One of the best clubs in Europe? No, relegation battle in the Bundesliga! The club is deeply in crisis – also because Hertha have failed dramatically with some transfers. The overview of the wrong purchases of the past years.
For many years it was almost an unwritten law in Berlin that every taxi driver in the capital had to know the way to the villa of the show great Harald Juhnke – in case the hard-drinking entertainer falls into a back seat and “Drive me home ! ” would babble. And according to reports, this actually happened not that seldom.
Hertha BSC, this football club that wants to be as big as the city in which it plays, is currently taking the familiar route again: down.
Because the “Big City Club” lies in ruins before it could even become the “Big City Club”. When the entrepreneur Lars Windhorst joined Hertha BSC as an investor in the summer of 2019 with the full-bodied announcement that he wanted to make the club a fixture not only in the Bundesliga, but also in Europe, there was at times a spirit of optimism at the capital club. After all, Hertha always longs for size, but always achieves the trick of making itself small.
Disastrous transfer record
Only a year and a half later, it is not football Europe that trembles at the Berliners, but the “Big City Club” before the relegation battle. Hertha is currently in 14th place with only 17 points from 18 games, far below their own expectations. The club has worn four coaches since 2019, and now manager Michael Preetz, who has been lagging behind his own claims since taking office in 2009, has not survived the sporting crisis.
Because in the end it was just too much that Preetz was blamed. Not only the separation without need from the esteemed coach Pal Dardai, the disaster with Jürgen Klinsmann or the two failed attempts with Alexander Nouri, then with Bruno Labbadia on the bench. Especially the transfer balance of the long-time maker since the Windhorst entry reads catastrophically – because the club has put almost 140 million euros in the sand since 2019 for players who have not helped the club.
The overview:
►Lucas Tousart (23, midfield): Came from Olympique Lyon in the summer of 2020 for 25 million euros. Record so far: 15 games, zero goals, zero assists. Despite his much-invoked leadership qualities, the Frenchman was unable to assert himself either playfully or verbally at Hertha, probably also because of a language problem. Far too little.
Without commitment: Lucas Tousart has not yet proven to be the desired reinforcement for Hertha. (Source: Bernd König / imago images)
►Krzysztof Piatek (25, attack): Came in January 2020 for 24 million euros from AC Milan. Record so far: 34 games, nine goals, three assists. In the current season, the Pole has only met four times, commuting between the starting eleven and the bench. Piatek has not proven to be a top striker so far, often seems more like a foreign body. At the beginning of the year there was even speculation about an early departure from Berlin.
Without luck: Krzysztof Piatek has so far fallen short of expectations. (Source: Bernd König / imago images)
►Dodi Lukebakio (23, attack): Came from Watford FC in the summer of 2019 for € 20m. Record so far: 51 games, 13 goals, eleven assists – But: In 2020/21 the highly talented Belgian has only scored five goals so far, was last not taken into account by Labbadia for the game against Bremen – the listless ideas of the attacker at 0-3 against Hoffenheim and in Hertha training had annoyed the coach.
Without commitment: Dodi Lukebakio was last not considered for reasons of performance. (Source: Jan Hübner / imago images)
►Matheus Cunha (21, attack): Came in January 2020 for 18 million euros from RB Leipzig. Record so far: 28 games, twelve goals, eight assists. The only new addition from the previous Windhorst time that was at least partially convincing. The Brazilian is still too changeable in his performance, and missed a penalty against Bremen.
Without constancy: Matheus Cunha is still missing the lasting class. (Source: Matthias Koch / imago images)
►Jhon Cordoba (27, attack): Came in summer 2020 for 15 million euros from 1. FC Köln. Record so far: twelve games, five goals, one assist. The Colombian has at least done well so far, Labbadia even raved about him as a “fixed point” in the team. After all, apparently with a bigger future in Berlin than Piatek.
Without an ice-cold degree: Despite the appealing performance, Jhon Cordoba sometimes lacks the coolness in the degree. (Source: imago images)
►Santiago Ascacibar (23, midfield): Came in January 2020 for ten million euros from VfB Stuttgart. Balance so far: nine games, one template. The Argentine has missed a total of 22 games so far, mostly due to injury, and has not even played this season. Under Labbadia, however, Ascacibar did not play a role in the end, although it would be available again.
No perspective: after a long injury break, Santiago Ascacibar (r.) Was not considered by Labbadia recently. (Source: Contrast / imago images)
More million newcomers:
- Midfielder Eduard Löwen (for seven million euros from 1. FC Nürnberg. On loan to FC Augsburg in January 2020. Returned early in October. So far, only eleven short appearances, zero goals, zero assists)
- Goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow (for seven million from SC Freiburg. Regular goalkeeper)
- Central defender Omar Alderete (for 6.5 million from FC Basel. Currently in central defense)
- Full-back Deyovaisio Zeefuik (for four million euros from FC Groningen. Only twelve short appearances so far)
- Midfielder Mattéo Guendouzi (on loan from Arsenal for € 1m. 13 games so far, two goals, one assist)
Makes a total of 137.5 million euros. In the 2019/20 winter break, no club worldwide had even spent more on newcomers than Hertha, which at the time still followed Jürgen Klinsmann’s plans before he did dismantled himself. Less than a year later, the club is now fighting relegation.
A comparison directly from the same city: Rivale Union Berlin only spent 8.9 million euros (!) In the same period, but it is a functioning entity – and is currently in eighth place, eleven points ahead of Hertha.
Now everything should get better with Dardai – the club did on Monday the return of the Hungarian to the coaching bench Perfect. “It was definitely not my plan to switch from the U16s to the professional coaching position,” said the 44-year-old on his comeback. “But I don’t need to explain to anyone what Hertha BSC means to me. So there was no question that I would help out in this situation.” And this association really needs help at the moment.
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