Felix Magath should prevent the capital club from falling. Can he save Hertha and his boss Bobic? And can he finally get a coach with perspective?
After Tayfun Korkut was kicked out, Hertha’s manager Fredi Bobic has no time to lose. “There are still eight games left to get the necessary points to stay up. We’ll do everything we can to achieve that,” he said shortly after he had pulled the ripcord and parted ways with “his” coach.
There was no alternative to the decision against Korkut on Sunday after the 2-0 defeat at Borussia Mönchengladbach. The club is currently second to last in the league. After ten competitive games without a win and five league bankruptcies, Bobic had to act.
He installed 68-year-old Felix Magath as the new head coach, who is now supposed to save the team from relegation.
But in the coming weeks, not only Magath will be under close scrutiny, but also Hertha sports director Bobic. Because he initiated the big upheaval last summer and generated transfer income, but sporty things went downhill after the almost catastrophe last year.
Which leads to the question:
Has Fredi Bobic already failed at Hertha?
Robert Hiersemann
Head of Football and Sports
Per
Yes, he made things worse
There are inexperienced youth players in the starting eleven, professionals who are laughing their heads off despite the crisis are on the bench, and there is clearly a lack of penetrating power on the offensive. It is becoming increasingly clear: Hertha BSC is relegated this season. It’s the end Magath will not change anything about that either. And blame is primarily Fredi Bobic.
It was he who let almost all the top players, such as Matheus Cunha and Jhón Cordoba, go in the summer and didn’t bring in an adequate replacement. It was he who completely unnecessarily fired Hertha coach Pál Dardai – who knows this club better than anyone else – after 13 match days and brought in the unsuccessful Tayfun Korkut. It was he who signed followers like Dong-jun Lee in the winter.
Of course, Bobic is not solely to blame for the chaos. His predecessor Michael Preetz and President Werner Gegenbauer squandered a large part of the Windhorst millions before his time. But Bobic didn’t do anything better, he just made everything worse.
Probably the most bitter realization: Hertha BSC has become weaker and weaker in recent years, but the power density in the top of the 2nd division has increased. So it’s quite possible that the next eight games will be Hertha’s last Bundesliga games for a very long time.
Florian Wichert
Deputy Editor in Chief
against
No, Bobic is the only one with a clue and bite
Coach Korkut? A flop. The players Boateng, Belfodil and Jovetic? All flops. An improvement on the previous season? Not recognizable.
This is not only the bitter reality at Hertha, but also Bobic’s record.
But: What can he do for the contaminated sites? A catastrophically composed squad? A broken salary structure? Wannabe stars like Selke? Dispute between club leadership and investor?
Bobic did not fail. On the contrary. If the players had his attitude, the club would play for the Champions League. Bobic is the only one at Hertha who has a clue and bite. He is honest, authentic and, after Stuttgart and Frankfurt, will also lead Hertha to Europe if the club gives him all the support and full trust.
Should Hertha descend, it’s not because of Bobic. If the club has a future, then only with Bobic.
Especially since he has brought in players with Serdar, Richter and Kempf who have a perspective – and will also hire a corresponding coach in the summer. Maybe even Joachim Löw? That would be the comeback of the year. Locked out? Magath thought so too. Bobic knows Loew from Stuttgart times (cup win!). Löw is a fan of the capital. He should be tingling again slowly. And then Löw might just be the next surprise after Magath.
Who is right?
In “Duel of the Week”, Florian Wichert (Deputy Editor-in-Chief at t-online) and Robert Hiersemann (Head of Soccer and Sport) comment on current soccer topics on a weekly basis. Watch the format in the video above or on free TV from 9 p.m. as part of “Bundesliga Analysis” on Sport 1.