2nd league
Case Gersbeck: Hertha’s difficult search for the quiet way
Hertha goalkeeper Marius Gersbeck. photo
© Soeren Stache/dpa
With the Hertha-Weg, Berlin’s crisis club finally wanted to tread quiet paths again. A possible main character causes new confusion with an action.
In Berlin’s second division soccer team, the Austrian police’s suspicion that the goalkeeper had physically harmed a 22-year-old caused complications on several levels. What’s next after the provisional suspension of Gersbeck (28) by the Hertha management?
The sporting aspects
Head coach Pal Dardai will talk to goalkeeping coach Andreas Menger. The Berliners had six goalkeepers at the start of training. Gersbeck is sorted out for now. Alexander Schwolow (31) is said to be leaving the club for good after being loaned to Schalke 04, and nothing will change that. Oliver Christensen (24) is also a candidate for sale because Hertha needs money. It is quite possible that he will have to stay now. Because otherwise there is only Tjark Ernst (20). Dardai trusts him to be number one, but without an experienced backup the risk would be great. Robert Gwasigroch (19) and Tim Goller (18) are only planned for the U23s in the regional league.
The moral aspects
The captain’s armband shone red on Gersbeck’s arm. The Berliners brought their youth player back from Karlsruher SC by option. As a former curve-walker, he fitted in perfectly with the proclaimed Hertha way. The parallels to President Kay Bernstein’s biography were a treat, even if the ties between club boss and goalkeeper were probably not as close as recently stylized in the media. You know each other from the past from the east curve.
The fact that one of your team may have made a bad mistake damages Hertha’s strategy all the more. Gersbeck’s offer from a media round a few hours before the nightly events in Zell am See sounds almost tragicomic. Should there be a confrontation between fans and the club, he could “easily mediate”.
The legal and economic aspects
Hertha may be able to get over the €300,000 transfer fee that has just been paid for Gersbeck. But the threatening economic consequences of the scandal should not be underestimated for the heavily indebted club. If goalkeeper Christensen cannot be sold as planned, Hertha could lose millions. In addition, the Dane would still be on the payroll.
From the club’s side, it should not be neglected that other legal cases are also pending. Ex-goalkeeper Rune Jarstein is suing against a termination without notice, which was pronounced because of an insult to Menger. In the dispute with Fredi Bobic it is even about millions. The ex-CEO is also accused of – more or less jokingly – threatening to slap a reporter in the face. The allegations against Gersbeck by Austria’s police weigh even more heavily.