Well last year was a bit of a roller coaster of a season. Overall Hertha ended in a better position that anyone dreamed of at the start of the year but ride ended with a downhill run that inevitably left fans with an aftertaste of disappointment.
Hertha have not lost any of their key players in the summer period which is pretty good news. The only outgoing changes being Roy “Beers Up” Beerens moving to England (Reading FC) and Hajime Hosogai returning to Jos Luhukay at VfB Stuttgart. In terms of retentions perhaps the most notable is Jay Brooks who has signed a new contract to keep a little stability in the defence alongside Sebastian Langkamp.
Hertha need better squad depth to be able think about coping with the Europa League and to this end Hertha have made a couple of signings so far this summer in the form of Ondrej Duda from Legia Warsaw and well rated 19-year old Allan on loan from Liverpool.
With Ondrej Duda Hertha have brought in a young (21), fast, attacking midfielder who has a fair amount of experience for one of his age. This includes scoring a goal against Wales in the Euros. Allan supplies another option in central midfield although with a more defensive skillset. Youngster Kurt could also be given the chance in midfield as could Maximilian Mittelstädt who had a few good spells as an U19 in the National team. If they are lucky they could pick up some Europa League experience as well.
Naturally, time will tell as to how well these new additions “gel” with the team. In many ways this is more important than the individual quality of the players
| Here we are in late July: the ink is barely dry on Ondrej’s contract, the start of the Bundesliga is still a month away and yet, Hertha are in the action against Brøndby IF in the third round Europa League qualifier at the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark on Thursday. |  |
It will be my first visit to see a match in this Berlin stadium although I have walked/cycled passed it hundreds of times. I’m quite looking forward to the event but I hope it all turns out better than Hertha’s last venture into the Europa League in 2009! More about the game in my next post.
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