Hertha’s goalscorer Marco Richter rushed from interview to interview at his old place of work. After his celebrated goal to make it 2-0 at his former employer FC Augsburg, the Berlin offensive player was undoubtedly the most sought-after man in the interview zone. Richter described his football afternoon as “very, very emotional” and described the goal as the “icing on the cake” of his recovery: “I wish it would continue like that.”
The goal, which he was “a bit jittery about”, was another step back into the old life. “I just want to play football and have fun. Of course, one or two percent is physically missing,” admitted Richter. For the 24-year-old it was the first goal since his comeback, for coach Sandro Schwarz the first win as Hertha coach. But Schwarz’s thoughts revolved only around judges.
“We are happy that he can finally experience this everyday life again. That he is healthy and can pursue his passion,” said Schwarz, who described the months after Richter’s testicular cancer diagnosis as “totally emotional”. “How he dealt with it, how the club dealt with it – extraordinary,” said the 43-year-old.
“We’re missing a lot of players”
After four games without a win, Hertha sent the long-awaited sign of life, overtook FCA in the table and left the relegation zone behind. “It feels good,” said Dodi Lukebakio, who had put the Berliners ahead with a header in the 57th minute, and announced: “That was just the beginning. It gives you a lot of confidence now.”
The Augsburgers, on the other hand, fell deeper into their sporting mini-crisis. The fans acknowledged the performance of their team with a shrill whistle concert, the likes of which FCA veteran Florian Niederlechner had never experienced before. “I don’t know at all that the fans put us down like that. It’s definitely not that much fun right now,” the attacker stated.
The required penetrating power on the offensive did not materialize. Bad passes en masse and free kicks that flew everywhere but in the direction of the goal. Coach Enrico Maassen named “technical errors” and “unrest in promising situations” as the reasons for the next setback. Captain Jeffrey Gouweleeuw said: “We’re missing a lot of players. And the boys need time.”
