Rescue is in sight and Hertha BSC has it in their own hands. The Berliners want to stay up in the league against Mainz 05.
Felix Magath talked himself into a rage. “Nothing can happen, you do it” – the Hertha BSC coach has heard this again and again before the possibly decisive game for relegation. But “it doesn’t matter how and what it’s about. We need another 90 minutes of commitment, 90 minutes of fighting, 90 minutes of passion,” the 68-year-old demanded emphatically.
Because the season “didn’t go so smoothly and happily for all Hertha fans,” said Magath. In the last home game of the season you have “the only opportunity to correct a little bit”.
Although Hertha is in pole position in 15th place in the relegation battle, Magath warned before the game on Saturday against FSV Mainz 05 (6:30 p.m.): “There is an atmosphere” that signals “you’re already through “.
Hertha BSC can make the league perfect
That is by no means the case, but with a win against the Rheinhessen, the capital club could already secure relegation on the penultimate game day – and that on their own. Hertha would no longer be dependent on support from Bayern Munich. A day later, the record champions welcome VfB Stuttgart, who are currently four points behind Hertha.
Asked about his tips in the direction of the record champions after their 1: 3 defeat against Mainz last week, Magath emphasized that for him it is now a question of: “What is Hertha BSC doing and not what are Bochum or Bayern doing”.
That had sounded different after Hertha’s draw in Bielefeld and the missed rescue. The Hertha coach had asked himself on Sky whether the German champions had “stopped playing football” and, with a view to the Ibiza trip of some Bayern stars, continued to stigmatize the picture: “Once a championship celebration is understandable, but not three weeks long.”
Magath isn’t worried about his future
The provocations towards the record champions before their duel with Stuttgart: Probably “not entirely altruistic”, as Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann had suspected. However, Magath admitted on Friday that he was “referring to the result without knowing any facts” when he said this and of course such a team has the right to celebrate.
The Berliners would probably also like to celebrate relegation on Saturday in front of the expected 70,000 spectators in the Olympic Stadium. Most recently, the mood between the supporters and the club after the jersey humiliation in the city derby against Union Berlin was tense.
“The players sat together,” said sporting director Fredi Bobic. “We are also on board and mediate. Let’s take a look at Saturday.” However, he brushed aside questions about player contracts and the coaching solution beyond the end of the season: “Everything is subordinate to staying up in the league”.
Magath also emphasized that he was “relaxed” about his future and had “not thought about it”: “I could also imagine sitting down and waiting for someone to call me in March next year. Then I can do that do what I’m good at.”