Will coach Dárdai save Hertha BSC? TM community discusses decision

Coach calls for leaders

The first version of this article appeared on April 17 at 10:55 a.m. and was then supplemented with Dárdai’s statements at his official presentation.

TSG Hoffenheim and VfB Stuttgart showed the way, on Sunday Hertha BSC followed suit. In the capital, too, a change on the coaching bench in the relegation battle should release new impulses and energy in the short term. On the Spree they resorted to the tried and tested, pragmatism sometimes inevitably beats innovation: after six games in a row without a win, club legend Pál Dárdai should aim for the bottom of the Bundesliga in the remaining six games – for the third time now.

While some considered the decision of the club management around sports director Benjamin Weber to be logical in view of the past and the time pressure in the season finale, it came as a surprise to others. Although there were hardly any external alternatives around Schenckendorffplatz, apart from the former Schalke, Cologne and HSV coach Markus Gisdol, the relationship between Dárdai and the club bosses was said to have cooled off in recent years after his last dismissal in November 2021 . At the time, the Hertha legend had repeatedly publicly expressed her displeasure with the strategy of the then investor Lars Windhorst and the “Big City Club” attitude.

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“Hertha BSC has probably been looking for a great coach for a long time. Pál is a little coach, a nice coach, he helps out as long as he should. If a really great coach is here, Pál will immediately go back to the U16s and do his thing like before,” the Hungarian responded sarcastically to critical questions about himself after the false start to the 2021/22 season with zero points from three games and added , he didn’t want to be “a burden here”. The end followed a few weeks later, an average of 1.23 points from 31 games was the record of Dárdai’s second term in office. But what had long since stuck in my mind at this point was the image that had emerged a few months earlier of the happy head coach, who, with a cigar in his mouth, was happy about the turnaround that was no longer thought possible and had prevented the third Hertha relegation in this millennium.

Dárdai takes over Hertha: TM community at odds – “Old beer doesn’t taste good”

Now the 47-year-old, who made it to third place in the ranking of Berlin’s record players, should do it again. And what undoubtedly speaks for him is his experience. Hardly anyone knows Hertha better, hardly anyone has embodied the club more authentically than Dárdai in recent years. He knows about the sporting and media requirements, he knows the team, he has proven himself in the relegation battle. “Pál has already shown twice that he can stabilize a team and lead him out of such situations with his clear manner and his plan. We are now convinced of that,” said sports director Weber when announcing the trainer’s personnel. Since then, the club’s decision, which initially applies until the end of the season, has also been discussed in the TM community.

“I don’t want to see Dárdai here. He was always just annoyed. At some point his style was no longer fresh and original, but obstinate and outdated. Old beer doesn’t taste good,” writes TM user “exsample” in the Hertha forum. The user “DrDeDre” hits a similar notch: “Fredi Bobic almost only fabricated crap, but the fact that he let Dárdai go with the severance payment was not a mistake. (…) This Hertha DNA, including Pál, ‘Zecke’, Weber and Co., that kept us down even before Bobic. It’s not like we’ve made any profits or anything like that. Pál’s second term in office was also objectively bad. It’s a fact that things didn’t get better or worse afterwards, but that doesn’t make the whole thing good before. But we’re getting all that back now. Why not something completely different? I really don’t understand. All that’s missing is that Preetz and Schiller come back…”

Regardless of the coach’s decision, user Moishele sees “the chance of staying up in the league at the moment at 20 percent. The trend is just too negative, especially in defensive non-performance. (…) The reaction should have been much earlier.” The question of whether Dárdai should be given a chance after the end of the season in the event of staying up is also an issue. User Gruenschnabel writes: “He’s not a magician, but he’s one who doesn’t duck. A fighter and a Herthaner with blue and white blood. A lot has to come together to get your head out of the noose again. But if that’s the case, I would want to go down this path with a Hertha player like Pal. If Weber or whoever wants to go a different way, we need a real upgrade to Pál.”

“Everyone knows my relationship with Hertha BSC, so I didn’t have to think twice when I got the call. There are still six games left, maybe two more, and I will do everything with the team to ensure that this club stays in the Bundesliga. It won’t be an easy task, but I’m looking forward to it,” he said in the club’s official press release on Sunday. What could benefit him is the supposedly feasible remaining program, in which apart from FC Bayern with Bremen, Stuttgart, Bochum and Cologne, four teams from the lower half of the table are waiting for Hertha. Finally, Dárdai’s team will travel to VfL Wolfsburg on May 27 – in the hope that they can look forward to similar positive pictures as two years ago. Or at least two additional games.

Dárdai’s first appearance for Hertha BSC: “Need leaders”

“It worked before, but this time we not only need hard work, but also a little bit of luck. Everyone needs strength, positive energy and the mentality to be positive,” said the 47-year-old when he was introduced as head coach of the bottom team on Monday. Regardless of the outcome of the end of the season, Dárdai will stay with his heart club. “Actually, the plan was for me to return to the academy in the summer,” he said. In the youth department, he had also worked in a leading position before and between his first two coaching engagements for the professional selection. “In football, only the next pass counts,” he said, evading his possible plans to remain a permanent coach.

A selection of leading players, which he cannot yet name, is essential for staying up. Kevin-Prince Boateng as the only emotional leader will not be enough to stay up, said Dardai. “Then we can pack up,” said the Hungarian. “We need leaders,” he added. In the next few days, he will find out what role he will give Boateng through a conversation. The 36-year-old had played a decisive role in the relegation battle last year under the then Retter coach Felix Magath.

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