2. Bundesliga-Blue and white Tristesse: Schalke and Hertha BSC open the season

If all good things are really three, it could exceptionally be a good season for Hertha BSC and Schalke 04. At least for the Berliners, the festival is planned: in the third attempt, the jump should finally succeed back into the first class. This Friday, both clubs in Gelsenkirchen will open the new second division season. Hertha’s coach Stefan Leitl sees a duel between two “heavyweights of German football”, Schalke offers at least the right setting for this with a floodlight game in front of more than 60,000 fans.

Tristesse in blue and white

Two years ago, both clubs descended together – as the best examples of how you shouldn’t do it in professional football. Schalke was delivered to a patron, Hertha some investors, both are still highly indebted and were close to the descent even in league.

In view of the years of blue and white tristesse in Berlin and Gelsenkirchen, it is only understandable that both sides can hardly wait for the kick-off. Schalke’s new coach Miron Muslic is looking forward to the start of the season like a small child, in Berlin you are “glad that it finally starts,” said sports director Benjamin Weber. The impatience shows that you want to do it better. Because it is hardly worse, it should succeed. And that after the ascent of 1. FC Köln and Hamburger SV the label of the “strongest second division of all time” cannot be a advertising message this time, the prospect of success seems a little more radiant.

Success pressure and emotion control

Let’s see who goes the good mood first. The Berliners seem closer to the failure. While Schalke wants to stabilize after the long relegation battle for the previous season, only the climb at Hertha counts. “Our goal is to rise,” announced the new captain Fabian Reese and demanded that the Berliners had to assume the role of favorites so that they would give them strength.

Stefan Leitl is not afraid of serious tasks, otherwise he would not have come to the capital in February for the at that time to relegate Hertha. The 47-year-old also seems to be able to deal with the pressure of success: On Wednesday, the Berlin coach spoke about the “good preparation” on Wednesday, from which he took many positive things with him and the “anticipation” to “deal with the big goal” this season. When asked about the start on Friday, Leitl replied a little more reluctant: “Emotion control” was important in a game at Schalke.

Course rooms

While Hertha’s trainer still speaks of a “certain tension” because you only know how good you really are when it gets serious, his captain really went into full in advance. “My dream is to become a master with Hertha,” Reese had looked into a distant future. He described the present no less pathetic: »A Bundesliga promotion in the capital. I want to achieve that. “

Admittedly, Reese is an exceptional player in the second division – dynamic, goal -dangerous, team -related. Without his eleven goals, which he had all achieved after his injury in the second half of the season, Hertha’s relegation in May would not have been a matter of course in May. The same applies to his first season in Berlin, in which he towered with nine goals and 29 templates. Because this time the 27-year-old seems to be ready for new great things at the beginning of the season, it is above all the reason for the promotion rooms in the capital.

Doubts about the goal

Maybe the football world also belongs to the brave. But the look at the league allows the Hertha in the blue and white case. First of all, there is not much to say about why the table of the table should now play the role of the favorite. Because clubs that were better placed in the previous season have similar ambitions. A careful selection, the table after: Paderborn, Düsseldorf, Kaiserslautern, Karlsruhe, Hannover. In addition, there are relegations from Bochum and Kiel.

In addition to Reese, hope in Berlin makes LEITL, precisely because he is the opposite of a speaker. And so the trainer noted thoughtfully that the association on the transfer market moved within its possibilities. Hertha Ibrahim Maza and Derry Scherhann had to hand in. It may already be seen against Schalke whether Dawid Kownacki can replace the goal risk sold for a total of 14 million euros. Although not really fit, the striker is already an option for the starting eleven, Leitl indicated. A good example of the constraints that make the goal difficult.