Despite losing 3-1 to Bayer Leverkusen last weekend, Hertha BSC are having a good season and are in a good position to compete for the European places. Pal Dardai’s side won against SSV Jahn Regensburg and FC St. Pauli to qualify for the last 16 of the DFB cup. They face last year’s finalist Borussia Dortmund in the last 16 on Wednesday 8th February at 20:45 CET.
Niklas Stark has drawn attention to himself over the past few months for his impressive performances both in the Hertha defence and for the Germany U21s. The 21-year old has made 18 appearances in the Bundesliga and DFB cup so far this season. He’s played in centre-back nine of those times and in defensive midfield the other nine. Niklas Stark spoke to DFB.de: about the upcoming game in Dortmund, his preferred position and the dream of qualifying for the final.
DFB.de: Mr Stark, you played in the 1-1 draw against Dortmund on 14th October 2016. What do you remember about this game?
Niklas Stark: I can remember the game well. It was a very exciting game with action constantly at both ends of the pitch. A player was sent off for both sides and we both managed to score. That won’t happen in the DFB cup though, there has to be a winner!
DFB.de: Did you play as a centre-back or in defensive midfield against Dortmund?
Stark: It was tricky against Dortmund last time. I played in the ‘number six’ role really, mainly marking Mario Götze. It worked well though and we managed to get the point.
DFB.de: Will you approach the DFB cup game with the same tactics?
Stark We’ll have to see because we have two Bundesliga fixtures in between now and then, but we have to go into the cup game with the same positive attitude. Beating Dortmund isn’t an easy task, but we will be successful if we give it our all and make the most of our chances going forward.
Despite losing 3-1 to Bayer Leverkusen last weekend, Hertha BSC are having a good season and are in a good position to compete for the European places. Pal Dardai’s side won against SSV Jahn Regensburg and FC St. Pauli to qualify for the last 16 of the DFB cup. They face last year’s finalist Borussia Dortmund in the last 16 on Wednesday 8th February at 20:45 CET.
Niklas Stark has drawn attention to himself over the past few months for his impressive performances both in the Hertha defence and for the Germany U21s. The 21-year old has made 18 appearances in the Bundesliga and DFB cup so far this season. He’s played in centre-back nine of those times and in defensive midfield the other nine. Niklas Stark spoke to DFB.de: about the upcoming game in Dortmund, his preferred position and the dream of qualifying for the final.
DFB.de: Mr Stark, you played in the 1-1 draw against Dortmund on 14th October 2016. What do you remember about this game?
Niklas Stark: I can remember the game well. It was a very exciting game with action constantly at both ends of the pitch. A player was sent off for both sides and we both managed to score. That won’t happen in the DFB cup though, there has to be a winner!
DFB.de: Did you play as a centre-back or in defensive midfield against Dortmund?
Stark: It was tricky against Dortmund last time. I played in the ‘number six’ role really, mainly marking Mario Götze. It worked well though and we managed to get the point.
DFB.de: Will you approach the DFB cup game with the same tactics?
Stark We’ll have to see because we have two Bundesliga fixtures in between now and then, but we have to go into the cup game with the same positive attitude. Beating Dortmund isn’t an easy task, but we will be successful if we give it our all and make the most of our chances going forward.
DFB.de: Will you be back in defensive midfield or do you prefer playing at centre-back?
Stark: I don’t get a choice (laughs) That of course comes down to how we line up tactically. I will play where the coach puts me and I can demonstrate my strengths in both positions. But as I say, the main thing really is that I get to play.
DFB.de: You are currently on the same number of points as BVB and in fifth place, only due to the fact that Dortmund have a better goal difference. Who are the favourites for the round of 16?
Stark: The DFB Cup is a different competition, so it really doesn’t matter where the teams currently are in the Bundesliga. We are not definitely the favourites to win in Dortmund but as I said, if we execute our plan and concentrate, we can get through to the next round. Then it would only be two more wins to get to the final. To play the final at home in our own stadium would be a dream for the whole city.
DFB.de: How would you describe the team’s current style of play under Pal Dardai?
Stark: Keeping compact is an important factor for us. It is tricky for every team to play against us and we are very strong defensively. In addition, we have a great mentality. Nobody is offended if they don’t play and only come on from the bench. We know that we are all valued in the team. That is why we have had a successful season so far.
DFB.de: You said similar things about the U21s national head coach Stefan Kuntz in October. “We all just clicked immediately and have a good mentality,” you said at the time.
Stark: Exactly, it’s been the same with the U21s but obviously with the difference that we are all more or less the same age there. The atmosphere in the team is always hugely important. Even though we had a bad result against Poland in November in our last friendly match, we’ve realised that we need to carry on working hard and that you can’t win matches by playing casually. That was important particularly looking ahead to the European Championships in the summer.
