Hertha Berlin sack Tayfun Korkut

The morning after a fifth straight league defeat, this time 2-0 to Borussia Mönchengladbach, Hertha Berlin announced that Tayfun Korkut would be the sixth coach to be fired by the club in less than three years.

 "Hertha BSC's management have decided to part company with head coach Tayfun Korkut with immediate effect," the club said in a statement.

Just a few hours later, the club announced that veteran Felix Magath, 68, would take over. "Felix Magath’s resume speaks for himself," said sporting director Fredi Bobic. "We have been able to find a coach who has proven he has the experience needed in order to help us out of the challenging situation we find ourselves in."

Former Stuttgart and Bayer Leverkusen coach  Korkut joined Hertha last November following the firing of Pal Dardai, who lasted less than a year in his second stint in the Hertha hotseat. 

Magath, meanwhile, has not been a head coach since leaving Chinese side Shandong Taishan in 2017. His biggest achievement remains leading Wolfsburg to the Bundesliga title in 2009.

Big money, small returns

Hertha, who have spent significantly in recent years after outside investment from German business man Lars Windhorst, have been on a losing streak since the start of the year, dropping to second bottom of the Bundesliga.

"After a promising start with seven points from the first four games and a positive trend, we've now clearly analyzed the performances and results from the nine games in the second half of the season," managing director Bobic said in his earlier statement.  "We came to the conclusion that we needed another change of coach."

Bobic himself joined Hertha to much fanfare after plenty of success in a similar role with Eintracht Frankfurt. But he has found it difficult to turn around a club who also saw Jürgen Klinsmann take on the head coach role before leaving 76 days later in a blaze of leaked diaries and accusations in 2020.

Derby on the horizon

Korkut's departure comes hot on the heels of that of sports director Arne Friedrich last Friday, but Magath said he has confidence he can lead Hertha away from danger.

 "I had very clear talks with Fredi Bobic. We are aware of the sporting situation. I'm ready to use all my experience to help us stay in the league," he said. "The important thing now is for everyone to focus fully on the remaining games."

Hertha face European challengers Hoffenheim and Bayer Leverkusen next, before the Berlin derby against Union on April 9.

mp (AFP, DPA)