Fabian Reese is symbolic of Hertha BSC

It was Sunday afternoon, a quarter past two, when Reese stood – figuratively speaking – in front of the curve of Hertha BSC fans in the Düsseldorf Arena, his back pushed straight, his back straight and his chest puffed out. What could happen, he asked back.

The Berlin second division soccer team had just extended its lead over Fortuna Düsseldorf to 3-1 and finally got things on the right track. Also and above all thanks to Fabian Reese. The goal began when Reese got the ball in the opponent’s half.

Hertha’s left winger accelerated, passed his first opponent, lured a second one from the center and finally crossed into the middle, exactly to the head of Dawid Kownacki, who scored his sixth goal of the season without any major problems.

Two goals, one assist: That was Reese’s interim balance at this point, shortly before half-time. The captain played a decisive role in ensuring that the team ultimately achieved an unchallenged 5:2 (4:1) success in the Rhineland – and that Hertha subsequently had to put up with new, unpleasant questions: Why isn’t it always like this? Or: What would have been possible if Berliners had always approached their tasks with this seriousness?

“If it were always like this, we would probably be in a different place,” said Hertha coach Stefan Leitl in an interview with the Sky television channel after the away win. “So far we have not been able to achieve consistent performance.”

This means that the Berliners remain in sixth place in the Second League table. That the gap to the promotion places is still seven points (with one game less) and that – as of now – there is no reason to put the topic of promotion back on the agenda.

“I’m happy. You don’t always win 5-2 away,” said coach Leitl. “It was important to us that we approached this game completely seriously.” In the past that wasn’t always the case. This season, for which the club had officially set promotion as its goal, was also a season of missed opportunities. But things definitely looked different in Düsseldorf.

The whole truth also meant that the people of Düsseldorf let their opponents do what they wanted in a surprisingly naive way. “You have seen what happens when you give us space,” said Hertha goalkeeper Tjark Ernst. “Especially in the transition moments we were traveling at a lot of speed and were ice cold.”

Fortuna’s coach Markus beginning described Hertha as having “an absolute top offense” and “brutal efficiency”. All offensive players played their part in this clear success, in which Hertha scored more than three goals for the first time this season. Dawid Kownacki and Marten Winkler each had a goal and an assist, Josip Brekalo prepared two goals in the tenth position, and even substitute Luca Schuler scored shortly before the end.

But Fabian Reese stood above all of them. He was involved in three goals and hit the post again. “The determination to score was right, we took advantage of our chances,” said Reese.

There can be no talk of a mediocre season

With his performance, the 28-year-old was emblematic of his team in Düsseldorf. Reese showed what he’s really made of after recently being accused of not making the most of his potential. Just like Hertha.

The appearance in Düsseldorf was a pretty clear answer – and Fabian Reese was once again the Reese that the fans had come to appreciate and love in his first season at Hertha: irresistible and almost impossible to keep. He completed 86 percent of his dribbles on Sunday and won 82 percent of his duels on the ground and in the air.

Judging based on his data alone, there can be no talk of a mediocre season – by his standards. Reese has now scored nine goals and eleven assists. This makes him not only the best scorer in the second division. This means that, at least according to the official data from the German Football League, he has already equaled the values ​​​​of his debut season at Hertha. There were nine goals and eleven assists at the end of the season.

“He is very, very good,” said Hertha center forward Kownacki about his colleague, “and for me he is the best player in this league.” Fabian Reese has a lot ahead of his team.