The Hertha farewell tour has begun for Marvin Plattenhardt Photo: City Press GmbH
By Paul Gorgas
Marvin Plattenhardt (30) is already missing from the Hertha training camp in Florida – it is now clear that the final farewell to the capital city club will follow in the summer.
Manager Fredi Bobic (51) confirms that the Berliners will not extend the captain beyond 2023: “The contract expires in the summer, that has been decided and clearly discussed with the player and his advisors.”
Marvin Plattenhardt is captain – but soon gone Photo: City Press
The decision to go our separate ways at the end of the season was made during the first half of the season – long before the vaccination fuss about Plattenhardt. The left foot, who has been playing for Hertha since 2014, was not allowed to travel to the training camp because he is not sufficiently vaccinated for US entry requirements.
Bobic on the Plattenhardt cause: “It’s his decision, we discussed it with him. You can’t force a player to get vaccinated. It was important to us that he could train – he does that in Berlin with the U23s.”
It is unclear how big the sporting deficit will be for Plattenhardt when his colleagues return from the USA. Regular place competitor Maximilian Mittelstädt (25) can advertise himself in the training camp in Bradenton. A premature winter change like Vladimir Darida (32) or Davie Selke (27) has not been an issue so far.
With or without an appearance in the first Bundesliga game of the year in Bochum (January 21) – the Hertha farewell tour has begun for Plattenhardt.