Hertha Berlin's Bright Start Halted by 3 Straight Losses
BERLIN (AP) - Hertha Berlin's fresh start under a new coach and the additional millions provided by a new backer is not going to plan.
Hertha has only one point from four Bundesliga games, a laudable 2-2 draw at defending champion Bayern Munich that now is a distant memory after three straight defeats.
Hertha had been targeting European qualification on its way to establishing itself as Germany's ''capital club,'' among the Bundesliga's best, but the team has slipped to the bottom of the table after making its worst start in 29 years.
New coach Ante Covic was supposed to build on the foundations laid by predecessor Pal Dardai, who established Hertha as a first-division team free of relegation worries, while the club's increased ambition comes from financier Lars Windhorst's investment of 125 million euros ($140 million), with possibly more on the way.
Hertha started with a 3-0 home loss to Wolfsburg despite being the better team for long periods, then lost by the same score at Schalke after conceding two own-goals, and was unlucky to lose 2-1 at fellow struggler Mainz on Saturday.
*****Berlin's Marko Grujic, right, and Mainz' Edimilson Fernandes challenge for the ball during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FSV Mainz 05 and Hertha BSC Berlin in Mainz, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019.
Hertha has only one point from four Bundesliga games, a laudable 2-2 draw at defending champion Bayern Munich that now is a distant memory after three straight defeats.
Hertha had been targeting European qualification on its way to establishing itself as Germany's ''capital club,'' among the Bundesliga's best, but the team has slipped to the bottom of the table after making its worst start in 29 years.
New coach Ante Covic was supposed to build on the foundations laid by predecessor Pal Dardai, who established Hertha as a first-division team free of relegation worries, while the club's increased ambition comes from financier Lars Windhorst's investment of 125 million euros ($140 million), with possibly more on the way.
Hertha started with a 3-0 home loss to Wolfsburg despite being the better team for long periods, then lost by the same score at Schalke after conceding two own-goals, and was unlucky to lose 2-1 at fellow struggler Mainz on Saturday.
*****Berlin's Marko Grujic, right, and Mainz' Edimilson Fernandes challenge for the ball during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FSV Mainz 05 and Hertha BSC Berlin in Mainz, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019.