Hertha's survival hopes dwindling despite coach's return

BERLIN — Hertha Berlin’s hopes of Bundesliga survival were pinned on Pál Dárdai’s return for the last six games of the season.

If he expected a warm welcome on Saturday for his third stint as Hertha coach, he had to wait.

The club’s hardcore fans stayed outside in protest while the team warmed up for its vital game against Werder Bremen. Hertha then slumped to a 4-2 loss to remain bottom with dwindling chances of survival.

Even before the match, there was little hope Dárdai’s return could spark some sort of miraculous change in fortune.

“It’s a new start with Pál, but whether he manages it is questionable. It’ll be hard,” Hertha supporter Klaus Müller told The Associated Press. “At Hertha, there’s been too much messing around at management level.”

Hertha’s demise since Dárdai’s first stint in charge from 2015-19 has been plain to see.

Investor Lars Windhorst started backing the club in 2019, millions were wasted on his dream of chasing European glory, then money ran out as the effects of mismanagement and the coronavirus pandemic combined to turn cost-cutting into Hertha’s priority.

The team, which has been flirting with relegation every year since 2019, has been progressively weakened every season. Hertha survived relegation last year only through a playoff. Then it got rid of more players.

Windhorst, who said Hertha brought him only “disadvantages,” finally sold his stake to American investment group 777 in March.

Last weekend, Hertha dropped to last in the 18-team Bundesliga with a 5-2 loss at relegation rival Schalke — a result that prompted the club to fire coach Sandro Schwarz as coach and bring back Dárdai in a desperate bid to avoid the second division.

“Finally tear yourselves apart for Hertha BSC!” read a giant banner over the mostly empty east end of Olympiastadion on Saturday while the hardcore fans waited outside. They wanted to send a signal to the team with their absence.

“The support that this end of the stadium and these fans have given this year is beyond any patience we have ever seen,” said Felix, who asked not to give his last name. “For the 90 minutes they will have 100% support. It’s going to be loud, it’s going to be awesome – as long as they’re doing their job below.”

Some fans said they were staying outside before kickoff to protest against investors.

“We want to get the investors out of German soccer, the big investors like Red Bull, Volkswagen, Dietmar Hopp. We want them all out,” Anton Böhm said. “777 is not good either. We’re also fighting against them.”

Another Hertha supporter, Kylian Arayadh, pointed to the club’s own experience with investors.

“You can see where we are, in last place despite investors,” Arayadh said. “We believe investors harm the sport, the culture, wreck the fan culture, and don’t bring us any further. That’s what we’re fighting against.”

When the fans finally filtered into the stadium, they didn’t have long to cheer.

Marvin Ducksch scored with Bremen’s first chance in the sixth minute, headed in his second in the 27th, and completed his hat trick early in the second half.

The fourth goal, scored by former Hertha player Mitchell Weiser, prompted wild celebrations from the traveling supporters and stony silence from the Hertha fans. Someone set off a firecracker. Another blew a fulltime whistle. There was still half an hour to play.

Jessic Ngankam pulled one back and Dodi Lukebakio added a penalty, but it was all too late for Hertha.

Many fans whistled and some threw beer mugs at the team after the final whistle. It won’t get any easier, either. Next up is a trip to Bayern Munich.