Irrespective of the deficit from the first leg, Felix Magath sees Hertha BSC psychologically at an advantage before the second and decisive relegation game on Monday (8:30 p.m. / Sky and Sat.1) at Hamburger SV.
“At the moment we are out and can only win. Now HSV has something to lose,” said the Berlin coach on Sunday in the German capital.
The Hanseatic League, whose jersey the 68-year-old wore as a player for ten years, prevailed 1-0 in the Olympic Stadium on Thursday.
For the coach, the two encounters with his “old love” feel like European games: “There are so many examples in football of making up for deficits after the first game.”
Almost 6000 guest fans will accompany their team to the Volksparkstadion. 500 violent problem fans of Hertha an der Elbe are also expected, so the game was classified as a high-risk game by the Hamburg police.