End of work in Berlin! HeHaHo – Hertha is knockout sport

24.01.2021

Photo: Odd Andersen / AFP-Pool / dpa
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Hertha BSC reacts with drastic consequences to the continuation of the downward trend in the Bundesliga. One day after 1: 4 against Werder Bremen The Berlin Bundesliga club separates from coach Bruno Labbadia (54) and long-term manager Michael Preetz (53). The decision should follow dpa-Information to be announced on Sunday. Several Berlin media had previously reported on the end of the management duo.

Dardai comeback on the Spree?

After its successful rescue mission in the preseason, Labbadia was unable to meet Hertha’s high expectations this season. After 25 years in the club and almost eleven years as a manager, Preetz has to take responsibility for the ongoing sporting misery. The favorite for the provisional Labbadia successor is Pal Dardai, who trained Hertha from 2015 to 2019 and was most recently employed as a youth coach.

With 17 points, the traditional club named “Big City Club” by investor Lars Windhorst only ranks 14th after the start of the second half of the season, just ahead of relegation rank. After the 3-0 win against Schalke 04 at the beginning of the year, there were no further signals to leave. Against Arminia Bielefeld (0: 1), 1. FC Köln (0: 0), TSG Hoffenheim (0: 3) and Werder Bremen (1: 4) only one goal, but no victory.

“No arguments” and the end of an era

The new managing director Carsten Schmidt declared January to be the month of the upswing. We are miles away from the prospective Champions League ranks. After the bankruptcy against Bremen, Labbadia and Preetz had already said that they had “no arguments”.

With the end of Preetz, a Berlin football era ends. Born in Düsseldorf, he has been with the club for a quarter of a century. After his time as a player, he was initially assistant to Dieter Hoeneß. In 2009 he took over his position as manager. Under his leadership, Hertha never got beyond mediocrity.

Discrepancies and no constancy

Labbadia has to end its involvement in the capital after only a good nine months. In the middle of the Bundesliga lockdown due to the corona pandemic, the former Bundesliga striker took over the position from Alexander Nouri in April 2020. In the relegation battle, the Hertha executives no longer trusted Jürgen Klinsmann’s former assistant.

Labbadia got off to a very good start as the fourth Hertha coach in the current season after the break in May and led the Berliners to mid-table. He was unable to confirm the upward trend this season. As in his previous positions as Bundesliga coach in Leverkusen, Hamburg, Stuttgart and Wolfsburg, Labbadia could not show any consistency.

The first disagreements with Preetz resulted from the hesitant purchasing policy in late summer 2020. Despite the total of 274 million euros already paid and a further 100 million euros outstanding from financiers Windhorst, Hertha held back on the transfer market with large investments after the buying spree in winter 2020. Mattéo Guendouzi, on loan from Arsenal FC, was the most prominent name. Mario Götze was traded, but did not come.

No patience with the Big City Club

Again and again Labbadia emphasized that the team had to find each other after the departure of leading players like Vedad Ibisevic or Per Skjelbred. The team lacked structure and hierarchy. The process of transforming into a successful team took too long for the club bosses. In the upcoming relegation battle, Labbadia is no longer in demand.