Pal Dardai: "I cried, and not a little"

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So there he was.

Back as head coach, back on the first floor.

Only a few minutes had passed Tuesday noon when Pal Dardai briefly reported on the past at his presentation as the new coach of Hertha BSC.

Or rather, from the day before.

He said that it was important for him to say goodbye to the Berlin U16s that he had trained up to then.

"I cried, and not a little," said Dardai and paused briefly: "If I do something, then with my heart."

It will also be this quality of Dardai that they are now betting on at Hertha.

The Hungarian, who trained the professional team from 2015 to 2019, is supposed to be the 14th Bundesliga.

lead back on the road to success.

"It bubbles, it is very motivated", said sports director Arne Friedrich and spoke in the virtual media round of the "absolute dream candidate" as the successor to Bruno Labbadia.

Friedrich himself had followed Michael Preetz, the managing director, who had also been dismissed.

Dardai admitted that he was initially reluctant to take the post again.

“I didn't sleep, I didn't know whether I should do it or not.” On Tuesday morning he then headed the first unit.

What he experienced there was not displeasure, he said.

"I thought I was going to be eaten up, there are 20 alligators here that have already eaten a few trainers," said Dardai - but that was not the case.

While he as a player would have made a small lap to warm up, the professionals voluntarily ran the big one, two even.

For him it is now important that the players internalize that you only function as a unit on the pitch.

Will Hertha buy again?

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The individual quality is quite high, according to Dardai.

But good technology alone would not be enough.

It now depends on tactical discipline.

"Football lives not only from beauty, but also from energy and dynamism," said Dardai - knowing full well that he now has a demanding program ahead of him: Frankfurt, Bayern, Stuttgart and Leipzig are the names of the next four opponents.

Pal Dardai led Hertha training again on Tuesday

Source: dpa / Andreas Gora

Dardai was asked if he had set a goal for the season.

"If I go to Lake Balaton in the summer and it happens that all my friends invite me for a red wine because we have achieved something good, that would be good," said Dardai and smiled - he did not name a place in the table.

Sports director Friedrich left it open whether Hertha is still doing something on the transfer market.

It must make sense, so Friedrich.

“Every team needs an axis.

Ours is still in its infancy.

We all have to help here now. "First and foremost Pal Dardai, who - when asked about his first term of four and a half years - said to Friedrich:" If he throws me out after four and a half years, I'll give him a kiss too. "