After the heated battle in Mainz, Janik Haberer was allowed to listen to his captain Rani Khedira’s praise while he was waiting for his interview. The former Freiburg player is a “top new signing” for 1. FC Union, who made a “sensational game” against Hertha. “Of course you like to hear that,” said the 28-year-old. “I think last week was very good, unfortunately today wasn’t so good, but it’s still nice to hear something like that.”
In fact, Haberer remained a bit pale after his strong debut against Hertha in the 0-0 away game at Mainz 05. But his teammates also allowed themselves a few more breaks this time than was the case when they defeated Hertha in the derby. “It was a very tough game. I think that we were very compact, especially in the game against the ball, and we were very organised,” summarized Union coach Urs Fischer.
Overall, he is satisfied with his team, who have tried to remain consistent but still have to improve on the offensive. There wasn’t a single big chance on either side in 90 minutes. In the past, Grischa Prömel often made the difference in duels in which the Köpenicker could not really convince playfully. But he has been playing for TSG Hoffenheim again since this summer.
Such a departure is part of the club philosophy of the Berliners, who have to deal with many departures and arrivals every season, which they have always managed well. It’s not necessarily the big names who come to Berlin, but often players who tended to stay a little under the radar at their previous clubs.
For example, Haberer, who recently received little time at Freiburg. Nevertheless, he can show years of Bundesliga experience, which should be especially important in the European Cup. Although Haberer was brought in as a replacement for Prömel, he is a slightly different type of player. With his game intelligence, his strengths lie more in the offensive than in duels. Added to this is his goal threat.
Haberer is a player who impresses with good positional play, which enables him to win the ball cleverly without tackling. So he doesn’t replace Prömel one-for-one, but he still suits Union very well with his way of putting himself completely at the service of the team.
Even if Haberer didn’t stand out that much against Mainz, that doesn’t have to be a bad sign. After all, Union remained without a goal, which was also thanks to him and will be important with regard to the next opponent at the weekend. Against RB Leipzig, Union must maintain this defensive stability and, in addition, find their way back to their old strength in the switching game, of which there was almost nothing to be seen against Mainz.
Actually something that distinguishes the Berliners and for which they have the right players in the fast Sheraldo Becker and newcomer Jordan Siebatcheu. Like Haberer, Siebatcheu was allowed to play in all three competitive games from the start and quickly found his way into Fischer’s solid system. Nevertheless, it is a change, said Haberer, for whom the style of play is quite different compared to Freiburg: “Here it’s often relatively quick on the chain, a lot of depth in the game, a lot of straightness.”
Twenty minutes before the end, Norwegian Morten Thorsby made another newcomer to his Union debut. “Committed, on the road a lot, tried, went into duels, also helped at the back,” was his trainer’s concise conclusion. Fischer still sees some catching up to do with him, especially in the physical area.
In the past, Union managed to compensate for every departure and seems to be building on that this season. In the end, you can definitely be satisfied in Köpenick with four points from two games in view of the season goal of staying up.
