From BZ/dpa
A good four weeks before the start of the second division, Pal Dardai starts preparing for the season at Hertha BSC. The restructuring of the squad hasn’t really started yet, which immediately brings problems.
The threat of the German U21s being eliminated from the European Championship after the defeat against the Czech Republic (1:2). Pal Dardai possibly with mixed feelings. Of course, the Hertha BSC coach wishes his son Marton Dardai and striker Jessic Ngankam Good luck with the junior team.
If they were eliminated from the preliminary round against England on Wednesday, the duo would be back in Berlin earlier and ready for an already complicated pre-season for the Berliners after relegation to the 2nd Bundesliga.
Marton Dardai has not played at the U21 European Championship so far Photo: picture alliance/dpa
Dardai junior (21) and Ngankam (22) are Dardai senior’s (47) dream players as they try to form a young and homogeneous group. When the Hungarian asks for the first pre-season training session on Monday (4 p.m.) on Schenkendorffplatz, the large hodgepodge of Hertha professionals is still a mixture of those who are allowed to stay and those who should be sold for economic reasons. Dardai needs to get the mix right over the next few weeks to drive some necessary team building.
Dodi Lukebakio (left, here in a duel with Leipzig’s Josko Gvardiol) is Hertha’s jewel and should achieve the highest sales revenue Photo: City Press
Dodi Lukebakio, Lucas Tousart, Suat Serdar, Oliver Christensen, Krzystof Piatek, Alexander Schwolow, Agostin Rogel and many others are up for sale. Some will not be there on Monday due to national team commitments, but in the worst case, they will arrive at some point because they still have no new employer.
In the first few days, possibly weeks, Dardai will have to work with constantly changing personnel and initially also with a very large squad – not an ideal situation. Newcomers are Gustav Christensen (FC Midtjylland), Marius Gersbeck (Karlsruher SC) and Fabian Reese (Holstein Kiel).
Dates, dates, dates
The first test match is planned for next Sunday (4:00 p.m.) at Oberliga club RSV Eintracht Stahnsdorf. Other test opponents are BFC Dynamo on July 7th in Berlin and Young Boys Bern on July 8th in Biel. Dardai and his team are traveling to the training camp in Zell am See in Austria from July 12th to 21st. The second division season begins on the weekend of July 28th to 30th – the schedule will be published by the DFL next Friday.