A good decision from Hertha BSC: Felix Magath
Photo: imago / Matthias Kochh
It’s been two months since Hertha BSC made the right decision. This is worth mentioning because, measured against their own goals and actual development, a lot must have gone wrong at the Berlin Bundesliga club in recent years. The commitment of Felix Magath as the new head coach at the time was widely interpreted as another misstep by the club. But now, on the last day of the game, the “maximum goal”, as Magath calls direct relegation, is possible. A point at Borussia Dortmund would be enough for this on Saturday. And should VfB Stuttgart not win against 1. FC Köln, the Berliners are sure to save 15th place.
The skepticism that Magath met in Germany in mid-March was justified in an understandable way. After all, the 68-year-old last looked after a Bundesliga team ten years ago and then worked in England and China with limited success. He hasn’t been on a training ground at all for the past five years. On the other hand, his reputation as a »grinder« put him on the sidelines of modern football. And it really didn’t take long before Fredrik Björkan, the first Hertha player, had to break off a training session exhausted. Whether the long list of injuries that followed is also due to this remains secondary – success justifies the means.
Nomen est Omen: You know in advance what you get from »Quälix« Magath. That’s exactly what the club wanted. When introducing the new coach, Hertha’s sports director Fredi Bobic praised his “hard hand”. On March 19th, however, very few people could believe their eyes. In the first game after the change of coach, a new team seemed to be on the field: self-confident, passionate, combative, determined, with conviction in every action. The remarkably sovereign 3:0 against TSG Hoffenheim was the first win after nine games. Magath’s old school was also evident in the line-up: with central defender Niklas Stark in front of a four-man defense, the long-forgotten position of the front stopper celebrated its renaissance.
The new momentum didn’t last long in this form, but apart from the 4-1 loss in the city derby against 1. FC Union, Hertha BSC was suddenly competitive again. Magath and his equally notorious assistant coaches Mark Fotheringham and Werner Leuthard have turned individuals into a team that, thanks to a newfound defensive stability, is hard to beat. And can also win games: With three wins and one draw, the Berliners have only one point less in the past seven games than in the 17 games before. This made it possible to jump from the penultimate place in the table to 15th place.
The tie against Bielefeld two weeks ago showed how fragile the structure is. But because Arminia then lost on matchday 33, Magath’s “minimum goal” of avoiding direct relegation was met despite Hertha BSC’s simultaneous defeat by Mainz. Now he is aiming for the maximum. With regard to the game at Borussia Dortmund, the coach made it clear: “We’re playing against the runners-up, the second-best team in the country.” But the favorites don’t necessarily always have to win. The good feeling of hope brought Magath back to Berlin. And he also emphasizes it: »When I came here a few weeks ago, everything was basically full of resignation.«
Between the two extremes lies relegation. So if the “maximum goal” is missed on the last day of the game, there will be two duels against the third party in the 2nd Bundesliga. Magath has had this scenario in his head since he took office. “I was sure we were playing against HSV in the relegation round,” he said recently. In addition to Hamburger SV, Werder Bremen and Darmstadt 98 are also in the running for third place, the decision will be made on Sunday. The two relegation games are scheduled for May 19th and 23rd.
It doesn’t matter when Hertha BSC’s sporting future will be decided, the time afterwards will be just as exciting. On the one hand, Fredi Bobic wants to ask questions about his own responsibility for the crisis. The head of sport promised that when Magath was presented. Just two changes of coach within a season are a bad reference. Added to this is the composition of the team: it doesn’t seem to fit in terms of sport or character – and can only be led with a “hard hand”. Schleifer Magath only wants to comment on his own future after the end of the season.
Relegation would make many decisions easier. The most important for Hertha BSC are on May 29th. Investor Lars Windhorst had already instigated a power struggle for the general meeting that took place months ago. “We need a fresh start at the top,” he said of all things after the hopeful win against Hoffenheim. Windhorst wants more of a say in the €375 million he has invested, which Bobic says has long since been spent. And Windhorst no longer wants to work with President Werner Gegenbauer. In the meantime, two applications have already been received against the 71-year-old, who has been at the helm of the Charlottenburg club since 2008. Investor football with fear of relegation and an uncertain future – that’s what can happen when many things have gone wrong for a long time.
