Coach Felix Magath cracked down on Hertha BSC before the relegation “final” at FC Augsburg. A striker apparently flew out of the squad of the Berlin Bundesliga club.
17th place in the table, two defeats in a row recently: The situation at Hertha BSC has not improved since Felix Magath took office as interim coach.
On the contrary: Because the capital club now only has five games left to catch up, the commitment in Berlin for the successor to the dismissed Tayfun Korkut is becoming more and more of a suicide mission.
The forthcoming away game at FC Augsburg on Saturday (3:30 p.m.) is trend-setting for Hertha BSC and Magath. In order to create the best possible conditions for a win at the direct competitor, the veteran coach apparently took tough action in advance.
Felix Magath takes action at Hertha BSC
As reported by “Bild”, Ishak Belfodil was not allowed to travel to the Bavarian part of Swabia.
Magath has dropped the 30-year-old attacker from the squad because he presented himself in training without the bite required by the coaching team and with bad body language, it is said. Accordingly, the Hertha managers now have doubts about Belfodil’s readiness for action.
Magath explicitly referred to these important basic virtues again on Friday at the Hertha BSC press conference. “There are no more excuses. We need this fight and commitment now,” said the 58-year-old, who has earned a reputation as a tough dog in his previous coaching positions.
Ishak Belfodil’s poor record at Hertha BSC
The expulsion of Belfodil exacerbates the already bad personnel situation in the storm. The Algerian, who switched from 1899 Hoffenheim to Hertha last summer, has not attracted attention with his sporting feats in recent weeks and months.
Belfodil’s manageable record in the Old Lady shirt includes a meager seven goal contributions (three goals/four assists) in 25 competitive games.