BERLIN (AP) – Hertha Berlin hired Sandra Schwartz as the new coach on Thursday after barely avoiding relegation from the Bundesliga.
Schwartz is the last of a number of coaches tasked with bridging the gap between Hertha’s grand ambitions to become a major European club and years of failure on the field.
Despite the support of wealthy investor Lars Windhorst, Hertha finished 16th in the Bundesliga and only avoided a fall, beating second-placed Hamburger SV 2-1 overall in two playoff matches last week under coaching. -Veteran Felix Magath, who was hired to avoid relegation. Meanwhile, rival by city Union Berlin took fifth place with one of the league’s smallest budgets.
“With her personality and her positive and far-sighted style of football, Sandra can create a connection between what is happening on the field and club culture. That’s what we need at Hertha BSC, “said Fredy Bobich, managing director of the club.
Schwartz arrived after coaching Russian club Dynamo Moscow, where he remained after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, even as his German coach Marcus Gisdol left Moscow’s Lokomotiv in protest and Daniel Farke left FC Krasnodar.
Schwartz led Dynamo to third place in the Russian championship and finished second in the Russian Cup final on Sunday. This did not give Dynamo a place in any European competitions next season because UEFA banned Russian teams due to the invasion of Ukraine.
Schwartz is better known in the Bundesliga as coaching Mainz from 2017 to 2019, with the best finish in 12th place.
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