It has been a chaotic first season after the departure of long-time coach Pal Dardai. Hertha went through three new coaches before settling with seasoned Bruno Labbadia. However, they still spent most of the season in the midfield of the table, eventually finishing 10th.
It’s hard to paint a coherent picture of Hertha’s strengths and weaknesses given that most parameters changed with the coaches. First and foremost, the team was weakened by constant changes to the formation and tactics.
Ante Covic tried to have Hertha play attractive attacking football, but didn’t succeed at the cost of losing defensive stability. As a result, Hertha found themselves at the bottom of the table after five rounds.
New celebrity coach Jürgen Klinsmann took over in November. He managed to restore defensive stability. Results were good enough to establish Hertha in the upper midfield of the table despite them only scoring 10 goals in 10 games. However, Klinsmann surprisingly resigned after winter break for dubious reasons. Assistant coach Alexander Nouri helped out as a caretaker coach for four games.
When Bruno Labbadia took over, he provided the team with a reliable axis and tactical system again. Labbadia was off to a great start with four games without a defeat in a row and 11:2 goals. Hertha’s greatest strength were a stable defence, carried by key defender Dedryck Boyata, and an improved attacking game. In the following, results were mixed but solid, also due to many injured players.
During the winter break, Klinsmann induced the purchase of Piatek, Ascacíbar, Matheus Cunha and Tousart at the cost of 78 million euros. But it was previously ousted players such as Pekarik, Ibisevic and Skjelbred who played most convincingly when they were rehabilitated under Labbadia.
For the next season, Hertha will be hoping for more stability and sustainable management. With the financial power of investor Lars Windhorst behind them, they should at least be aiming for reaching a Europa League spot.
