When Sandro Schwarz crept disappointed in the direction of the catacombs after the thick pack, the whistles of the few remaining Hertha fans could not be ignored: After a very bitter 0: 5 (0: 3) against VfL Wolfsburg, the Berliners are reeling from relegation from the Bundesliga opposite.
Hertha, which was far too harmless, never had a chance against the in-form Lower Saxony and is back in crisis mode. Four days before the important city derby against Union Berlin, Hertha ended the first half of the season in 17th place and is in danger of falling behind the competition.
However, Hertha’s sporting director Fredi Bobic has backed coach Schwarz. Black is “not even remotely up for discussion,” said Bobic. Confidence in the coach is “great,” said Bobic sky: “We’re going full steam ahead.”
Bobic even called the first half “the worst thing I’ve seen this season. It was really abysmal. We ran around headless. The next few days will be tough for the boys.”
Mattias Svanberg (4th), Maximilian Arnold (31st, penalty), Jonas Wind (34th), Ridle Baku (72nd) and Omar Marmoush (86th) brought the capital club after the 1: 3 at VfL Bochum from last Saturday the second defeat in 2023. In addition, Hertha has only won one of the past six games.
The mood in Wolfsburg is completely different, and after their sixth win in a row they are trying to get a taste of the Champions League ranks. “We are very happy that we started the year with two great results. You can see that the boys believe in themselves and are all marching in the same direction,” said sports director Marcel Schäfer.
And Hertha? “There is no need to worry that we are beaming towards relegation,” Hertha’s sporting director Fredi Bobic said before the game. And then, in front of only 29,483 spectators in the Olympic Stadium, this first half was forgotten. The energetic Patrick Wimmer found the free Svanberg from the right with a free-kick cross, the Swede scored directly from 13 meters.
Hertha fans with whistle at halftime
The Berliners did not get any offensive answers as a result, and the new starters Dodi Lukebakio and Suat Serdar hardly helped. Hertha didn’t create a reasonable goal chance in the first round. Instead, VfL kept pushing the hosts who were too passive into their own half – and gladly accepted their gifts.
Lukebakio, who was standing in the wall in the penalty area, blocked a Svanberg free-kick from around 18 meters with his arm completely unnecessarily – Arnold converted the penalty kick safely. Just three minutes later, Wolfsburg played a first-class counterattack until Wind lobbed the ball over Hertha goalkeeper Oliver Christensen and into the goal. At half-time there was a shrill whistling concert from the Hertha fans.
After the break, the Berliners came out of the dressing room a little braver, but without becoming too dangerous. Lukebakio tried a number of things, his circle ball from the inside right going wide to the left of the goal in the 51st minute. The game slowed down noticeably, but occasionally Wolfsburg was still able to shine. The promoted Baku refined a nice preliminary work by Svanberg ice cold to the fourth VfL goal, Marmoush followed up.
Hertha BSC – VfL Wolfsburg: The voices of the game
Sandro Schwarz (Hertha coach): “I think we got in really badly. We didn’t have any attack in the first half. Then it was better in the second half. But overall it was disappointing. Everyone has to question themselves, including the head coach, of course. everyone involved. We got a slap in the face today.”
Niko Kovac (Wolfsburg coach): “A deserved win. The first half was one of the best we’ve played this season. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but we made it easier for ourselves. I’m happy, but I’m still focused on what’s ahead of us expected.”
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