Hertha in the derby without Jovetic: "Knife between teeth"
Created: 01/17/2022 15:19
Stevan Jovetic in action.
© Tom Weller/dpa/archive image
Hertha BSC will also have to do without their top striker Stevan Jovetic in the Berlin Cup derby against 1. FC Union.
After his calf injury on Wednesday (8.45 p.m. / ARD and Sky), the national soccer player from Montenegro is not yet ready for action again.
Whether right-back Peter Pekarik can play after his corona infection was still open on Monday.
Berlin – Coach Tayfun Korkut can rely on Suat Serdar and Kevin-Prince Boateng, who were recently suspended in the Bundesliga against VfL Wolfsburg (0-0).
According to Hertha's sporting director Fredi Bobic, no particular motivation is required for the round of 16 in front of a good 2,000 spectators in the Olympic Stadium.
"Actually, the coach shouldn't have said anything.
They should actually be running out with knives between their teeth," said the 50-year-old, who won the DFB Cup with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2018.
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The humiliating 2-0 defeat in the Bundesliga against Union in November, in the aftermath of which coach Pal Dardai had to leave, plays no role in the preparations, according to his successor Korkut. "We didn't bother with that at all. It's a derby. It's there to win," said the Hertha coach. dpa