Photo:City-Press
Hertha Berlin is trying to reinvent itself with the mix of young and old players, and a pivotal player in the program is Salomon Kalou. The Ivory Coast international player has been dynamic in changing the fortunes of the club in the first half of this season.
Salomon Kalou is the highest goal scorer for Hertha with seven goals and the club has 24 points on the league table. One would expect that the former Champions League winner with Chelsea is treated with respect. Unfortunately, critics questioned his importance for the team and he almost became a casualty of the program to mix young and old players.
Kalou was maligned as yesterday’s man because of his speed and age. At 32 years, he is not the youngest on the pitch. In fact, Coach Pal Dardai, benched him for 4 matches consecutively this season.
Kalou did not create a drama out of sitting on the bench but reacted on the pitch by scoring decisive goals for Hertha when he had the chance to play afterward. In the games against Augsburg, Hannover, and Leipzig, Kalou was on target.
What Kalou lacks in speed, he makes up for strategic positional play in the opponents half. As a goal scorer, he is always there at the right place to score goals.
He is an important player for Hertha because of his experience and disposition on the field. Kalou is the panacea that Pal Dardai wants to implement in his program. Dardai admitted,”
I’ve always said that working with the many young players only works when older players are very professional and work as role models”.
If Hertha wants to maintain consistency on the pitch in the second half of the season, then they need to come up with a malleable plan on how to incorporate Kalou in the scheme of things. Because he is like a good wine that tastes better with time.
