Kay Bernstein has been President of Hertha BSC since the summer. The former ultra, whose election came as a big surprise, wants to ‘give his soul back’ to the club. In this way, he also settles accounts with former managers in clear words.
Hertha will not be able to get rid of the image of the ‘Big City Club’ for the time being. In retrospect, it was the almost megalomaniac project of recent years, initiated by investor Lars Windhorst. In the meantime, however, the club has changed again. Windhorst is gone and with Kay Bernstein, a former ultra was elected president in the summer.
“The club establishment expected a different outcome in June,” he now looked back on this surprising election to kicker.
“Not everyone took me seriously at first. That has changed. And the fact that I was underestimated wasn’t a disadvantage for me. I wanted and still want to show in my own way that I can do this job – and that we can only do it together, the club to give back his soul”, Bernstein explained his great task.
But this change so far and the challenge that the new President sees himself facing are at least medium to long-term projects. The current reality is a relegation battle. again.
A result of the work of the past few years. For Bernstein, the mistakes are clear: “Hertha took the second step before the first and brutally misbehaved.” They wanted “too much too quickly” and therefore “returned to reality too late”.
The episodes can still be seen today. Even though Sandro Schwarz has already been able to make progress with the team as a coach, a safe place in the middle of the table is much more a wish than a fact.
In addition to the sporting starting position, the mood within the club was and is an aspect that Bernstein has to work on. “It’s a process that’s not over yet, but we’re well on the way to getting the poison out,” he said about the internal climate. “Now I can feel that there is an ever greater togetherness. We have created a sense of unity and have reunited the club.”
In the short term, the main thing for him and the club is to stabilize financially. Windhorst’s withdrawal is both an opportunity and a danger. “We know that turning this legacy around is a mammoth task. But we have the strength to do it,” said the 42-year-old optimistically.
Although you will need “creativity, a clear plan and staying power”, it is just as important to note that Hertha has “no liquidity problems”. This and the coming season are already fully financed. And yet: “We have to tighten our belts without suffocating.”
The company ‘777 Partners’ is to take over the Windhorst shares in the near future. While the new collaboration isn’t sealed yet, there’s hope it will also make for a brighter future.
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This article was originally published on 90min.com/de as Hertha President Bernstein: Reckoning with former officials.
