A few days ago I came across a strange photo. It was from September 1994. It showed the former “top fan” of Hertha BSC, the well-known fan merchandise dealer “Pepe” Mager, putting a huge Indian chief’s headpiece on the head of the lawyer Manfred Zemaitat. Zemaitat had just been elected as the new president of Hertha and had clearly beaten his opponent, Hertha legend Wolfgang Holst. Yes, that’s how it used to be at elections for the capital city club.
When the shirt-sleeved Zemaitat resigned in 1998 after internal power struggles, Mercedes manager Walter Müller and two years later media expert Bernd Schiphorst were appointed and installed as presidents by the supervisory board. Entrepreneur Werner Gegenbauer, who was at the helm from 2008 to 2022 – always elected by the members – never had to deal with opposing candidates.
From lawyer to sneaker millionaire
Hertha BSC has now published the long list of candidates for the presidential elections on November 17th. It includes 27 people, five of whom are aiming to be elected president. The interest in having a say in the future of the club with around 55,000 members is evidently huge. That’s good, democracy in action.
The five candidates for the office of president are Fabian Drescher (41/lawyer), who is temporarily leading the club after the tragic death of Kay Bernstein, Uwe Dinnebier (61), owner of 25 car dealerships, the young entrepreneur Stepan Timoshin (23), known as the “sneakers millionaire”, the former Hertha professional Wolfgang Sidka (70) and the restaurateur Olaf Brandt (56).
After the former ultra and capo of the East Curve, Kay Bernstein, clearly prevailed in a duel with CDU politician Frank Steffel in June 2022 and thus caused a stir across Germany, the race for the top job currently seems to be more open than ever. I will not venture a prediction at this point and would rather ask the question of how much footballing expertise such a presidium needs? This is also in demand in Hertha’s job profile, among others. In the past, there was little specific football know-how in the committees.
Greiser warns of an “over-manager”
The club benefited for the longest time from the knowledge of the former Hertha team captain (from 1989 to 1991), lawyer Dirk Greiser. The tall sweeper was a member of the supervisory board from 2004 to 2008 and later served as a volunteer advisor to the executive committee on sporting issues until 2022. In 2004, the recently deceased Hertha legend “Hanne” Weiner (218 Bundesliga games for Hertha) was active in the participation committee. The committee no longer exists. In 2012, former Hertha defender Michael Sziedat (280 Bundesliga games for Hertha BSC) positioned himself as a fierce critic of manager Michael Preetz, but aspired to join the executive committee in vain. Since 2010, former professional Andreas Schmidt, who played 193 Bundesliga duels for Hertha, has been a continuous member of the supervisory board. And entrepreneur Klaus Brüggemann, although not a footballer, most recently held a long-term position on the executive board and supervisory board, was able to contribute his knowledge, particularly in the areas of sports management and sports marketing.
On the current list of candidates, the only one who stands out in sporting terms, apart from Wolfgang Sidka, runner-up with Hertha in 1974/75, is former crowd favorite Marko Pantelic. The 46-year-old once thrilled the crowds in the Olympic Stadium, scoring an impressive 45, mostly spectacular goals in 114 Bundesliga games between 2006 and 2009. Most recently, the once so extroverted Serbian international worked for four years as vice president of the Serbian Football Association. With his network, he is aiming for the position of vice president or as a simple member. Dirk Greiser told me that former professionals – should they be elected – must first and foremost help to correctly classify things on the pitch, whether successes or failures. “But they must not be super managers!”
I believe that the mix of personalities with high levels of competence in various areas makes for a strong executive committee. An ex-footballer must contribute as a team player.
