Hertha coach Felix Magath has to go into relegation with his team Photo: picture alliance
From BZ/dpa
Hertha BSC has to stay up in the relegation against the third-placed team in the 2nd division. The Berliners lost 2-1 at Borussia Dortmund on the last match day of the Bundesliga on Saturday and were thus relegated to 16th place by VfB Stuttgart.
Hertha continues to tremble. Due to the 1: 2 (1: 0) at Borussia Dortmund, the crisis-ridden Berliners dramatically missed the possible direct relegation in the Bundesliga. Instead of a lavish rescue party, coach Felix Magath is preparing for the relegation games against the third division team.
The game will be played next Thursday in the Berlin Olympic Stadium and four days later at the opponent, who will not be known until Sunday. It’s probably against Magath’s former club Hamburger SV or Darmstadt 98.
Ishak Belfodil gave Hertha the lead with a penalty kick in the 18th minute against the initially disappointing runners-up. However, BVB hit back with Erling Haaland (68th) and Youssoufa Moukoko (84th). The anxious look to Swabia for the game of VfB Stuttgart against European Cup participants 1. FC Köln was therefore necessary. The last competitor for the saving 15th place won 2-1 with a goal in injury time and thus overtook Hertha. Ten years ago, Hertha failed dramatically in the sixth and so far last descent in their Bundesliga history in the relegation to Fortuna Düsseldorf.
For the capital club, another turbulent season is going into overtime. Magath was only hired as a rescuer by managing director Fredi Bobic in March. With him, the Berliners managed three wins and a draw. But: Four games were lost.
Magath brought the team spirit back to a team described as soulless. The attitude was also right in Dortmund, but again it wasn’t enough. After the violent 1: 4 bankruptcy in the derby against Union Berlin, the forecasts were still really bad in mid-April. But after that, against Augsburg (1:0), Stuttgart (2:0) and Bielefeld (1:1), they played three games without defeat against direct competitors. Nevertheless, the possible rescue was missed twice, most recently in the 1-2 draw against Mainz – and now in Dortmund for the third time.
