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| | | Hertha On The Way Up: The Reasons | | | | [4.03.] After Hertha´s gruesome 3-0 loss to Frankfurt, relegation questions came up. "I am happy I don´t have to answer those questions anymore", Hertha General Manager Dieter Hoeness admits. "We remained calm after that match, but awakened and worked out our problems." Successfully - Hertha is much more consistent now. Here is an analysis. | | |  | | Hertha coach Lucien Favre |
The Coach
Lucien Favre, who experimented a lot with the line-up in the first part of the season, has found his starting line-up. Against Stuttgart, Bielefeld and Wolfsburg Hertha used the same starting lineup. Against Duisburg, only Steve von Bergen (24) filled in for the injured Malik Fathi (24). "I know the players better now", says Favre. He also improved his communication with the team leaders (Friedrich, Simunic, Fathi, Drobny, von Bergen), which is highly appreciated by the players themselves.
The New Signings
Hertha made personnel changes in the winter break. Rudolf Skacel (28) gave his best performance so far against Duisburg. Gojko Kacar (21) is a positive new figure in central midfield and Raffael (22) has been a real hit. "We are much more unpredictable up front with him now", says Marko Pantelic (29). "I have much more open space for myself now since he joined us." Raffael´s record after five matches, Three goals, one assist. And Pantelic (also with three goals and one assist in 2008) is enjoying a continuation of his good 2007 form. As the icing on the cake for the Serbian striker, Hertha is now in talks with Pantelic´s agent, Wolfgang Müllenbrock, to extend his contract which currently ends after the 2009 season.
The System
Hertha played ini a 3-4-2-1 formation for the first time at Stuttgart and it seems to work for the team. "We have more presence in midfield this way. We win the ball much earlier and therefore stand closer to the opponent´s goal", says Hoeness. The system appears to be less static than in the fall of 2007. The new central midfield with Kacar and Lustenberger generates more pressure and works more offensively. Hertha now creates more goal chances, but they still stand solidly in defense. They seem to have found the right balance.
 | | Manager Dieter Hoeneß |
The Defense
Hertha has produced three consecutive clean sheets (shut-outs). This equals Hertha´s best Bundesliga run and last occurred on match days 28 through 20 of the 2005/2006 season "Pantelic, Raffael and Ebert work a lot for us", says defender von Bergen. "Kacar and Skacel also play a very aggressive style. They are good offensively, but they also think defensively." The individual class of the Hertha defenders is a further plus: Arne Friedrich (28) is playing at the top of his game, although he missed most of the pre-season due to achilles tendon problems. Josip Simunic (30) has also improved a lot since last fall.
The Unity
The Frankfurt disaster has resulted in a number of internal changes. Two team dinners since then have created a better atmosphere, which has carried over to the field. "Everyone is ready to make that extra step for his teammate", Hoeness notes. Team captain Arne Friedrich has also performed his leadership role outside the locker room. "He has done a great job on and off the field lately", Hertha Team Manager Michael Preetz said. But despite the recent positive run, no one is slacking off. Defender Simunic says, "The quality of the team can only be measured in consistency over a longer stretch." Von Bergen added, "We have worked for the self-confidence we have now." Now they want to prove it at Borussia Dortmund on Friday.
Source: kicker-Sportmagazin
Translated by Chris Schuepp | | | Projected Line-Ups |
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