This is how Dardai wants to create the miracle

Clear plan for relegation: Hertha’s coach Pal Dardai.

picture alliance/dpa

The day after “the nice work victory” against VfB Stuttgart, full-time realist Pal Dardai soberly classified the overall situation. A “better atmosphere” now prevails, also a “better location”, but: “We still haven’t done anything.”

The calculation of the Hungarian, who two days before the VfB game mantra-like issued his credo for the season finale (“four games, four wins”), is now: “You have to win two of three games, then you might already have the relegation place. If you win three, you can even stay straight in the league.”

For now, of course, Dardai only wants to think about the game at 1. FC Köln on Friday evening. “With persistence, diligence and focus, we have worked out a minimal chance,” says the man whose third rescue mission is the most difficult. “The players feel that we’re on the right track. Now we have to get on with it and continue down this path.” The bottom of the league can hope again. There are reasons:

Dardai places Dardai on the six

Compactness: In his first two terms in office, Dardai quickly instilled defensive reliability in the team. He’s on that path now too. Hertha’s Bundesliga record player had succeeded Sandro Schwarz as coach in mid-April after a 5-2 loss to Schalke – and got off to a miserable start with a 4-2 loss to Bremen. Already in Munich (0:2) Hertha was much more disciplined against the ball, against VfB Hertha defended with the exception of the goal and with great passion. “We steered the opponent where we wanted to go,” says Dardai. “The team worked very well, the gaps were right.” The manager’s move to move his son Marton Dardai from central defense to the six brought added stability and physicality.

We steered the opponent where we wanted to go.

Experience: Florian Niederlechner (32) started against VfB up front and scored for the first time since moving from Augsburg to Hertha in January, Stevan Jovetic (33) lasted 90 minutes on the ten. “It’s a moment where we need experience,” says Dardai. In his first game after returning, the coach nominated Peter Pekarik (36) for the starting XI against Bremen. Pekarik wasn’t in the match day squad against Stuttgart, but he was still there before the game at the team hotel. “I told Peka to stay with us until the end of the game,” said Dardai. “His calmness, his charisma are important.” Kevin-Prince Boateng (36), on the bench against VfB, and Tolga Cigerci (31), who, like Pekarik, didn’t make it into the squad this time, are also leaders. Dardai: “Tolga, Peka and Prince are leaders – whether they play or not.”

“If you have to build a 15 piece closet by yourself…”

Team spirit: Dardai turned the mood and gathered everyone behind one goal. “We were a team,” said captain Marvin Plattenhardt (31) after the all-important win against Stuttgart. In the previous weeks it was sometimes more of a side by side than a togetherness. “People on the street or in the neighborhood ask me why the team didn’t fight like that before,” says Dardai, emphasizing: “Everyone fought there too, but not together. It makes a difference whether you fight alone or everyone together. If you have to build a 15-piece closet by yourself, the day sucks – if you get 20 buddies, they’ll all be done in 10 minutes.” Dardai on the new team spirit: “You just found the thing, now you have to keep it. We have worked something out.” In addition to the veterans around Boateng, Pekarik, Niederlechner, Cigerci and Plattenhardt, Marc Oliver Kempf (28), Lucas Tousart (26) and Marco Richter (25) are also considered players with a claim to leadership. Dardai has found his axis.

Pressure Resistance: While the team at Schalke and Bremen literally collapsed after the first goal conceded, Dardai’s reaction against Stuttgart came after VfB equalized: “We were prepared for a situation like that. The body language was right.” No coincidence: Hertha took the lead again just nine minutes after equalizing. “Of course the pressure is high,” says goal scorer Niederlechner. “But we are responsible for that ourselves.” The impression: Since Hertha was written off by almost everyone, the mental blockade has dissolved. “I was shocked myself how uncertain everyone was against Bremen,” said Dardai. It was different against VfB: “The team wasn’t nervous. I was waiting in the Bremen game for the moment when they could cope with the pressure.”

Standards trained “very hard” – even with objections

Standards: In the relegation battle of the previous year, under Dardai’s pre-predecessor (and post-successor) Felix Magath, the standards of Plattenhardt Hertha’s survival insurance. This season, standards have long been one of Berlin’s cardinal weaknesses. When he took office, Dardai named stationary balls as the focus of training. Now the work is bearing fruit. Defense chief Kempf scored 1-0 against Stuttgart after a corner was saved and a Richter cross with a header – Hertha’s first goal this season that came from a corner kick of their own. At 2:1, Niederlechner scored after a free kick by Dodi Lukebakio.

Dardai on the two set goals that kept Hertha’s hopes alive: “We’ve been practicing that for two weeks. Very hard, very consistent – even with objections. That’s how you stay in the league.” Ease is not allowed, even on dead balls. “We’ll stay tuned,” announces Dardai. “It should stay that way. It’s consistent work to inspire the boys to do the movement. We’ve done a lot and now it’s working.” Hertha is relaunching the previous year’s recipe.