Regular employee instead of sales candidate
If Dodi Lukébakio (24) was one of the sales candidates at Hertha BSC this summer, he is now a regular and top performer. After returning on loan from VfL Wolfsburg, the attacker has shone in seven games with three goals and two assists, making him Berlin’s top scorer. One of the reasons for this: new coach Sandro Schwarz. “I feel good because his philosophy fits exactly with my strengths,” said Lukébakio in an interview with “Sport Bild”.
The coach would have convinced him from day one. “I was immediately part of his plans. That impressed me, from that moment on I really wanted to stay,” emphasized the Belgian, who has been linked to several European clubs in the TM rumor mill. He continued: “When you have such a coach, you want to repay even more. And so it happens that many say that they see a different Dodi than before.” With Schwarz, Lukébakio has the sixth coach since his 20 million euro move from Watford FC to Hertha in 2019. Such a situation is “not easy”, also because the team was “not so stable” in the past. “Now things are clearer on the pitch,” he said. He described why things are going so well for him with the feeling “that I can try what I want on the pitch within these parameters”. This is how the former national player shows the performances that have long been expected of him.
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“My start at Hertha wasn’t easy. I came back then with a high transfer fee and as a beacon of hope. I immediately had a status with which the expectations were very high. If the team then didn’t win, it was quickly said: ‘It’s up to Dodi. He doesn’t do enough.’ That wasn’t entirely wrong either. I certainly didn’t do everything perfectly,” he said. Since his arrival in Berlin, his market value has dropped in stages from 18 million euros at the time to 7.5 million euros today.
“Of course, like every player, I want the best for my career. If I get the chance to develop at Hertha, then it’s perfect. If that doesn’t work, then we have to look for solutions. That’s how business is,” emphasized Lukébakio, whose contract runs until 2024. Even if his form curve is currently going up, that of the team is pointing in the opposite direction. With five points from the first six games, they only have 15th place.
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