Our next opponents: End of an era

Position

Last weekend's spectacular 4-3 win at Augsburg is symbolic of the whole season for Hertha Berlin: lots of highs, lots of lows and a satisfactory result in the end. The Old Lady got off to a flying start this season and after a 2-0 victory over Bayern Munich on matchday six they were in third place. A dip came early on this year with five defeats in a row. And nevertheless: Hertha Berlin are more than safe in tenth place on 43 points – the same number as after 34 games last season. In spite of another season without worry, one thing was certain after the 2-0 defeat at Hoffenheim in the middle of April: Coach Pal Dardai (pictured above) will step down after the match against Bayer 04 on Saturday. For the Hungarian, it will be match number 172 and the last game as head coach of the Berlin team; only Jürgen Röber (254) and Helmut Kronsbein (239) were in the Hertha hot seat for longer – an era comes to an end in the capital on Saturday.

Personnel

The change of coaches in the summer will be a watershed after nearly four and a half years of Dardai but no major upheaval is expected. As announced by Hertha on Sunday, Ante Covic will take over the helm on 1 July – and the Croat has certain parallels with Dardai, primarily: a distinct pedigree. "We said from the start we wanted a coach who can look after the Hertha DNA," said CEO Michael Preetz about the new man in charge. "Ante Covic understands this DNA more than any other candidate," Like Dardai, Covic trained various youth teams at the club before his first job as a first team coach, with the Berlin second team being the last in 2013. Covic is also Berlin born and he played 80 games for Hertha between 1996 and 2000 – many of them alongside Dardai. The next curious parallel: Both Dardai and Covic have a son in the current Hertha squad whereby Maurice Covic (21), in contrast to Palko Dardai (20), has not yet played in the Bundesliga. The sons of the two coaches are both injured for the final game of the season against Bayer 04.

Problems

The injuries to Covic and Dardai shouldn't provide too much of a problem for the team but the long injury list of regular starters was one of the main reasons for the dip in form of Hertha after the winter break. The situation has eased in recent weeks but, nevertheless, important pieces of the jigsaw are missing for the game against Bayer 04, particularly in midfield. Midfield dynamo Vladimir Darida is out with a torn cruciate; homegrown Arne Maier, who has impressed as a go-to man in midfield at the tender age of 20, is also sidelined with a knee injury. The season came to an end in April for key defender Niklas Stark due to a serious ankle injury. And another top performer is also absent: After staying up was done and dusted, goalkeeper Rune Jarstein underwent a long-planned knee operation and he was replaced by Thomas Kraft at Augsburg. However, it it is possible that the talented 20-year-old goalkeeper Dennis Smarsch could make his Bundesliga debut against Bayer 04.

Potential

Over the past four and a half years, Dardai has built something up in Berlin that has been missing for a long time: stability. Covic can now build on those foundations. He has a squad with a number of enormously experienced players but also has one of the best youth departments in the country that regularly produces potential first team players – as recently was the case with Maier (20), Jordan Torunarigha (21) and Maximilian Mittelstädt (22). Other homegrown players like Dennis Jastrzembski (19), Julius Kade (19), Florian Baak (20), goalkeeper Smarsch (20) or Dardai and Covic juniors are on the verge of becoming regular members of the squad – and, given his background, Ante Covic, just like Dardai, will definitely try to integrate these players into the senior squad.

Prediction

Hertha will end this season in tenth or eleventh place and thereby for the fourth year in succession have nothing to do with relegation battles. The team is now expected to develop under Covic and in the coming years qualify for Europe again. That could happen if the many talented, homegrown youngsters can demonstrate their enormous potential with the first team. One thing is definitely certain: Dardai, who also holds the record number of appearances for Hertha in the Bundesliga, should be provided with a home win on Saturday in his final match in charge. The Werkself will receive no favours.