Berlin (AP) – In Berlin’s super chaos, Fredi Bobic had no other choice. In the sunshine, the managing director of Hertha BSC pulled up in front of the red brick house on the Olympic site shortly after ten o’clock.
Less than 90 minutes later, the end of Tayfun Korkut, who he had only brought in as coach rescuer 104 days ago, was officially sealed after a crisis meeting of the Hertha grandees around President Werner Gegenbauer. Bobic quickly sped away in his electric limousine.
“After a promising start, we have now openly and clearly analyzed the development of performance and results. We have come to the decision to make another change,” Bobic was quoted as saying in a club statement.
Fall to a relegation zone
After the 0: 2 in the crisis summit at Borussia Mönchengladbach and the crash to 17th place in the Bundesliga, the Berliners need Lars after months of sporting decline and the increasingly loud internal disputes between club management and million-dollar investor Windhorst first of all the next head coach – after all, number seven in just under three years. Bobic has not yet been able to answer who should prevent relegation to the second division in the final sprint of the season with only eight games left.
“We will inform you about the successor to the position of head coach as soon as this personnel issue has been finally clarified,” said the rather narrow press release. There is already heavy speculation in Berlin. Will Bobic succeed in convincing the fan’s preferred candidate and partner Niko Kovac, who was once so successful in Frankfurt, to return to Berlin? Are David Wagner or Daniel Farke, who were once successful in England, a hot lead? Both would be available after their jobs in Switzerland and Russia. U23 trainer Ante Covic had already failed in the chief role in 2019.
The idea of reactivating Friedhelm Funkel is probably part of the fantasy of the social media bubbles. In 2009/2010 the rescuer pensioner had already been responsible for a descent in Berlin. In the negative statistics, Funkel has a similarly bad score as the hapless Korkut.
Hertha’s substitutes completed their regeneration session under the direction of Sturm coach and club legend Vedad Ibisevic, the goalkeepers trained on the pitch under goalkeeping coach Andreas Menger. The whole Hertha drama is made clear by the fact that the Korkut successor will be the fourth coach on the payroll, at least until the summer, and his predecessors Bruno Labbadia and Pal Dardai are still on it. Both would actually be good candidates in the currently complicated situation, but have already burned up in the difficult Hertha cosmos as proven coach rescuers.
Difficult coach search
The impression could hardly be blurred that the search is also difficult for Bobic. Doesn’t a coach want to deal with the mega mess at Hertha with a lifeless and leaderless team? In the past few days, the big city unrest has once again led to a pitiful public image, a Berlin flagship discipline. Investor Windhorst will certainly take a very close look at who is brought in as a coach. However, there were no comments on the latest development from his side on Sunday.
The day after the 0:2 in Mönchengladbach, the fifth defeat in a row, was reserved for the industry-standard phrases. “There are still eight games left to get the necessary points for staying up. With this decision we want to make everyone involved even more aware of the situation. We are counting on the positive effects of a new start,” said Bobic.
Fredi Bobic’s reputation suffers
His reputation as a miracle manager is now at stake, as the 50-year-old knows after being kicked out of the coach for the second time in the first eight months of his tenure in Berlin. He only stuck to Dardai in the summer of 2021 to create continuity. The plan is long gone.
Of course, Bobic also thanked Korkut, who was only allowed to stay for one sad winter. The sacked coach, who was only given a contract until the end of the season and was therefore able to send little charisma to a difficult squad from the start with his friendly manner, was also allowed to make a statement. “Unfortunately, we weren’t able to keep up the good start of our work. I would like to thank you for the trusting and always open cooperation and wish the entire Hertha family staying up in the league and all the best for the future.”