Not only the performance against Bayern with the convincing Leroy Sané (rv) makes Hertha with Vladimir Darida (lv) and trainer Tayfun Korkut despair.
Photo: imago images/Engler
A police officer played relaxed on his mobile phone, his service bus with other bored passengers in uniform stood alone in front of the Hertha BSC office on the Berlin Olympic site early Sunday evening. A picture of the calm after the storm. A day earlier, around 80 uninvited fans had disturbed the secret training session of the blue-and-white footballers – to convey the pent-up frustration of the supporters to the team on the training ground in clear words. Hertha’s coach Tayfun Korkut also spoke of this experience when he said later on Sunday evening: “We have to make sure that we get the whole week over with quickly.”
It could have gotten much worse for the Berlin Bundesliga club at the end of this week. But because the record champions from Munich had missed an unusual number of scoring chances in their victory in the Olympic Stadium, Korkut was spared having to comment on another debacle at the press conference after the 4-1 loss to FC Bayern. And so Hertha BSC is dragging around the great shame of the cup defeat against city rivals 1. FC Union Berlin.
The reaction of the fans and a look at the Berlin media landscape show how great the pressure is after the 2: 3 against Köpenicker last Wednesday. But not only the footballers from Charlottenburg are responsible for this. The club plays a significant part in the overheated atmosphere. If Hertha BSC – far removed from sporting reality – presents itself as the first and only true capital city club when it comes to every opportunity, no one should be surprised if the mood gets even worse after every further disappointment.
“Here comes Berlin’s number one soccer team!” – as always, the stadium announcer announced the Hertha team against FC Bayern. The fervor of his voice, which was also always exaggerated, aroused more regret than enthusiasm in view of the 3000 visitors in the wide circle of the Olympic Stadium and the cold and wet January weather. The few fans at least showed humor. “Here we go!” they shouted after substitute Jurgen Ekkelenkamp had scored ten minutes before the end of the game to make it 4-1 for Hertha BSC.
This defeat was to be expected and therefore did not trigger the next aftershock. Other numbers than the result of 1: 4 are evidence of a questionable state of Berlin. Of a total of 29 Munich shots, 20 were on the Hertha goal – no other Bundesliga club has allowed more. For Bayern it’s just another record on their way to their tenth title in a row, but it’s a big problem for the Berliners. The concentration on the defense prescribed by Korkut lasted just 25 seconds, when the first ball flew dangerously into their own penalty area. When less than two minutes had been played, the first ball was in the Hertha goal. Even if the video referee denied the goal shortly afterwards: The second worst defensive in the league, with 42 goals conceded, invited the opponent to a chance every three minutes. With only two Munich goals per half by Corentin Tolisso, Thomas Müller, Leroy Sané and Serge Gnabry, Bayern dealt more than mercifully with their completely overwhelmed opponent.
New season, old problems
Hertha BSC is again at the bottom of the table in the Bundesliga
It wasn’t long ago that Hertha’s head of sport, Fredi Bobic, made a limited declaration of loyalty to the coach, whom he only brought to Berlin at the end of November. If a positive development can be seen, then Korkut can continue. On the one hand, he wanted to convey calm and confidence at the general meeting on January 16th. On the other hand, the defeat in the DFB Cup against Union followed. How reliable Bobic’s statement is currently depends on his own assessment. If he means a playful development, the chances for Korkut are already bad. If the sports director takes the table as a benchmark, the following two games should be decisive. After the league break next weekend, Hertha will welcome newly promoted VfL Bochum. Eleventh, he is two points and two places better than the Berliners. Then it goes to bottom Greuther Fürth. If the gap from currently only three points to the relegation rank and four to the first relegation place has not grown afterwards, Korkut could be history again after just a little more than three months.
Fredi Bobic is self-confident enough for such decisions. Most recently, he repeatedly contradicted the line of the controversial investor Lars Windhorst. He rejects his story about the “Big City Club” because he hasn’t even put it in his mouth. And the fact that Bobic says he doesn’t see Hertha as a big club yet brings much-needed realism to the club. Windhorst has not yet responded. But he currently has bigger problems than Hertha BSC. As the magazine “Business Insider” recently reported, Windhorst’s Tennor group is accused of “collecting sums in the millions from criminal acts”. In addition, he has to pay back almost 1.5 billion euros to a London fund this year. Should that also become a problem for Hertha BSC, where the 375 million euros invested by Windhorst have not shown any profitable effect so far, then even defeats against a city rival are peanuts.
