Berlin (AP) – Felix Magath did not have a medicine ball under his arm. Otherwise, the record coach, who was chosen as the new savior of Hertha BSC, lived up to pretty much all the clichés associated with his name.
With his typical hard hand, the coach, who was once honored as “Quälix” and “Schleifer”, should protect the Berliners from the impending fall into second division.
Coach demands discipline
“Discipline is part of sport, I can’t change that, I didn’t invent it,” said the 68-year-old when he was introduced to the Hertha office. In the coming weeks he will not demand discipline for himself or his “happiness”, but for Hertha BSC, said Magath after his surprising comeback on the Bundesliga stage after almost ten years.
Magath was just Magath. His absence from top-flight German football hasn’t changed him a bit. Clear words, but always a pinch of wit and self-mockery, whether the expected questions about his often controversial training and management style – and of course about his now advanced age. In the Scotsman Mark Fotheringham (38), he brings a young man with him as an assistant coach who is a little closer to the current generation of players.
It almost seemed as if Magath was simply playing a Magath role on the press podium, because he knows very well that Hertha, in the person of manager Fredi Bobic, who is no longer considered sacrosanct, has brought him in for precisely this purpose. A “blemish”, not to say the biggest problem, is that he can’t train with the team on his debut day, since they’ve planned to be free for a longer period of time. But on Tuesday he will really get going. Until then, the players are welcome to ask right-back Peter Pekarik, who he coached in Wolfsburg ten years ago, about mental preparation.
Magath: “It’s all about Hertha BSC”
There will no longer be a snuggle course and retreat corners, Bobic also made that clear. In his opening statement, Magath warned of further disputes and conflicts within and outside of the squad, which is generally classified as difficult to train. “I hope it’s clear to everyone that in the next few weeks it’s about Hertha BSC, not Felix Magath or Fredi Bobic. It’s about the club being in a situation where it needs broad support, the players need support,” said the 68-year-old.
Most recently, in addition to the sporting descent to 17th place with five defeats in a row and no win in 2022 at Hertha, there were also public disputes and differences of opinion – right up to the presidency and million-dollar investor Lars Windhorst.
Bobic described Magath as the ideal solution for the successor to Tayfun Korkut, who was perceived as too soft. After the 2-0 defeat in Mönchengladbach, the situation was analyzed in such a way that “we now have to reset everything. For this we needed a football coach with a lot of experience, a strong personality, someone who advocates discipline, a clear, tough one Showing your hand and also demanding that when dealing with the players. That’s what Felix Magath stands for,” said Bobic. He had toyed with the idea of getting Magath for a long time.
Eight games to avoid relegation
The team recently made a “somewhat uncoordinated” impression on him, said Magath, who looks after his eighth Bundesliga club in Berlin and is thus level with record holders Otto Rehhagel and Jörg Berger. This was, of course, a deliberate understatement of the obvious shortcomings. For his precise plans for the hoped-for sporting upswing, however, he still has to get to know the players better.
The first game under Magath is on Saturday (3:30 p.m. / Sky) against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. Seven more games and possibly two more relegation games will follow by the end of the season. Magath, who will be staying in the hotel in the heart of the capital until mid-May, emphasized that he had no plans to stay in Berlin for a longer period of time.
The former master coach of FC Bayern Munich and VfL Wolfsburg admitted that the comeback was a surprise for him too. “In and of itself, I no longer wanted to work as a coach in the Bundesliga. On the other hand, I describe myself as an athlete, as a footballer. I’ve done almost nothing else in my life. I can’t help it. I’m a footballer, me I want football. I’m able to adapt to situations,” said Magath. He will also have to do that at Hertha.