Pal Dardai, 45, is a trainer with a good nose. Especially for what is going on around him. And nothing he says publicly takes place in a vacuum; Sunday may have been a good example of this. Dardai was sitting in the press room of the Hertha training center and not only looked back at the 5-0 debacle at Bayern Munich, which he had found “shocking”, as he frankly admitted. He also admitted that he was an enviable free man.
The context in which he announced this was the in many ways disarming defeat in Munich and some interesting comments on social networks. Sports director Arne Friedrich wrote there that Hertha would use the upcoming “international break” to “realign us”. And: “What we delivered today (on Saturday / the editorial) must not and will not be repeated!”
The investor Lars Windhorst, who promised Hertha 375 million euros a good two years ago and then paid it, replied almost immediately: “Thanks for the clear words @arnefriedrich. I agree,” wrote Windhorst, who has been wondering for a long time whether he is the money he gave Hertha to shape it into the “Big City Club” shouldn’t have been better thrown into a blazing fireplace; that would at least have given off a bit of warmth.
“I’m not hanging from my seat! I’ll help out!” Says Dardai
Dardai did not respond explicitly. Nevertheless, he emphasized that he is free from shackles of any kind. “I’m not hanging from my seat! I’ll help out!” Said Dardai. And: “I don’t want to be a burden here.” When he said that, he couldn’t even know that Hertha’s CEO Carsten Schmidt would coram publico punish him for trying to justify himself over the past few weeks. Hertha was still hanging in their clothes for the past season, which was marked by the laborious relegation battle, Dardai had said.
Schmidt now contradicted this: “I think that we did not have the deficits against Wolfsburg and Cologne in psychology, but partly in tactics and partly in readiness,” said the Hertha boss who has been in office since December in the TV show ” One-two “. Tactics and readiness – these are fields that are among the most distinguished areas of activity for coaches. And so Schmidt’s admission sounded like the unsolicited declaration that Dardai indicated more clearly than ever that in his decades of work at Hertha – he became a record player, young coach, twice savior of the Bundesliga membership – he has felt more support.
Dardai last took over Hertha from Bruno Labbadia last winter – as we have known since Sunday: out of a sense of duty and defeatism. “I didn’t want to do that,” he said, because he said that in this situation Hertha would have been entrusted to Ethan Hunt, the hero of the movie series Mission Impossible. Dardai did the thing of perceived impossibility with the help of the “Holy Spirit,” as he said. He could therefore count on the gratitude of the fan base – and set a dynamic in motion that made his whereabouts inevitable. There is plenty of speculation in Berlin and the scene about whether the new manager Fredi Bobic was really one hundred percent convinced of Dardai, and Dardai has not gone unnoticed.
On Sunday, Dardai even thought about the prospects of a possible successor
“In the summer it didn’t mean that I would necessarily do that,” he said literally – and by that obviously meant that it was not certain that he would stay in the coaching chair for the 2021/22 season. “Hertha has probably been looking for a great coach for a long time. Pal is a small, nice coach,” explained Dardai, as if he were fishing for compliments, and then said that he would immediately pave the way for a possible successor. “I’ll go back to the U16 immediately.” At least that is anything but coquetry. He is at home in Berlin, he doesn’t need the Bundesliga to be happy, he’s financially secure (“I don’t need a helicopter”), and the neighbors are nice too, even if someone asked him how the hell he was about to pull out a week ago Wolfsburg’s 2-1 winning goal with a three-man substitute was able to unscrew the defensive.
On Sunday, Dardai even thought about the prospects of a possible successor. Against Bayern it became apparent that the squad has serious imbalances. He lacks leading players, in Munich the team seemed to him like a silent choir in which the new voices are hoarse at the moment. The prominent entry Stevan Jovetic had to be replaced, as well as returnees Davie Selke, he broke his rib. And what about Kevin Prince Boateng, the planned leader? Didn’t even travel to Munich with me – the man who is supposed to be the backbone of the team has it on his back. Last week Hertha got Ishak Belfodil from TSG 1899 Hoffenheim for little money; The commitment of the Dutch U21 international Jurgen Ekkelenkamp was announced on Saturday, he has played in midfield at Ajax Amsterdam. But can they make people forget the players who served the Holy Spirit last year?
Cordoba? Path! Cunha? Path!
Striker Jhon Córdoba was sold to Russia, Nemanja Radonjic, on loan in the winter, moved on from Marseille to Lisbon, Mattéo Guendouzi is now with Olympique Marseille. And Matheus Cunha? According to Schmidt, had upset the team structure in Berlin, but will now certainly hit Atlético Madrid. What needs to be proven.
But that is irrelevant for the present in Berlin. The group that is supposed to make the umpteenth restart in Berlin’s Westend and has to pick up the first points after the international break is in need of improvement. If “a great coach” does come, hope that “a few great players will join him,” said Dardai. Which is also a statement about the current players in Hertha.
After all: Schmidt came up with what can be interpreted as backing. Hertha “went through hell” last season, and “Pal has absolutely earned our trust in this phase. We also have the confidence that he will do exactly what we need now, namely ‘Hertha together’, now creates, “he added. There is not the slightest doubt about the sincerity of Dardai’s connection with Hertha, he will already be working on the Hertha community. He himself only raised the question of the role in which this happens, and it is likely to cause discussions in the coming days.