Berlin: Fight against horror scenarios in the capital

The highest resident of the German capital of Latin America recently traveled. Frank-Walter Steinmeier was traveling in Uruguay, among other things, but the Federal President did not lie down. From the point of view of his fellow Berliners, you could think that was regrettable. Steinmeier could have received relevant information on the question of how to do it with fewer residents than Berlin, on the green lawn to the top of the world instead of stumbling from one crisis to the next. Just like now.

This Saturday FC Bayern visits 1. FC Union Berlin (3:30 p.m.). If the Köpenickers had not surprisingly won in Frankfurt, the danger would have been even more tangible that Berlin would become the only EU capital again at the end of the season that is not represented in their national first football league.

After only seven points from nine games under the coach Steffen Baumgart, who had been in office since the beginning of the year, the situation at Union was so worrying that President Dirk Zingler turned to all Unioner in a video interview. Prophylactically, he believes that it should not be mentally relegated as a club. Now the Köpenickers are at least nine points above the direct relegation place 17, which Holstein Kiel occupied.

The situation looks even more threatening thirty kilometers away. Because in Berlin’s Westend the Hertha not only fights against relegation into the third division. But also against the associated fall into the bottomless. Hertha’s lead in 17th place (Ulm) is still seven points. But should the table-16. Braunschweig won against the Berliners this Sunday if he were tied with Hertha. “I believe that the pressure is more on Braunschweig,” says Hertha coach Stefan Leitl, who only took over the office of Cristian Fiél three match days ago and is still without a win: “We do not have the pressure to win this game.” The old battle cry “kneels down, your farmer, the capital is a guest”, is currently difficult for Hertha fans.

Leitl’s statement should obviously take pressure from the unsettled team, but still surprises in that Hertha should slowly get the curve. Because in 2025 the proud club stumbles more violently than Harald Juhnke in its most excessive observation. Since the beginning of the year, Hertha has only recorded one victory (in Paderborn), a draw (against Nuremberg) and six defeats; In the last three games, a single goal scored in front of around 70,000 spectators in the 1-2 against Schalke. The defeat also triggered the need to contact the members during Hertha leadership-but not in a personal form, as with Union President Zingler, but by an email signed with “Hertha BSC”: “Our duty is to deal with all possible scenarios. We do that, ”it said. And: “No outcome of this season will meet us unexpectedly.”

This was an euphemist description for the horror scenario: the descent into the third class, which Hertha’s precarious economic situation would be indelibly worse by the break-in of TV and sponsorship income.

The Hertha leadership says that everything is prepared for everything. Concrete bankruptcy issues remain unanswered

At the end of February, the club reported on progress in consolidation in a press release at the half -year result: “Our renovation course has an effect”, Managing Director Tom E. Herrich was cited. The negative equity is on 32.5 million euros, which is remarkable, among other things, because Hertha had collected more than 400 million euros from large investors such as KKR and Lars Windhorst – and had a positive equity of more than 100 million euros less than four years ago.

But: the costs were reduced massively and sustainably; The fact that the half -year result was minus 9.46 million euros is primarily due to “depreciation and the departure of residual book values” of around 7.2 million euros. The drainage of liquidity was limited. Even the millstone that the Hertha covers around with it seemed less difficult to weigh: Hertha was in good spirits to be able to repay the horrendous Nordic Bond bond (40 million euros) in November. Only: what if you should descend?

On specific questions, whether an insolvency is threatening or whether a planned bankruptcy is being prepared in the second division tip of the 1. FC Kaiserslautern, which has now been climbed again, Herrich said that “responsibility” was aware of “dealing with all eventualities”. However, it is “currently not the time to comment on speculation about possible developments”. At the goal of operating the 40 million bond as of November 8, Hertha states: “The economic framework and our strategic plans are of course rated continuously.”

Whether with or without a descent – it has long been evident that the Hertha is faced with a change in summer. The sporting management has been criticized for months. The squad, the sports director Benjamin Weber and Andreas “Zecke” Neuendorf (Head of License Player area), has already been questioned when the debates did not yet revoke the question of whether the Hertha professionals were prepared for the hardness of the relegation battle. Nevertheless, the contracts of Neuendorf and Weber, who are considered an incarnation of the so-called “Berliner Weg” because of their Hertha vita, were extended last October-until 2027. Now they are probably also in question. Because “Hertha BSC” was to underline the letter to the members “that after the season we would expect a relentless analysis of the sporting situation”.

It is also agreed that the best players will leave Hertha. There are interested parties from the Bundesliga and abroad for Fabian Reese, Ibrahim Maza, Michaël Cuisance or Derry Sherhant. Hertha would at least help sales in summer – but only if the relegation is prevented. Because the Kicker just reported that “the major” of the contracts of the Hertha professionals was only valid for the 1st and 2nd league, when they were relegated, they could go free of charge. The management only says that one is not expressed in terms of contract. Experience teaches: such scenarios in relegation fights are never a help.