New addition “absolute win”
Since his surprise return on Deadline Day of the winter transfer window, Tolga Cigerci has been pulling the strings in Hertha BSC’s midfield as if he had never been away. The 30-year-old, who was under contract in Berlin between 2013 and 2016, was in the starting XI in the last three games – Hertha clinched two important victories. While his coach Sandro Schwarz described the four-time Turkish international as an “absolute win for us as a group”, the right-footed player gave an insight into his last-minute transfer, spoke about his new role at the capital club and the chances of staying up.
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“I didn’t have time to be surprised. Everything went too fast on the penultimate and last transfer day. Then I got the call that there was a possibility of a return, and then everything happened pretty quickly. I had to make the decision quickly and I have to thank Ankaragücü, the president, the coach and the staff. You made things easier for us. I had a good time in Ankara. And now we are very happy to be back in Berlin and to see familiar faces again. I adapted quickly, but I’ve been able to do that throughout my career,” said Cigerci in retrospect.table footballquoted.
After six and a half years and four stints in the Turkish Süper Lig, the defensive midfielder, who returned to Berlin with the experience of 59 Bundesliga games behind him, had no difficulties adjusting. Newcomer Ivan Sunjic, on loan from Birmingham, ousted the sixth position, harmonized in the center with captain Lucas Tousart and Suat Serdar. Teammate Marco Richter praised the qualities of the winter transfer: “Sometimes Tolga calms the game, sometimes he makes it quick. It feels like he’s always been part of the team.”
When asked about his skills as a driver and communicator in Hertha’s midfield, Cigerci told the magazine: “I had a similar role at Ankaragücü. I was prepared. I wanted to help the team as quickly as possible. I’m not doing this alone. Everyone has their own character. Just because someone is quiet doesn’t mean they don’t take responsibility. It has been discussed here before. Everyone tries to help everyone. I just tried to give a little bit more. This has worked well so far. With the experience I have gained, I have also changed as a person. The whole thing has made me stronger.”
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Cigerci, whose highest market value dates from his time at the Istanbul club Galatasaray, has also developed as a player in recent years: “I solve certain situations better. In the past, people might have been more hectic. When you’re young, you want to do a lot of things at once. That can work, but doesn’t have to. You learn a lot with age, you learn to remain calmer in certain situations and to play faster in other situations. I think I’m smarter and calmer, but I can also play aggressively when it counts. I can always change my game and adapt, that’s my advantage.”
The center is in the Table 14 game. “in the end maybe the most important thing. We have good communication. Lucas and I are the ones who can intervene more and walk a lot more. And with Suat we have someone who holds the ball better and can give us a lot with his technique. This mix isn’t bad,” says Cigerci about the interaction with Tousart and Serdar in the center.
Born in Nordenham, the club in the capital, which is currently only one point ahead of the relegation zone, sees the club “on the right track. There has been good progress in the last three or four games. Of course, we can’t rest on our laurels, we have to go full throttle. Everyone is aware of the situation we are in. Everyone was aware of that beforehand, and then I joined them. Maybe I’ll infect people too. I try to be positive and talk to the players a lot. We have good energy that we mustn’t lose. If we keep the positivity, I am confident that we will be successful.”
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