It’s not the first time in his career that Labbadia has taken over an ambitious club that digs up on the table. Before the Bundesliga resumed, the Old Lady was ranked 13th and only six numbers above the relegation tiebreaker. Only the impressive returns in Hertha’s last two matches against Fortuna Dusseldorf and Werder Bremen in distress (3 goals and two fewer goals respectively) had saved even worse luck.
Labbadia, however, knows what it takes to remodel a club. He has stored Hamburg and Wolfsburg since the fall of recent years, this time he hopes to do so without having to negotiate a tense two-legged play-off.
“His concepts of playing attack football, meticulousness and ambition are perfectly compatible with Hertha Berlin and our goals,” Hertha’s sporting director Michael Preetz said when Labbadia was named.
Hoffenheim presented a first control of this valuation and Labbadia, who is the fourth head coach of the capital club of the season after Ante Covic, Jurgen Klinsmann and Nouri.
Players will no doubt have been receptive to someone who had led Wolfsburg to an impressive sixth position in 2018/19. The question was whether the 54-year-old could turn the education floor enthusiasm into effective the day in time for his first game in charge.
Former Bayern Munich forwarder demonstrated without delay that he did not fear making sound decisions at the beginning of his reign, leaving out defenders Lukas Klinter and Niklas Stark, as well as the costly winter signings Santiago Ascacibar and Krzysztof Piatek.
There have been seven overall adjustments since the 2-2 home draw against Bremen on 7 March, with players such as Marko Grujic, Dodi Lukebakio and Dedryck Boyata in form. Veterans Peter Pekarik, Per Skjelbred and club captain Vedad Ibisevic also arrived from the disbelievers to play in a competitive and hungry team that deployed a 4-2-3-1 formation.
It had been 70 days since Hertha’s last game, but Pekarik, in particular, had more explanations for why he was rusty than most. The 33-year-old makes it only his time to start the season as a right-back, and a yellow card after 10 minutes is a cause for concern. In the 58th minute, Hoffenheim defender Kevin Akpoguma inadvertently gave visitors the lead in the 58th minute.
Ibisevic, who helped Labbadia take VfB Stuttgart to sixth place in 2011/12, was also determined to capture the day. The seasoned striker had not started a league match since December, but he seemed the smartest player on the pitch in the 26th round. The former foreigner from Bosnia and Herzegovina will turn 36 in August, but here he has retreated for years to produce an inspiring centre forward. Demonstration opposed to his old club.
Harassing and harassing, constantly looking for an opening, Ibisevic a constant risk in the first half. In the second, he showed that he remains an herbal purpose scorer. Having been denied through Oliver Baumann in a time before Hertha’s opening match, he temporarily took the score to 2-0 in the hour. A deaf header from close diversity allowed Ibisevic to score the 124th goal of his Bundesliga career. After scoring 43 goals in 92 league games for Hoffenheim between 2007 and 2012, he now has 42 high-level goals for Hertha.
“The break was smart for me,” Ibisevic told Hertha’s online page after the game. “The team in general worked very well, so we rightly won. I’m happy to have scored, and I’m just looking to enjoy each and every game.”
While Hertha’s moment proposed a high praise for Ibisevic’s stellar performance, the third a moment of natural magic by Matheus Cunha to finish the score in style. The Brazilian foiled through Baumann at the end of the first half, but with 16 minutes to the end, former RB Leipzig striker made a slalom from the left wing to seal an incredibly impressive win for visitors.
After the match, Labbadia told bundesliga.com that the importance of the 3 issues for players who lack confidence and for a new team of coaches seeking to earn their trust cannot be underestimated. Having also avoided relegation disorders in Stuttgart in 2010/2011, as well as the DFB Cup final the following season, he knows a few things about the importance of momentum.
However, Hertha’s victory was won with difficulty, Christoph Baumgartner and Maximilian Beier lacked great opportunities for the house team while the game was still goalless in both aspects of the half. However, Hoffenheim may be the right opponent first for Labbadia. It’s the tenth time he’s been right about them in his training career, meaning he has more wins against TSG than any other club.
The new good fortune is a testament to what Labbadia has controlled to bring to training. German foreigner Marvin Plattenhardt said many of the things Hertha had planned had happened in the match, while Maximilian Mittelst-dt, whose captivating center established Ibisevic’s purpose, warned that the result was natural.
“If you exercise as intensely as we did in preparation, you reap the rewards,” he told Hertha’s website. The 3-0 win, according to Labbadia, the “great start” his new team needed.
“It was a very, very consistent team performance,” he said afterwards. Their players will now have to do so in the remaining 8 games of the rest of the season, starting with the derby against Union Berlin on the 27th.
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