Hertha BSC in crisis: Lack of victories and words of encouragement
Hertha BSC is plunging deeper into crisis as a result of a goalkeeper blunder that led to Schalke taking the lead, which Reese managed to equalize. However, Schalke scored again shortly after with a penalty kick, while a potential penalty for Berlin was denied. The situation at Hertha BSC is escalating dramatically following their defeat against Schalke. The Berliners find themselves in free fall. While the players mostly remain silent, the new coach is already resorting to words of encouragement after just three games.
The aftermath of the match revealed the true supporters of Schalke amongst the blue and white ranks in the stands of the Olympic Stadium. As the team from Gelsenkirchen headed towards the Marathon Gate, their fans rose to their feet, cheering enthusiastically. Approximately 25,000 away fans were present in the stadium, celebrating first their team and then themselves long after the game had ended. Meanwhile, the Hertha BSC players awkwardly clapped towards the few fans who hadn’t immediately left the stadium. A banner displayed by the Berlin supporters in the East Stand during warm-up read, “Take full responsibility for the badge on your chest! Embrace the relegation battle!” However, the team failed to truly live up to this demand.
The 1-2 defeat against Schalke further worsened the situation for Berlin in the relegation battle of the Second League. The gap to the relegation playoff spot could shrink to just one point on Sunday. “Painful,” described Managing Director Thomas E. Herrich the next setback in the relegation battle. “We need to start getting points,” demanded Sports Director Benjamin Weber. Clichés and words of encouragement in an unchanged challenging situation.
The Hertha BSC players remained silent after the match. Toni Leistner quietly passed through the interview zone, while Fabian Reese glanced back once before disappearing into the tunnels. The players did not want to speak after the game, walking past the waiting journalists without a word, only fulfilling the mandatory TV interviews. When asked if this silence was intentional, Berlin’s coach Stefan Leitl responded, “No, that is not known to me.” Hertha’s press officer also shook her head in confusion.
“It was a balanced game in the first half, we had an incredible number of ball recoveries,” began Leitl’s analysis, noting, “Unfortunately, we didn’t capitalize on them.” The team felt unsettled after conceding the first goal to Schalke’s Tomas Kalas in the 27th minute. Leitl relied on stability against their table neighbor. Veteran Leistner was placed in the starting lineup and at the center of a three-man defense. However, with one of his first actions, the 34-year-old caused an unchallenged corner kick. This moment symbolized the uncertainty of the Hertha team, which struggled to adapt to Leitl’s 3-3-2-2 system. Hertha was absent in the first half, despite playing in front of a sold-out home crowd of 70,000 spectators.
Coach Leitl gestured repeatedly to encourage his players to disrupt Schalke’s build-up play, but to no avail. While Loris Karius had to excel against Münster in the previous week, the Hertha players failed to challenge the Schalke goalkeeper. After halftime, Fabian Reese took Hertha on his shoulders, scoring the equalizer in the 51st minute. His teammates sought him out, utilizing his speed against the slow Schalke defenders. However, a foul by Ibrahim Maza in the 55th minute led to a penalty for Schalke, which Kenan Karaman converted for a 2-1 lead.
Berlin’s chances were squandered in the second half. From the 60th minute onwards, Berlin had more possession, but failed to score. Zeefuik missed the best chance for a 2-2 in the 69th minute, heading wide of the empty net after a cross. Leitl searched for positives in the unfortunate defeat, emphasizing the need for victories over mere okay performances. Unlike Schalke, who likely secured their safety with the win, Hertha currently struggles to envision how they can win a game.
“We are very happy with the 2-1 win here. Like against Münster, we were the luckier team,” explained Schalke’s coach Kees van Wonderen. “Sometimes you need luck.” Leitl, his counterpart on the podium, seemed like the epitome of misfortune at that moment. Seated with a stony expression, he absorbed his colleague’s words without reaction. The statistics are against Hertha – the longest winless streak in the Second League, with only one point from the last seven games under Leitl’s guidance.
The defeat against Schalke marked the eighth home loss of the season for Hertha – the most in the league and the highest in a complete Second League season. The last time Berlin experienced seven winless home games in a row was in the 1985/86 season. On this challenging afternoon, Leitl resorted to words of encouragement, emphasizing teamwork and the need for victories as they prepare to face Eintracht Braunschweig next. The Braunschweig team could narrow the gap to Hertha to just one point in the table on Sunday.
“The situation is as serious as before the Nuremberg game. We have only earned four points in the second half of the season,” Leitl pointed out the harsh reality. “There is nothing more to say about it.”
