His first appearance in the capital. His best line. And who was his first victim?
By Paul Gorgas and Roberto Lamprecht
There he is again! 9 years and 140 days after leaving Wolfsburg in 2012, Felix Magath (68) is back in the Bundesliga.
BZ logs his starting day at Hertha BSC:
► Monday, 1 p.m.: Magath enters the press room in a white shirt and gray suit.
Magath: “There are problems in our team. I think that we can solve this in the next few days and stay up in the league.” What is striking is that he keeps talking about “we” and “us”.
Magath: “I didn’t really want to work as a coach in the Bundesliga anymore, but I’m a footballer. Haven’t done anything else in my life.”
Hertha also has the Magath family to thank for the fact that he accepted the rescue job at Hertha (17th place, two points behind) until the end of the season. Magath: “My wife and children pushed me to go to Berlin. That wasn’t a problem. That was very easy.”
also read
►Magath: “I’m glad that Fredi had the courage to ask me”
►Bobic on Magath-Coup: Played with the idea for a long time
►His team: As an assistant coach, he brings Mark Fotheringham (38), a Scottish ex-professional with whom he worked in Fulham.
►His most important man: Defender Peter Pekarik (35). In 2009 he became German champion with Magath in Wolfsburg. “One or the other player has certainly asked him how ‘nice’ it will be in the near future.” Or better: how hard it will be…
►His best saying: When asked if he was planning a training camp during the international break after the Hoffenheim game on Saturday, he said: “If the players asked me, I would do it…”
►His first victim? Probably Kevin-Prince Boateng (35). When the original Berliner switched to Schalke in 2013, Magath said: “For me as a spectator, it’s obvious that he has a problem knee. That’s why, as a coach, I would not have agreed to such a transfer.” Hard to imagine that nine years later he would rely on the part-time worker (15 assignments)…
►His mountain of suffering: Like the “Mount Magath” in Wolfsburg, Hertha also has a sprint hill. Built in 2009 under ex-coach Lucien Favre (64), it should be used a lot in the coming days. The coach: “I will deal with the terrain. At my other stations, I didn’t care at all whether there was only a slope, a staircase or a hill. I was only concerned with preparing the players optimally.”
In the afternoon he takes a close look at Hertha’s training ground. Also the dreaded sprint hill. On Tuesday he meets the team.
Hertha manager Fredi Bobic (50) on the commitment: “I’ve been toying with the idea for a long time. He was never gone for me!” Maybe Bobic would have been better off getting Magath in November – instead of the unsuccessful Tayfun Korkut (14 competitive games, 2 wins)…
11 major titles as a player & coach
PLAYER CAREER
► Clubs: Aschaffenburg (until 1974), Saarbrücken (until 1976), HSV (until 1986), FC Bremerhaven (1992 to 93)
► Appearances: 43 international matches (3 goals), 306 games in the Bundesliga (46 goals)
► Title: European Champion Clubs’ Cup (HSV 1983), European Cup Winners’ Cup (HSV 1977), 3 x German Champion (HSV), European Champion 1980
COACHING CAREER
► HSV (until 1997), Nuremberg (until 1998), Bremen (until 1999), Frankfurt (until 2001), Stuttgart (until 2004), Bavaria (until 2007), Wolfsburg (until 2009), Schalke (until 2011), Wolfsburg (2011/12), Fulham (2014), SD Luneng/China (2016 to 2017)
► Title: 3 x German champions (2 x Bayern, Wolfsburg), 2 x cup winners (Bavaria)
LAST: Global Sports Director Flyer-alert (Admira Wacker, Würzburg)