Mith the prospect of Sami Khedira’s spectacular return to the Bundesliga, Hertha BSC is already talking openly about Europe in the midst of the great crisis. If the often injured former world champion actually signs in Berlin, he can expect a tough relegation battle. As the new Hertha boss, Carsten Schmidt spoke on Sunday of the huge area of tension at the capital crisis club and confirmed the negotiations with 33-year-old Khedira as a possible prominent stabilizer of the team that was unsettled after the dive towards the relegation zone.
“We are in talks with Sami. I had a long phone call with him recently. I think he is a great leader, a very successful footballer who has gone through many professional clubs and gained a lot of experience there, ”said Schmidt on Sunday on the program“ Sky90 ”. The Berliners don’t have much time for final talks with Khedira and his club Juventus Turin. The transfer window closes on Monday at 6 p.m.
“I didn’t speak to Khedira”
Coach Pal Dardai did not want to comment on the possible celebrity access. “I didn’t speak to Khedira, I didn’t speak to many other players. I have my players, I am very satisfied with the players I have, ”said the Hungarian one day after the 3-1 draw on his coach return at Eintracht Frankfurt. Khedira would obviously be the category that Dardai would also like. “A 19-year-old super talent will not help us,” said the 44-year-old on transfer options.
Only one week after the separation from the former manager Michael Preetz, who was accused of a hesitant transfer policy in view of the millions invested by financier Lars Windhorst, Hertha would suddenly afford a well-known access. In addition, according to the “Bild” newspaper and Sky, Milot Rashica from Werder Bremen should also be a candidate. Within the last few months, Mario Götze and Julian Draxler, among others, had already been traded in Berlin.
There should be no lack of great thinking as fifteenth in the table after 19 game days and with FC Bayern as the next opponent. The direction is apparently Schmidt and not the sports director Arne Friedrich, who was entrusted with the Preetz tasks until the summer. “Hertha was a training and further education association under Michael Preetz, by the way very successful. Now it’s an attack club. We want to go to Europe and we also say so, ”said the chairman of the management about the basic prospects despite the current precarious situation. The former Sky boss didn’t want to deny it either: “We’re all worried. I also sleep badly after these series of defeats. “
Klopp’s dream
And yet, given Schmidt’s continued good relationship with investor Windhorst in Berlin, so much more seems possible. At Sky, the new strong man of the capital club was also asked how realistic it would be to attract start coaches like Jürgen Klopp in the future. “If I could dream, Jürgen Klopp is a fascinating personality. Everyone in the world deals with it. Why should Hertha BSC rule that out, ”said Schmidt.
The transfer effort to Khedira is currently raising various questions. In no other position does Dardai have as many options as in central, defensive midfield. The previous record transfer Lucas Tousart, Mattéo Guendouzi, Niklas Stark, Eduard Löwen and Santiago Ascacibar are already available. It is also questionable whether Khedira could help quickly at all. The football strategist has never dealt with relegation battle in his career. Khedira played his last professional game so far in June 2020. He last played in Serie A before the outbreak of the Corona crisis. “He has not had any competition experience for a long time, so there are still many questions to be answered,” admitted Schmidt.
Khedira joined Juventus from Real Madrid in 2015. He had previously played for Los Blancos in Spain for five years. In 2010 he made his international breakthrough at the World Cup in South Africa. Four years later he became world champion with the DFB selection in Brazil. After the 2018 World Cup debacle, national coach Joachim Löw no longer relied on the Swabian in the national team. Most recently, Khedira had multiple health problems, including undergoing heart surgery in 2019.
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