The football pundits in Germany were unanimous: There could not be a much bigger change in a coaching position at first sight. The change from Ante Covic to Jürgen Klinsmann at the end of November also means: from a man from the club to a colourful cosmopolitan, from long-term youth coach to the former Germany coach. The 180 degrees turnaround became necessary after losing four times in succession and becoming involved in a relegation battle under Covic, who was only appointed in the summer. Hertha have battled under Klinsmann: A narrow defeat against Borussia Dortmund for openers was followed by a draw at Eintracht Frankfurt – and last Saturday brought the first salvation: The Old Lady secured a 1-0 victory over the surprise package from Freiburg – the first win for Klinsmann as coach of the capital club and the first three-pointer for Hertha since the beginning of October. That has given the Berliners some breathing space as the team moved up to 13th in the table. Hertha are still in the DFB Cup with Schalke 04 providing the opposition at the beginning of February 2020.
Just the staff that Klinsmann – the interim coach to the end of the season – has brought with him is full of big names and has attracted the attention of the media: Assistant coach Alexander Nouri has already been head coach at Werder Bremen and Ingolstadt, Markus Feldhoff was a striker in the Bundesliga including for Bayer 04. Plus, the Germany goalkeeping coach Andreas Köpke will be looking after the Hertha keepers at least up to the end of the year. And another old acquaintance of Klinsmann's from his time as Germany coach has also arrived: The long serving Germany international and Hertha legend Arne Friedrich also took over over as team manager from the end of November. Klinsmann has brought about changes in terms of tactics: In contrast to his predecessor Covic, who usually played just one genuine striker, the 55-year-old is playing two men up top – initially Davie Selke and Dodi Lukebakio, then with Selke and captain Vedad Ibisevic as the central strikers and Lukebakio out wide against Freiburg. In particular, the Belgian, who was signed from Fortuna Düsseldorf in the summer, is one the Werkself will have to look out for: Lukebakio is not only top scorer for Hertha this season with four goals but also the best provider with four assists. Klinsmann has a full squad to choose from at the moment – once again including the goalkeeping position: The regular number one Rune Jarstein is back between the sticks for the capital club after returning from suspension.
Hertha are very much dependent on individualists in attack. A lot depends on individual moves by Lukebakio or the Dutch dribbler Javairo Dilrosun. The key components on the pitch and cohesion up front are not really working as yet this season. Last term, Ondrej Duda was often the man for the job but the Slovakian has not really found his feet in the current campaign. He's often on the bench and Klinsmann has even put him in the reserves playing in the Regional League North-East. The week before that, Duda was in the starting line-up for the first team. Where will the playmaker be when the game in Leverkusen kicks off on Wednesday?
Hertha Berlin are a Bundesliga club that could be worth following in coming years. The reason: Lars Windhorst. The businessman became an investor in the club in June 2019 and since November his investment group Tennor have acquired control of 49.9% of shares in the limited company. There is great ambition. "Our clear target is for Hertha to become a top club in Germany and Europe in the next few years," announced Windhorst in an interview with Bild am Sonntag in September. Will we see Hertha Berlin in the Champions League soon? Bringing in Klinsmann as interim coach at least provides a taster of an extravagant future for the club.
Before the Berliners can start dreaming of success on the European stage, they have to deal with the reality of a relegation battle. However, it's looking good at the moment: The team have settled down under Klinsmann and have now celebrated their first victory. In addition, the quality of the squad should be enough to ensure staying in the top flight.
Kicking off the new season with a fresh look: Bayer 04, in collaboration with sportswear manufacturer New Balance, has unveiled the official kit for Leverkusen’s e-Sports players for the coming season. The jersey is now available from the Bayer 04 online shop and the Fanwelt.
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Paulo Sergio and Bayer 04 have enjoyed close ties since the Werkself training camp in his native Brazil last summer. The club legend is in charge of the Bayer 04 Soccer Academy, which opened in the summer of 2025, and he has also been at this year’s training camp in the Weimarer Land. As well as interacting with the many fans who travelled to the camp, the 1994 World Cup winner used the time to plan the next steps for the Academy together with club officials. In an interview with bayer04.de, Sergio spoke about the project’s future development, the upcoming visit by young Academy players to Leverkusen, and plans for the coming months in Germany and Brazil.
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A round-up of the Werkself training camp in the Weimarer Land, all in one place: in our daily blog you’ll find all the insights and updates from the day. Day five (Thursday 6 August) is as follows: The squad have the final open session of the training camp in the morning. After lunch, there will be a team event.
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A round-up of the Werkself training camp in the Weimarer Land, all in one place: in our daily blog you’ll find all the insights and updates from the day. Day four (Wednesday 5 August) is all about training. The day begins with a gruelling open training session – new signing Miguel Gutiérrez also takes part. A second session follows in the afternoon, this time behind closed doors.
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At the training camp in the Weimarer Land region, Bayer 04 head coach Carles Martínez and his long-standing assistant Pol García talk about their first few weeks with the Werkself, their expectations of their own work, the coaching staff and the squad, as well as the style of football they want the team to play. They emphasise the importance of a winning mentality within the team, comment on cultural and personal differences in the world of football, and outline their goals for the coming season...
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