Dardai confirms departing Hertha. - Pal's continuation has come to an end.
Hertha were taken aback by the news, with no farewell in the stadium and even after the final whistle, managing director Thomas Herrich (60) responded when asked if he could confirm Dardai's departure: "No, I can't! "We had secret meetings this week and will continue them next week. If there's something to announce, then WE will announce it!"
Come on! If there was an agreement, then it's obvious the news has leaked out!
Before the match, Dardai was evasive on Sky ("The management needs to make the announcement, I'm a professional. That's life as a coach.") and avoided giving a clear confirmation, but he eventually revealed his departure from Hertha.
Dardai, who is leaving his position as Hertha's head coach for the third time, during ARD-Sportschau: "I'm always bound here for a year. And then the team always gets to decide, Pal gets to decide, the management gets to decide, and the fans - everyone gets to decide. And in the end, there's always a result. This time, Pal will not continue. The club needs to announce the 'why' at some point."
Dardai added: "It's not a problem at all. I'm from this city, I am and will remain a Herthaner, my children are still here. I've been here for thirty years and it's completely normal what happens here."
Pal Dardai: "No problem! I am and will remain a Herthaner!"
The coach has now officially confirmed his departure as Hertha coach during the summer. Hertha's bosses, who have clashed with the stubborn Hungarian in the past, have a different timeline for the final announcement. A shame: a farewell to the fan favorite would've been a fitting ending in a full stadium in front of 67,000 enthusiastic fans after a victory.
But even so, Dardai was lauded with chants in the packed stadium. Afterwards, he said: "I'm sorry, we didn't earn promotion. That's down to our defensive play, which needs to change."
The offense has been strong. Dardai: "We've scored 85 competitive goals (including the penalty shoot-out against HSV - note by editor). That's not bad. I don't know when we've seen such attacking football at Hertha BSC. We failed in defense. The team needs to make progress, and then they have a chance of talking about other things next season."
Dardai is still offering advice for promotion and is currently completing his final week at Hertha. On Sunday, he'll play his last game at relegated Osnabrück before his departure. He says: "We're not finished yet, we don't want the momentum to fade." Perhaps another reason why Hertha are remaining silent, as every win also helps in the TV money stakes.
Regardless, the capital city club still needs to officially confirm Dardai's departure and quickly find a replacement. The top candidates are Cristian Fiel (44/contract at Nuremberg until 2025) and former Augsburg player Enrico Maassen (40/unattached).
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Source: symclub.org
