Jürgen Wegmann was a very successful striker in the Bundesliga in the 1980s. But he is remembered at least as much as for his goals for a saying that is one of the quotes from German football: “First we weren’t lucky, and then we had bad luck.”
Wegmann has often been laughed at for this, although the sentence has an almost philosophical quality with a strong practical connection. Further proof of this came on Saturday afternoon in Hertha BSC’s away game at Eintracht Frankfurt. After exactly 20 minutes, the Berliners initially hoped in vain for a penalty kick (no luck) – and then conceded a hard penalty kick against themselves (bad luck).
In that sequence, the previously somewhat undecided game for Hertha BSC finally developed in the feared direction. Up to that point, the Frankfurters had clearly been the better team, but they didn’t come dangerously close to the Berlin goal. That changed after referee Robert Hartmann awarded Eintracht a penalty after a running duel between Randal Kolo Muani and Hertha central defender Filip Uremovic. A tough decision.
Kolo Muani made it 1-0, not even seven minutes later the Frenchman scored his ninth goal of the season – in the end, a late goal from Aurelio Buta even made it 3-0 (2-0) for Eintracht.
The debut of the new sports director Benjamin Weber, who was promoted to succeed Fredi Bobic last weekend, was extremely frustrating. “We were somehow not ready, not alert enough,” said offensive player Marco Richter. “We have to wake up slowly and score.”
The Hertha path, which President Kay Bernstein proclaimed when Weber was hired, has become a little rockier. Four games are played in 2023, all four were lost. And thanks to VfL Bochum’s clear home win against TSG Hoffenheim, Hertha’s deficit in 15th place has grown from two to five points.
Black had to react early
The Berliners were clearly inferior to the Frankfurters in the first half – especially in midfield. The unity around the outstanding Djibril Sow had the clear sovereignty there. “If you go into half-time 0-2, it will be very, very difficult,” said Florian Niederlechner after his debut for Hertha BSC.
Sandro Schwarz, the Berlin coach, appealed to the players’ honor during the break – and made extensive changes. In the second half he not only brought on three new players – Jessic Ngankam, Maximilian Mittelstädt and newcomer Tolga Cigerci (for Dodi Lukebakio, Jean-Paul Boetius and Jonjoe Kenny) – he also changed his system.
We have to wake up slowly and score.
Mark Richter, Attacking player from Hertha BSC
From then on, the Berliners played in a 3-5-2 with Marvin Plattenhardt as left central defender. In fact, Hertha’s attempts now looked much better, more structured and more compelling. After a little over an hour, the guests had an excellent chance of scoring a goal. Lucas Tousart centered the ball to Ngankam, but his shot was deflected by Frankfurt defender Tuta with his head on the goal line.
The fact that Hertha looked much better in the second half than in the first and now seemed much more stable was also due to Tolga Cigerci. The midfielder only returned to Berlin from Ankaragücü earlier in the week and many suspected he would be in the starting XI right away. Schwarz decided differently, with Florian Niederlechner (for the injured Wilfried Kanga) offered only one of the two commitments of the winter from the start.
Cigerci brought a certain calmness to Hertha BSC’s game – you couldn’t necessarily say that about the other midfielders from Berlin. Despite the improvement in performance after the break, Hertha was not in the league to seriously jeopardize Frankfurt’s success.
But with the Berliners they have to enjoy the small things in the current situation: unlike the last time against VfL Wolfsburg, they did not experience a complete debacle after the weak first half. However, the goal to make it 0:3 in the fourth minute of stoppage time put that into perspective. “The most important thing is that you stay positive,” said Florian Niederlechner, “even if it’s difficult.” (tsp)
Source: Tagesspiegel
Brayden White, a veteran sports writer at Global Happening, brings his wealth of knowledge and expertise to the sports section. With over a decade of experience, he is committed to delivering high-quality coverage of the latest games and events.
