Nathalia Araújo and Thomas Flehmer, dpa I Saturday, April 16, 2023
BERLIN – Hertha Berlin have parted ways with coach Sandro Schwarz following a 5-2 defeat at Schalke and signed former coach Pal Dardai until the end of the season. The defeat pushed them to the bottom of the Bundesliga table with six games left in the season.
“Following the very disappointing defeat in Gelsenkirchen, we have taken the time over the last days to analyse and assess our situation and arrived at the conclusion that we needed to make a change in order to pursue our goal of staying up with the few games that remain,” sporting director Benjamin Weber said.
Schwarz said he enjoyed being head coach of Hertha and, “like everyone else connected to this club, would have liked to have seen our work rewarded with more points. Looking at the table, I can understand why the club have decided to pursue a new path.”
Hertha are currently last in the Bundesliga table with 22 points, four behind VfL Bochum, the first team outside the relegation zone. Dardai returns for his third stint at the club, having previously been in charge from February 2015 to June 2019 and then for 10 months in 2021.
“Pal has proven twice before that he is able to bring stability to a team with his clear manner, and that he’s able to guide teams out of similar situations,” Weber said.
Dardai recognized his mission “won’t be easy, but I’m looking forward to it.”
“There are six games left, with potentially two more on top, and I will give everything along with the team to make sure that the club stay in the Bundesliga.”
The two extra games are the possible relegation play-offs in case Hertha finish 16th.
Schwarz arrived at Hertha surrounded by optimism, but his side has had a very poor run this season. The massive defeat to Schalke, who’s also fighting against relegation, marked their sixth consecutive game without a win.
It was also Hertha’s 11th winless away match in a row, in a run that includes nine defeats. Overall, the club won only one away game – against Augsburg – since the start of the season.
For years, Hertha have been going through turbulent times and have constantly been a relegation candidate. Last season, they only avoided going to the second division after defeating SV Hamburg in the play-offs.
The club has also been under financial turmoil in connection with former investor Lars Windhorst. Recently, Hertha came to an agreement with new investor 777 Partners, with the Florida-base investment firm taking the 64.7% stake owned by Windhorst.
