Hertha Berlin coach Pal Dardai is pinning his hopes on a hungry and vengeful Vedad Ibisevic when his side make their return to European club competition action tonight.

Hertha are back on the European stage after a six-year absence with a Europa League third round qualifying match against Brondby, and it is a particularly attractive prospect for the Bosnian forward.

Brondby are coached by Alexander Zorniger, who showed Ibisevic the door at Stuttgart last season which paved the way for his move to the German capital.

Dardai now hopes the motivation of proving him wrong will inspire Ibisevic to make a difference.

“I need players like Ibisevic,” Dardai said.

“He is crucial to my playing philosophy. It’s great that we’re talking about European football here again. We’ll do all we can to ensure the will and determination is there, and I will take care of that.”

With Hertha’s Olympiastadion home unavailable for today’s clash, they will instead play in the more centrally-located Friedrich Ludwig Jahn Sportpark, the venue for last season’s Women’s UEFA Champions League final.

The game is already an 18,454 sell-out with anticipation high for Hertha’s return to Europe.

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