By Carsten Priefer
All in black, but visibly relieved, Hertha manager Fredi Bobic (50) showed up at the office one day after the rescue. His first season as a doer – it didn’t go as planned. That’s why he now says loudly: “No one is not for sale.”
Very few of the 12 newcomers hit the mark, and the change of coach from Pal Dardai to Tayfun Korkut fizzled out. Only coach number 3 Felix Magath managed to stay up in the last second.
Everything should be better next season, a new coach should take care of that.
Bobic: “We’ve come a long way in finding a coach. We will introduce him next week.”
What does the new man have to bring to stabilize Hertha? The manager: “Personality and fire. I want to see aggressive football, pointing forward, not backwards. Our football was marked by passivity.”
But not only a new coach should come, also many new players.
Bobic: “Nobody at Hertha is currently not for sale, that’s for sure. There will be another major upheaval. Ten loanees are coming back, but not all will stay on board. We did a good job, but then fell behind a bit due to the relegation. Some interesting players are gone as a result, but it’s our turn. It is also true that we have to achieve transfer surpluses.”
Hertha’s record purchase Lucas Tousart (25, came from Lyon for 25 million) is one of the few professionals for whom Bobic can get a good transfer fee Photo: City Press GmbH
Also, Bobic talked about…
…Rescuer Felix Magath: “He did an outstanding job, I am very grateful to him. We were laughed at when we signed him. But I was totally convinced of him. And it was sensational what he got out of it.”
… own mistakes: “Of course I also reflect on myself, work everything through. We primarily invested in the future, not so much in the current season. I learn from that too.”
…the mood in the club: “It’s always good when there’s movement in a traditional club. But I had no idea how deep the problems in the club were. There were so many fire accelerators, so many disruptive fires – that didn’t help Hertha. We would do well to critically question everything internally. It takes a lot of strength, but I have it.”
