According to information from “Kicker”, Sandro Schwarz is to become the new head coach at Hertha BSC. As the magazine reported on Thursday evening, he has already reached an agreement with the Berlin Bundesliga club and will succeed Felix Magath. Schwarz, who has only coached 1. FSV Mainz 05 in the Bundesliga from 2017 to 2019, should be introduced to Hertha next week.
The 43-year-old coach is still contesting the Russian Cup final against city rivals Spartak with his current club Dynamo Moscow on Sunday. According to the report, Schwarz should then terminate his contract, which runs until 2024, and return to Germany. There was initially no confirmation from the clubs for the personnel.
stayed in Russia
During his Dynamo engagement in Russia, he was named coach of the month several times. Unlike other German coaches like Markus Gisdol (Lokomotiv Moscow) and Daniel Farke (FK Krasnodar), he stayed in the country even after Russia attacked Ukraine. He justified this by saying that he felt responsible for the club.
As the new coach, it would be Schwarz’s task to lead the Berliners back into a safe table area after years of sporting decline. Since investor Lars Windhorst joined in 2019, all three subsequent seasons have been against relegation. Under short-term coach Magath, Hertha just barely managed to stay up against Hamburger SV (0:1/2:0) in the relegation. “This relegation was the last chance,” said sporting director Fredi Bobic on Tuesday.
From the capital to the crisis club
The squad will be revised in the summer, Bobic expressly declared no player unsaleable. The lion’s share of the 374 million euros that Windhorst brought in has been used up. In tandem with Bobic, Black would have to get creative on the transfer market – but also rely on his own youth and still get results.
Structurally, there is also a lot to do at Hertha. The club is struggling for unity. President Werner Gegenbauer resigned after disputes with Windhorst on Tuesday. Finance boss Ingo Schiller is also leaving in October, leaving only Bobic among the decision-makers.
