthony Caci (33’, 42’). Mainz 05 were unable to respond to the two goals from Jarell Quansah (55’) and Moussa Diaby (65’) until late on. Apart from Phillip Tietz’s late consolation goal (90+2’), the Black and Reds barely allowed Mainz any attacking opportunities and were able to clinch the first away win of the season.
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