WARSAW, June 5 -- Former Hertha Berlin goalkeeper Gabor Kiraly insisted in the interview for Polish media on Friday that Polish striker Krzysztof Piatek, who lost his place in the starting eleven, should be patient as "he plays in a good team."
In the winter transfer window, Hertha broke their transfer record to buy Piatek for about 30 million euros from AC Milan. The Pole was believed to be a new leader of the team. However, he scored just three goals in ten matches and lost his place in the starting eleven after coach Bruno Labbadia replaced Alexander Nouri on Hertha's bench.
"It's not important for me how much Hertha paid for Piatek. I wasn't an expensive player but I achieved success in Berlin. The Pole has to give something to the team when he comes in from the bench. He should be patient and focused as I think he is in a good team and right place," Kiraly was quoted as saying by the Polish paper "Przeglad Sportowy".
Coach Labbadia prefers 36-year-old Vedad Ibisevic rather than Piatek as a center-forward. "I played against Ibisevic, now he has more experience than at that time. He ran faster but he is still able to score goals. However, there will be a time when he will stop scoring and that's Piatek's role to replace him," added Kiraly.
Labbadia made a perfect start in Hertha as his players won three of four matches. "The break helped him because he got much more time to get to know the team. I know Labbadia very well as I worked under him in Bayer Leverkusen. He has a lot of patience and experience. Every year he becomes a better coach. I see the team make progress thanks to Labbadia," concluded the Hungarian.
After 29 rounds Hertha is in 9th place in the Bundesliga. On Saturday they play against Borussia Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park.