Plattenhardt’s free kick for eternity
So it seems in the second round as if Hertha had already shot his powder a bit. The constant high running up, the physicality in the duel and the disciplined shifting take their toll. If HSV didn’t have any chances worth mentioning in the first half, a much more open exchange of blows developed after the tea break.
In the meantime, Hertha actually seems to be giving up the reins of action. In these minutes, Hertha fans curse the hope that was unexpectedly given to them again – they associate it with countless experiences that only ended in pain.
But once again it is Marvin Plattenhardt’s golden foot that achieves great things. In the 63rd minute, the left-back takes a free kick. Half right, a good position. A position that usually ends with a cross, but as a football fan there is always hope that the shooter will try it directly. “He wouldn’t.”
He would – and how. Plattenhardt gives the ball a mathematically beautiful trajectory that lets it fall over goalkeeper Daniel Heuer Fernandes into the goal. 2:0 – a dream goal out of nowhere. As a result, the rudimentary struggle for survival begins. Minutes that feel like hours, countless crosses and tackles, wave after wave of attacks. But Hertha held out, didn’t give HSV an inch too much and brought the result over time. Mission accomplished.
The little man’s Real Madrid
Hertha’s appearance will have been too little for some viewers – too much fight, too little football, too little system. But these are not new insights for the old lady, it is precisely these deficits that drove her into relegation. Hero football was needed. The heroes were missing in the first leg, in the second leg they all rose to those. The comparison to Real Madrid may be presumptuous, but no one embodies the phenomenon of achieving exceptional performances in the biggest games solely through individual quality, team spirit, courage and an unbreakable belief quite like the Los Blancos.
Hertha awakens this spirit on Monday evening. It may be an old idea of football that is statistically inferior to the modern ones with their automatism and sophisticated tactics. But in this one game she can unleash unexpected powers.
Suddenly a Boateng can march 89 minutes for the first time this season; suddenly Plattenhardt converts the first direct free kick since 2017; suddenly Jovetic and Belfodil get dirty; suddenly the otherwise shaky back four is an impenetrable bulwark; suddenly everyone can go beyond their pain threshold; suddenly Hertha is a community bursting with strength and commitment. Hero football, this time – the decisive time – with heroes. “We didn’t give up, we showed heart. Those who were declared dead live longer,” sums up Boateng.
Hertha is facing the next upheaval, the next turning point
Hertha’s relegation is perhaps Felix Magath’s last masterpiece, who took over in March. “He did something extraordinary. He got the team together,” praised Fredi Bobic after the game. “He was our savior.”
But: “He wasn’t the project”. Magath will go, President Werner Gegenbauer and Finance Director Ingo Schiller could follow him after 14 and 21 years. There will also be many farewells in the professional squad. Hertha is facing the next upheaval, the next turning point.