retired_liew wai kheng

Perfect Start

Hertha Berlin manager Uli Hess yesterday spoke of his delight at his sides perfect start to the season. Two wins out of two, and the best goal difference in the league puts Hertha top of the fledgling 2008-09 league table.

“Two down, thirty two to go” said Hess, speaking at the press conference after the comfortable 5-0 win over Aachen. “Getting to the top is easy, its staying there that is difficult”.

Asked whether the performance in the opening matches had altered his expectation for the season the manager replied ”No, the performances have simply been a vindication of my confidence before the season. Our goals for the season have not changed – unless we find ourselves in a super position. My expectation is top 5, which means UEFA Cup. Depending upon our opponents and our own consistency that could easily rise to top three – and Champions League, or fall to 7th and scraping into the Intertoto. One of the motivations for the players will be that Intertoto football means a short summer holiday.

He continued to discuss Hertha’s rivals: ”Naturally Bayern will be there or thereabouts when the shield is presented. That is normal – we all know about it when Bayern aren’t top of the league! The main challengers might just be Koln - and I know that Magath would love to put one over his ex employers. Indeed the performances of Podolski alone were almost enough to take the title last year after a strong finish. Stuttgart looked masterful at times last year but the players will have to fight against bad feelings in their heads – they had the look of double winners but finished with nothing, after just two bad games.

The other big clubs – HSV, BVB, and Bremen will all challenge – but perhaps not for the title. I expect these teams to be our main challengers for the UEFA cup places. I like Bremen in particular – so much so that I stole their best striker (Valdez). But they still have plenty of firepower, Klasnic & Vittek will surely finish amongst the top scorers this season.

I also like Wolfsburg who have plenty of talent – in particular Lauth up front. Benny is a great player – to be honest I never understood why Hamburg sold him so quickly. Plus there is also Leverkusen – they will certainly bounce back after our win at BayArena. I would imagine that these teams will challenge Hertha for a top half finish.”

retired_liew wai kheng

No Departure & Injuries

Hertha Berlin have revealed that they have rejected three more bids for talismanic International defender Arne Friedrich. ”Liverpool, Depor, Bologna. All three made approaches to talk to Friedrich. However we are not selling for three reasons – One, we don’t want to, two, we don’t need to and three, the player is happy – not even interested in talking numbers with them.”

Joris Mathijsen & Alexandr Kerzhakov are both out of the weekend’s cup tie against VfR Neumünster after picking up injuries in a training session today. Team doctors expect the pair to miss around two weeks as a result, meaning that they will join Rodrigo Tiui in the medical room.

Bayer Madness

A mad day at the BayArena has seen two of Leverkusen’s star players sold, for a total of over £20m. First manager Jupp Heynckes saw Paraguayan midfielder Edgar Barreto move to Bayern for £10m – the biggest transfer fee paid this summer by a German side, and a real statement of intent for Bayern’s title challenge.

This was followed hours later by news that Udinese had signed Ryan Babel for around £11m. Whilst Barreto’s departure was predicted, Babel’s move came completely out of the blue, especially as Babel had declared his love for the club after hitting nine goals in his first six games of the season.

retired_liew wai kheng

German Cup 1st Round
Hertha stroll

VfR Neumünster 0-5 Hertha BSC

Manager Uli Hess made five changes to his starting line up for this first round cup match against second division Neumünster. Jan Lastuvka, Razvan Rat and Maxi Rodriguez all made full debuts, and its doubtful that Lastuvka has ever enjoyed an easier match – he didn’t even have a save to make.

Maxi Rodriguez gave the away fans a brief showcase of his attacking abilities – hitting a first half hattrick from midfield before being replaced by Balderas. In the second half, Bouma and Vogel netted to complete a comfortable victory.

VfR Neumunster – K.Knocker, T.Weber, M.Fink, L.Davids, T.Zellner, TJ Petersen, O.Gloden, M.Heidrich, H.Kouadio, F.Escobar, C.Kollmergen – Subs – R.Alcantara, S.Scharf, S.Bopp

Hertha BSC – J.Lastuvka, D.Basta, R.Rat, W.Bouma, A.Friedrich, J.Vogel, B.Kalou, M.Rodriguez, Gilberto, D.Toth, G.Dorothea – Subs – R.Balderas, R.Gunesch, D.Lazovic

MOM – Maxi Rodriguez

retired_liew wai kheng

Post Match Interview

So 5-0, and a place in the next round of the cup, I guess you can have nothing to complain about?

”Quite, and a clean sheet into the bargain, which is a boost for Lastuvka on his debut – although I don’t think he made a save.”

Yes, according to Press Association statistics Neumünster didn’t have a single shot. It was a real walk in the park wasn’t it?

True, but in fairness the chances of them beating us were very small – we have brought in top level players, something they can only dream of at the moment. At their own level they are flying, two promotions in two seasons – so we mustn’t belittle them.

So what was the thinking for playing Lastuvka?

Simple, I have two excellent keepers – both of whom need matches. Proto has the shirt at the moment in the league, but Lastuvka arrive late so had no chance to play in the friendlies. We couldn’t throw him into the league matches when he didn’t know his team-mates. Now he has had two weeks to familiarise himself so it made sense to play him. He might not have had a save to make but everyone in the back five will have benefited from 90 minutes together.

And Maxi?

Yes, he played 45 minutes, did his job perfectly so why not give Balderas his turn. I was confident the match was won – so to me it made sense to try the Mexican in that position.

Finally Uli, Dynamo Dresden away in the next round. Its an East German derby…

”Yes, I believe they played well to beat Braunschweig – who have started better than them in the league. Dresden should provide a more difficult challenge than Neumünster and the stadium should be sold out – which will make it feel like a proper cup match. Winning the cup is a definite objective for us – for one it is easier to win than the league.”

retired_jgirl87

Excellent start to your story, mate. I like the amount of detail that you are including. Good luck in turning Hertha Berlin from relegation battlers into title contenders. :thup:

retired_confal2

Like Spav said

Except that given the players in your squad you shouldn't be needing too much luck to be in amongst the title chasers

All the best :thup:

retired_-pearl-

:thup: An excellent read so far, I am enjoying the story. Best of luck bringing that title to Berlin

retired_liew wai kheng

Thanks for the comments guys

Bundesliga Week 3

VfL Bochum 0-0 Hertha

After flying out of the blocks in the first three matches of the season, Hertha were stopped by a brick wall named Weidenfeller. The Bochum goalkeeper pulled off some superb saves as bottom played top.

After two stinking games Bochum played with their backs to the wall hoping not to concede - which they managed successfully, yet they were unable to muster much of an attacking threat - only one shot, compared with Hertha's seven.

Bochum - R.Weidenfeller, YJ.Anchico, S.Kling, L.Andreasen, D.Hill, E.Skela, S.Rolfes, M.Navidkia, P.Madsen, Bobo, S.Traut - Subs - F.Trojan, V.Lokvenc, M.Wenczel

Hertha BSC – S.Proto, D.Basta, M.Fathi, W.Bouma, A.Friedrich, J.Vogel, B.Kalou, M.Rodriguez, Gilberto, NH.Valdez, D.Lazovic – Subs – R.Balderas, Marcelinho, R.Tiui

MOM - Roman Weidenfeller

Other Bundesliga Results

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Aachen 0-0 1860 Munchen,Cottbus 0-0 Wolfsburg,Bayern 2-1 FC Koln,Gladbach 2-0 Hannover 96,Schalke 4-0 LubeckStuttgart 4-1 Erfurt,Leverkusen 1-1 Dortmund,Werder 2-0 HSV1 Hertha 3 2 1 0 +7 72 Werder 3 2 1 0 +4 73 Schalke 3 2 0 1 +4 64 Bayern 3 2 0 1 +3 65 Gladbach 3 2 0 1 +3 66 Erfurt 3 2 0 1 +2 6</pre>

retired_liew wai kheng

Wednesday 27th August 2008

Bundesliga Week 4

Hertha 3-0 VfB Stuttgart

Hertha bounced back after being held away at Bochum, by destroying last seasons bridesmaids Stuttgart at the Olympiastadion. Uli Hess shuffled the pack once again, recalling Marcelinho after his rest and moving Kalou upfront to partner Valdez. The changes worked a treat, as the new front pair shared three goals.

After a frustrating first half Valdez opened the scoring with a header from a Kalou cross in the 53rd minute. Seconds later Valdez netted again with an outrageous 25 yarder which left Hilderbrand groping at air. Kalou wrapped up the points on 68 firing through a crowd of players following a corner from Lucius.

Hertha BSC – S.Proto, D.Basta, M.Fathi, W.Bouma, A.Friedrich, T.Lucius, M.Rodriguez, Marcelinho, Gilberto, NH.Valdez, B.Kalou – Subs – R.Balderas, D.Lazovic, P.Muller

VfB Stuttgart - T.Hildebrand, M.Delpierre, Z.Low, K.Boulharouz, M.Stranzl, F.Meira, C.Tiffert, M.Engelhardt, D.Jensen, A.Arshavin, Cacau - Subs - V.Iaquinta, J.Vranjes, S.Biruk

MOM - Nelson Haedo Valdez

Other Bundesliga Results

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">FC Koln 1-1 Schalke,1860 Munchen 2-1 Bochum,Dortmund 5-2 Aachen,Erfurt 1-3 Werder,HSV 2-0 Cottbus,Hannover 96 1-1 Bayern,Lubeck 3-3 Leverkusen,Wolfsburg 2-1 Gladbach1 Hertha 4 3 1 0 +10 102 Werder 4 3 1 0 +6 103 Dortmund 4 2 2 0 +5 84 Wolfsburg 4 2 2 0 +2 85 Schalke 4 2 1 1 +4 76 Bayern 4 2 1 1 +3 7</pre>

retired_liew wai kheng

31st August 2008

Deadline Day

Goat Disaster
Supporters of FC Koln suffered a big blow yesterday as their two first choice strikers were sold hours before the transfer window closed. Wonderkid Lukas Podolski was first to go - joining Real Madrid for £22m, he was shortly followed by Souleymane Youla who departed for Chievo for £7m plus 18 year old forward Marotto. Supporters groups have made comments about planned protests before future matches about the shoddy way in which the club has 'blown' its chances of returning to glory.

Elsewhere two of the biggest moves involved Dortmund, where one player joined and another left. Ciprian Marica joined from Strasbourg for 14.5 million. Marica is a Romanian international striker, who move to Alsace after a spell with Shakhtar Donetsk. In order to finance the deal, Peer Kluge was offloaded to Bayern for £6.5 million - a move which was actaully applauded by a number of BVB fans.

Werder Bremen also spent big, replacing Nelson Haedo Valdez with Roberto Colautti, an Argentinian striker for £4.5 million. The beefy striker arrives from St-Etienne after only 12 months with Les Verts. His previous experience includes a couple of years with Boca Juniors.

Satisfied
Hertha manager Uli Hess said he was satisfied to see that another rival team had been weakened, but he hoped that the Bundesliga wouldn't continue to haemorrage top players to foreign leagues after the likes of Ryan Babel and Lukas Podolski moved onto pastures new.

Hess remarked "We've seen two of our rivals weakened in the last few days, first Leverkusen and next Koln. It helps our chances of finishing higher up the league but it isn't positive for the long term well being of the league.

We have seen some teams strengthen though - but I'm not sure that BVB, Bayern and Bremen need anymore players!"

Meanwhile a few dealings took place involving Hertha on the closing day of this transfer window. No one new was brought in, but a few pieces of business were tied up, as Hess elaborates

"We've allowed Glasner to move on to Ahlen on loan for the season. We have the option to recall him if we need. I just feel he needs regular football, and Ahlen can offer him a better standard down in the Regional North league, than our Amateurs can currently offer in the Oberliga.

He's a decent player who's a little raw. Given plenty of competitive football he should prosper. I certainly expect him to net a few times this season.

We also received some good news regarding one of our old players. Ashkan Dejagah, has joined Nurnberg from Liverpool, which gives us £275k due to a 30% sell on clause negotiated by the previous management."

Knocks and Crocks
There was some bad news for Hertha fans today though as three players picked up bad injuries during a training match at the training ground.

First to fall was inspirational playmaker Marcelinho who will be out for around 3 weeks with a calf injury.

Worst of all was the broken leg suffered by Swiss Patrick Muller. The versatile defender come midfielder is expected to be out of action for around five months as a result of his collision with Rodrigo.

Alexandr Kerzhakov will be missing for a couple of weeks with a foot injury - a quick look at his medical records will show that this is the Russian's achilles heel. The former Bayern man did receive some good news when it was announced that his crackerjack volley against Aachen had won the goal of the month competition for August.