Bundesliga: Hamburg vs Hertha Berlin! For various reasons, I can't support Hamburg tonight.

Today’s first topic is the Bundesliga relegation battle: Hamburg vs Hertha Berlin!

Last night, Manchester City narrowly edged out Liverpool to win the title, proving Klopp is really a formidable opponent for Guardiola.

However, many might not realize that Hertha Berlin’s coach Magath, alongside Klopp, holds the record for beating Guardiola the most times in the world.

Magath is an excellent coach; despite Hertha losing the first leg, can he lead the team to a comeback?

Hertha has arguably been the most disappointing team in the Bundesliga this season.

Their transfer spending over the past three years reached 164 million euros, ranking top five in the Bundesliga, yet they now face the threat of relegation to the second division. Why?

The main reason is a fallout between their management and owner Windhorst.

Former club CEO Schmidt left amid rumors of corruption, greed, and misconduct.

The new CEO Bobic, Schmidt’s confidant, caused turmoil by firing top talents like Sporting Director Friedrich, a former Hertha captain, and hiring a bunch of incapable but compliant people, including former coach Korkut.

Under such circumstances, how could results improve?

However, after resolving internal issues, Hertha’s form has clearly improved.

On March 14, they appointed the renowned former Shandong coach Magath.

Once Magath took charge, Hertha defeated Hoffenheim 3-0, ending a five-game losing streak.

Magath is very impressive; as a coach, he has won three Bundesliga titles, including Wolfsburg’s first-ever championship, led Schalke to second place, and once dominated Guardiola’s Bayern team.

But regarding the match against Hamburg, he holds a unique advantage: he knows Hamburg very well.

He played for Hamburg for 10 years and is a club legend.

He helped Hamburg win three Bundesliga titles and a Champions League trophy; the club’s record of 36 consecutive unbeaten matches still stands today.

During his unemployment years, he often watched Hamburg’s games, truly knowing the team inside out.

Although Hamburg is somewhat stronger, Magath managed to neutralize Hamburg’s three forwards in the first leg.

Hamburg’s 2. Bundesliga silver boot winner, Graczer, only touched the ball 31 times, the fewest in the match, posing no threat.

Hamburg’s goal came from youngster Reis’s stunning strike, which involved a lot of luck and isn’t something that happens every game.

Note that Hertha was missing four key players then: top scorer Jovetic, main defensive midfielder Casival, among others.

But today, all four are available, which will raise Hertha’s overall quality significantly.

If you watched the match, you’d see Hertha had many chances and were even denied a goal; with top scorer Jovetic, they might have capitalized better.

Moreover, Hertha has been in the Bundesliga for nine consecutive years and has a wealthy owner unafraid of losses; they definitely want to avoid relegation.

But does Hamburg really want to get promoted?

Many might not know that German clubs mainly earn revenue from home match ticket sales.

The 2. Bundesliga’s average home attendance is about 24,500, ranking fourth highest in Europe, even surpassing Serie A and Ligue 1.

Hamburg has over 85,000 members, making it Germany’s seventh largest club, and they profit well even in the second division.

If promoted to the Bundesliga, they would need to spend heavily on transfers, raising costs and frequently suffering heavy defeats—so why bother?

By now, everyone should understand the situation today.

So, can Hertha leave with a positive result away? What do you think? I hope Hertha at least avoids defeat.

Alright, for other matches today, I will still provide written analysis this evening. If anything is unclear, feel free to ask me. “Watch football and understand it,” see you then!

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