Dardai: Grujic is the new Effenberg
Hertha BSC coach Pal Dardai has compared Liverpool loanee Marko Grujic with Stefan Effenberg.
| Pal Dardai. | Photo: Football.ua/Creative Commons/CC-by-SA 3.0 |
Grujic, who's on loan at Hertha from Liverpool until the end of the season, is quite similar to Effenberg in terms of both stature and playing style, according to Dardai.
"I've never had a midfielder like Marko Grujic before. For me, he's the new Stefan Effenberg," Dardai said in an interview with Sport Bild and continued:
"He was tall, too, but very safe on the ball despite that, and he always knew when to calm down the team, when to go into a duel and when to move forward. You either have that ability or you don't."
Although Grujic admits he isn't really familiar with Effenberg's style as a player, the 22-year-old says he's thankful for the praise.
"These are big words for me. He's a huge name," said the midfielder who has scored three goals in 15 appearances for Hertha this season.
Effenberg played for clubs such as Gladbach, Bayern München and Fiorentina throughout his career. He made 35 appearances for Germany, scoring five goals.