Dear Fortune fans, dear Hertha fans and other readers,
On Sunday there will be a hopefully exciting top match between two promotion candidates in the Olympic Stadium. Before the match kicks off, we want to take a look at our upcoming opponent and see how our diva might fare.
Transfersommer
After disappointing last season, especially in the first half of the season, and then failing to produce the necessary horsepower in the second half of the season to seriously challenge for promotion, Hertha made a number of transfers in the summer. Notable departures (primarily financial) include the transfer of Suat Serdar, who was sold for €4.5 million after his loan to Verona? A welcome financial injection in everyday life in the second division. With Kempf, a regular player who was able to prove his class at least in phases, left the Berlin team. For €2.5 million, he is now going to Como alongside Engelhardt. The most painful departure, however, was the transfer of Haris Tabakovic to TSG Hoffenheim. On the one hand, collecting €3 million plus €2 million in possible bonuses for a 30-year-old is a lucrative deal, but on the other hand, it is damn difficult to replace a player who, together with Glatzel and Tzolis, shot his way to the top of the goalscoring list last season, even with this budget. Whether and how they plan to replace him (or whether they can do so at all) remains to be seen.
On the new signing side, however, there are some exciting names. Luca Schuler, for example, moved to Berlin after his contract in Magdeburg expired. The tall striker, who at 25 still has potential for development, is expected to achieve a lot, not least after his brace in the last match against Kaiserslautern. With Diego Demme, they have signed a dream player who they were already interested in last year. He brings a lot of experience at the highest level and will certainly add a lot of value both on the pitch and in training. With Brooks, they have brought home a young man from Berlin who has played for various Bundesliga teams in recent years. He will initially be out due to injury. However, in my opinion, with him they have filled the hole left by Kempf both qualitatively and cost-effectively and at the same time signed an experienced leader who can take on the role of Toni Leistner, who is no longer as relevant in sporting terms. The transfer of Kevin Sessa is a real coup in my opinion. I know Sessa from his early days in Heidenheim and secretly hoped to see him with us at some point. The boy has a lot of potential and the fact that he is actively choosing Hertha in League 2 shows that he is really keen on the project. I will continue to follow his development with interest. In Cuisance, they have also signed another talented midfielder who has underlined his claim as a regular starter with a goal and an assist in the last two games. The last transfer worth mentioning is Thorsteinsson, who was lured to the capital from Leuven for €1.4 million. An agile, dribbling winger who can be expected to do well this season. All in all, all parts of the team have been strengthened with above-average players. I also like the ratio of talent to experience. On paper, a really good transfer phase.
Coach change
After Hertha veteran Pal Dardai had to vacate his coaching position (again) after taking it over in a time of need (again), the old lady released Nuremberg coach Christian Fiél, who had previously been unsuccessful, from his contract for the new season. Quite a few people reacted with incomprehension that a coach who would probably have been fired in the second half of the season at another club due to his performance and results should now shape Hertha into a successful promotion candidate. But he seems to have fit in with the ideas of the Hertha management: away from the defensively oriented, more result-focused Dardai ball (although they had one of the league’s most goal-scoring offenses) and towards more attractive possession football. Whether Fiél is the right coach for this remains to be seen. Personally, I haven’t seen enough Hertha games to be able to fully assess this, but I’m happy to hear the observations of others. In the clips I have seen so far, Hertha’s game seems more fluid, especially when in possession of the ball, and not just focused on “kick and rush”, as was often the case last season under Dardai.
Previous games
While we secured a relatively safe 2-0 away win against Darmstadt, Hertha suffered a 1-2 defeat at home against SC Paderborn on the first match day. It was bitter because we were even leading, but the savvy Paderborners didn’t let up. So Fiél was denied the home debut he wanted. On the second match day, parallel to our goalless draw against KSC, there was a 1-1 draw in Hamburg. After HSV took the lead, the Berliners fought back in the second half, partly due to the passivity of the hosts, and picked up their first points of the season. While we had our problems in Ulm on the third match day, Hertha managed their first win with a 2-0 win at home against Regensburg. However, they were not really convincing in the match, and there was still a lot of room for improvement, especially in attack. It is telling that both goals only came from the 90th minute onwards and would probably have been saved if the goalkeeper had had a better day. Most recently, parallel to our strong 1-0 win against Hannover, Hertha’s spectacular 4-3 victory at the Betzenberg followed. Here, for the first time, the offensive power that so often distinguished the Berlin team last season was on display again.
Both teams had their problems at the beginning of the season, but we still managed to remain unbeaten and to be in the top spot in terms of points. Our recent match against Hannover and Hertha’s match against Lautern showed what both teams are capable of.
Last two duels
Let’s come to the last two duels, which could already give some insight into Sunday. After a long absence following our relegation in 2020, our paths met again for the first time last season. Matchday 1, season opener, a sunny day at the end of July that attracted over 40,000 spectators to the Merkur Spiel Arena. Fortuna had the honor of welcoming the newly relegated first division team to the dance, which resulted in a balanced match. Fortuna played confidently and was able to prevail against the well-known Hertha line-up with a goal from Ginni to make the final score 1-0. The start of a successful season on our side was made.
Let’s jump to the return match on matchday 18. After a successful first half of the season and new, offensive and spectacular football that we haven’t seen for a long time, Fortuna returned to action with the match against Hertha. It was a long weekend for me, as I visited old friends in the capital and celebrated with many other Fortuna fans on Saturday evening at the fan festival organized by Havel Pralinen. A successful weekend, you could say. On Sunday, we went to the Olympic Stadium, which was covered in snow, where we watched an entertaining match. After Tabakovic put the hosts in the lead, we equalized through Isak, only to then give Hertha the immediate lead through a bad mistake by Kastenmeier. Tzolis excelled on our side (once again) and brought us back to the equalizer with a penalty, but then became a tragic figure when he missed what seemed to be the winning goal by missing his second penalty wide of the goal. Annoying, but one point away in Berlin was something to be happy with.
If you read through the section, it may sound like a normal, exciting, boozy away trip, but the match unfortunately took place against a very sad backdrop. Hertha’s president Kai Bernstein had died completely unexpectedly shortly beforehand. A shock not only for the Berliners, but also for the whole of football Germany. The consequence for the match was a complete suspension of support on the Berlin side, or a temporary suspension on the Düsseldorf side, to give the Hertha fans the opportunity to say goodbye to Kai undisturbed during the match. The following “Only go home”, which was sung from the East Curve, will stay in my memory for a long time. It really touched and moved many people on the Düsseldorf side, including me. A good friend who was standing next to me and had recently lost his father at a young age cried bitter tears. On a day like this, football really is just a side issue. At this point, my sincere condolences to the entire Hertha family!
Outlook for the match
Finally, we have to look ahead to the upcoming match. This game definitely deserves to be called a top match. We come in as league leaders, Hertha as eighth, with just three points separating us. On paper, the teams with the 2nd and 4th most valuable squads are meeting here, and they will be sending a large number of above-average players onto the pitch. Even though we have only conceded one goal so far (and none from open play), I think we really have to be careful on Sunday. Despite the departure of Tabakovic, Hertha simply has great offensive quality, both in the final third and in the midfield. Even though Fabian Reese will be missing, they have players like Maza or the newly signed Thorsteinsson with skills that can pose a threat to any team in this league. Controlling them will be crucial to making this game a success. At the same time, we should not hide; we have already been unbeaten for 18 league games. Even though the start to the league, including the cup exit, was anything but confident, our series and the number of points we have earned prove us right and our performance against Hannover has given us confidence that we are on the right track. Hannover was unable to pose much of a threat going forward, and if Hertha manages to do that, that will be the next real benchmark after Karlsruhe. I am therefore predicting a 2-2 draw at the end, with Hertha dominating the game but us being dangerous with quick counterattacks.
We wish all Fortuna fans a safe journey, lots of fun for those who are going to the Havel Pralinen celebration again this year, and a great game for all neutral and Hertha fans!
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