Those responsible at Hertha BSC were extremely dissatisfied after the third derby defeat this season. Managing director Fredi Bobic was also upset after the 4-1 defeat against Union.
1: 4 home clapping in front of a full house against Union Berlin, the third derby defeat of the season and remaining in 17th and thus the first direct relegation place in the Bundesliga: It was a used Saturday evening for Berlin Hertha, who were still good with the big defeat was served.
It is significant that the only Berlin goal came from an own goal by the guests (Baumgartl, 49th). The Old Lady’s efforts to attack seemed harmless and without concept. The rival from Köpenick was vastly superior in the sold-out Berlin Olympic Stadium and in the end the deserved winner. Only substitute keeper Marcel Lotka showed normal form that evening and prevented a higher deficit in the first round.
Union sniffs international business
While the Unioners are now getting a taste of international business like last year, the nerve-wracking relegation battle is still on the agenda for Hertha. Managing Director Fredi Bobic, who looked visibly irritated on the Sky microphone after the end of the game, also noticed that nerves were on edge.
“Union did it very well. We didn’t do it so well. We still have it in our own hands, but we have to do a lot more to stay up,” said Bobic in an interview with Sky reporter Yannick Erkenbrecher after the game. Hertha will face three direct competitors in the relegation battle in the coming weeks: FC Augsburg, VfB Stuttgart and Arminia Bielefeld.
The fact that some Hertha players, including keeper Lotka and Hertha home-grown Maxi Mittelstädt, should take off their shirts in front of the blue and white fans after the game as a sign of humility met with incomprehension from Bobic: “I wouldn’t have done that because I put on the jersey with pride. I understand the frustration of the fans. Losing the third derby in a row is not fun for any of us. But we are also athletes.”
Frustration among Hertha fans after the 4-1 defeat against Union: Parts of the curve want the players to symbolically take off their jerseys. (Source: camera4+/imago images)
Annoyed, Bobic blocked the question of whether he would now enter into a dialogue with the team because of the jersey removal. “That’s not the point now. You asked me a question – and I wouldn’t have done it.”
And Bobic also answered the question about the hope of staying up in the league slightly irritated. “The upcoming games are tough. But the relegation battle is always tough. Have you seen one (relegation battle, editor’s note) where things just work? Not me. It was always a battle until to the end. And you have to accept the fight. Nothing has changed in the table. The starting point for next week is the same.”
Next Easter Saturday (3.30 p.m.) in Augsburg will show whether Hertha can take the next step out of the basement. Competitor VfB Stuttgart (15th place, one point more) then plays at Mainz 05 at the same time, while Arminia Bielefeld (16th place, equal points) hosts Bayern Munich a day later.
