Hertha BSC: Pal Dardai starts the mission with a smile

As of 3:21 p.m| Reading time: 5 minutes

DOf course he still knew the way to the podium. Even an idea was actually superfluous. It was as if he had never been away. Pal Dardai went confidently to his seat and greeted the journalists like old acquaintances. The Hungarian is the new coach of Hertha BSC. Once again. The mission is clear: in his third term, Dardai should save the bottom of the table, who is playing a disastrous season, from falling into the second division with serious consequences. The starting position could hardly be more difficult, Hertha is five points behind a non-relegation zone with six games to play and recently showed signs of dissolution at 2: 5 at Schalke.

“Actually, the plan was for me to return to the youth academy in the summer. But I’ve already committed to the pros, so the club’s youth players will find the pro team sexy. When the pros relegate, it’s bad for the youth. I’ve already proved that we can avoid relegation,” said Dardai.

The 47-year-old takes over from Sandro Schwarz, who gave everything in Berlin, but ultimately failed due to a completely wrong squad without powerful leaders, dangerous strikers and a strong central defender. Schwarz said goodbye to the fans in an open letter and earned a lot of recognition from the fans for his behavior. “The game in Gelsenkirchen was tough and bitter. We had to digest that first. We no longer had the impression that Sandro Schwarz could muster the passion and emotionality to turn the thing around for us,” said Hertha’s sporting director Benjamin Weber.

Dardai is part of the “Berlin Way”

Dardai is said to bring passion back into the dressing room and onto the pitch. The Hungarian and his heart club – it’s like an old marriage in which the partners can’t get along, but can’t live without each other either. Again and again one returns to the other in remorse and promises that everything will be better now. The installation of Dardais, who played 373 games for the capital club as a player – five of them in the Champions League – is a logical continuation of the Berlin path that Hertha President Kay Bernstein proclaimed when he took office last summer.

The newly installed sports director Weber has a long Hertha history, just like managing director Thomas Herrich. And more Hertha identification than Dardai is not really possible. The problem: This path has led the Berliners on a direct course to the abyss and the bottom of the table. However, this path still seems to be the best possible alternative for Hertha at the moment, because the club does not have an abundance of money despite the new investors from “777”.

“We wanted someone who would help immediately. Nobody stands for the Berlin way like Pal, it was the absolute dream solution,” said Weber. Dardai has already proven that he can stabilize a team with his clear manner and his plan and lead them out of such situations: “He knows every blade of grass here, doesn’t need any training period and can start immediately.”

Legendary rescuer interview with cigar

He started off easy. In the first training session on Monday afternoon, Dardai let his new team play football-tennis to get to know the team. “I want to talk to the team first, then I can talk more about tactical behavior and the system. I think relegation would also be good for us,” said Dardai. This will be very difficult, but not impossible. In the coming weeks, Hertha will be hosting three direct competitors in the relegation battle in their home Olympic Stadium: Werder Bremen, VfB Stuttgart and VfL Bochum.

The coach has proven several times that he can do it. On February 5, 2015, Dardai became Hertha coach for the first time and, just like as a player, immediately became a fan favourite. It can’t have been due to an attractive style of play. The Hungarian saved the Berliners from relegation with a defensive and destructive style of play. The years that followed always followed the same pattern: good first half of the season, which had nurtured hopes of the European Cup, were followed by weak second half of the season, which in the end even brought the Hertha team into relegation troubles. Little football development and disagreements with the then manager Michael Preetz sealed the first separation. In April 2019 it was announced that Dardai would have to retire at the end of the season.

Despite the separation, the coach remained loyal to his Hertha and coached the Berlin U16s, among others. Until he returned to the professional bench on January 25, 2021 – one day after Preetz was released and the then coach Bruno Labbadia was fired. Dardai accomplished his mission and saved the team from relegation. He celebrates this in the “Aktuelles Sportstudio” during an interview with a big cigar. But the enjoyment did not last long, in autumn 2021 Dardai was fired for the second time after some catastrophic performances.

His love for the club doesn’t seem to have broken. Again and again Dardai sat in the stands at games in the Olympic Stadium. “I’ve always said I’m retired now. I had no idea that life without stress is so beautiful. We bought a dog, I’ve become a different person. Yesterday I accepted at Hertha, the poor dog suffered. He had to stay at home. But now I’m in full working mode,” said Dardai.

“I help, also because my children play in this club”

On the first day of his third term in office, he did not want to reveal what this looks like, probably also in order not to expose his predecessor: “There are many mistakes. But I want to discuss that with the team. I’ve seen things that didn’t work. I help, also because my children play in this club. The boys I had at the youth academy are like my own sons to me. That’s why I’m happy to help.”