Football Season Guide

Hertha Berlin continued their gradual improvement under Pal Dardai and are now one of the toughest sides in the league to beat, especially at home. The capital city side had one of the best home records in the league and were unbeaten in front of their home fans for much of the campaign last year. However it was a very different story away from home and that will be one area that the club need to work on this season. Aside from the need to improve on the road, Hertha will also compete in the Europa League group stage this season which will add extra pressure on the side. Dardai, in typical form, has not made any major changes to his squad for this season in either direction, though there has been some movement on the transfer market. Centre back John Brooks has joined fellow Bundesliga side Wolfsburg and, although that is a loss for the strength of the squad, Dardai has plenty of options at the back. It could especially mean that 20 year old Jordan Torunarigha will get more game time after impressing at the back end of last season so he is likely to rotate in the back four along with the more experienced Niklas Stark and Sebastian Langkamp. Other departures from the club have simply been to thin the squad down a little. Dardai has looked to strengthen the attack in the summer as Davie Selkie and Matthew Leckie have been added to the squad, both coming from other top division sides. They will be able to slot well in the squad and should be able to give top scorer from last season Vedad Ibisevic much needed support as he was was left with far too much responsibility for bagging the side’s goals. Justin Klinsmann, the son of German legend Jürgen Klinsmann, has also been signed as third goalkeeper in one of the more noteworthy transfers of the summer. Hertha are a very solid unit and will not be easily beaten. They are a side with a clear identity and look like one of the best equipped teams to deal with league and European football so the goal will be to get back into the top six for next season.