Nader Jindaoui was recently missing from Hertha BSC’s matchday squad. Image: dpa / Andreas Gora
Second Bundesliga
Hertha’s Nader Jindaoui has achieved what many people dream of: as a career changer, he made his professional debut last December at the age of 27. Jindaoui did not play in any youth national teams and before his signing, he made a name for himself primarily with football videos on Instagram and Tiktok.
Almost three million people follow him there. The tricky winger has now given the lie to his critics, who dismissed the Jindaoui signing as a mere PR move. Since then he has played for Hertha in the DFB Cup and the Second Bundesliga and scored a penalty in the cup round of 16 against Hamburger SV.
Jindaoui was recently missing from the Berlin squad. When Hertha played against Wehen Wiesbaden on Saturday, he was not in the squad. The away game against their neighbors in the table – Wiesbaden is in tenth place, Hertha in ninth – was lost 1:3.
For the first time since December 3rd, Hertha coach Pál Dárdai decided not to nominate Jindaoui to the squad. With a view to the highlight of the season so far, the cup quarter-final against Kaiserslautern on Wednesday, his chances of playing are said to be poor again.
Hertha BSC: Nader Jindaoui will probably not be in the squad for the cup either
So reported “Bild“that Jindaoui will not be nominated for the squad in the cup on Wednesday either. Accordingly, players like Gustav Christensen and Palko Dárdai, who can also play Jindaoui’s position, are currently ahead. The young players Ibrahim Maza and Bence Dárdai are also fighting for a place in the team.
For Hertha coach Pál Dárdai, the situation is of course desirable. After all, he has the choice from a large pool of players who, ideally, encourage each other to achieve top performance. “There will soon be some hot competition in training, I’m looking forward to it,” he said, according to the report.
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One of Nader Jindaoui’s great supporters was the club’s president, Kay Bernstein, who recently died unexpectedly. After his death in mid-January, Jindaoui made headlines with emotional words towards Bernstein. “You were my tailwind, you gave me security and your trust. I wasn’t afraid of falling because I knew I had your support,” Jindaoui wrote on Instagram.
Bernstein believed in him when many had already written him off, he revealed. He will never forget that. He then promised Bernstein, based on their exchange on Instagram: “History will continue to be written, for you and the Berliner Weg.”
The 1-0 win in the catch-up game against Union Berlin gave Thomas Tuchel some peace. As a result, the Munich team reduced the gap to league leaders Leverkusen to four points and are hoping to overtake Xabi Alonso’s team and win the championship.