We won.

The first time since August- against Brøndby, way back when. All those weeks of things getting worse and worse, of less and less confidence, of more and more crap. And while this result only matters a little (we’re still rock bottom in the league), it’s such a nice result to have.

Of course, we went about it in the most difficult way possible. After 3 minutes we were down a goal, conceding from just the first corner. The unmarked Michael Papadopulos put the ball into the net and I assumed it was another one of those games.

But we had a couple of weapons- Valeri Domovchiyski and Artur Wichniarek. Yes, you read me correctly- Artur Wichniarek. The Pole has been the symbol of everything that has gone wrong about Hertha this season, an example of an old mistake, the striker with no goals and nothing to show for the several months he’s been in the city. But in Heerenveen, he was what we hoped he’d be in July, setting up two goals for young Domo before scoring the winner himself in injury time.

Between that we’d done well in the game, especially after equalizing in the 21st minute, but being Hertha we of course went into the break behind, after Papadopulos scored again in the 36th minute.

But! Unlike Hertha of late, we came back. We came back twice. We fought back, scored an equalizer, scored a winner. True, it’s only against a team who’s struggling in their own league, but we didn’t manage anything when we played them in Berlin. And a win, an actual win, is just fantastic. We’re now 2nd in the group, in good spirits heading into the Köln match, and we could possibly end up in the next round after all after the other result (and a better head-to-head with Heerenveen).

Plus, Wichniarek. I’ve had a theory that things will get better as soon as Wichniarek starts performing. He’s been the symbol of all that’s gone wrong in Berlin, but he’s not a bad player. He’s got a fine record at Bielefeld and he knows how to score. But he’s had a block at Berlin all the times he’s been here.

Is it gone now, with today’s game? It’s probably too early to say. But it’s my fervent hope that now that King Artur’s broken his duck, Hertha’s luck will turn around.

“Battling” and “spirited” are used being used to describe the Hertha performance, and to a Hertha fan, there are no better words you want to hear about a performance (besides maybe ones describing a goal). Unlike the lackluster and disinterested games that have been a fixture of Hertha since the summer, against Wolfsburg the Hertha players showed a bit of fight in the fight. It’s as if they cared or something.

Hell, we could have possibly even won the game, if Ramos’ shot had gone in instead of hitting the post. But let’s not get greedy. I’d have been more than happy for a point from the game on Saturday.

Sunday also featured the return of beloved Czech goalkeeper Jaroslav Drobny, who’d been out since nearly the beginning the season. Last year he was the player of the season, but he’s barely played at all this time around and we’ve struggled to replace him. His official backup Christopher Gäng is injured, baby Sascha Burchert has ended up on the blogs for all the wrong reasons, and emergency signing Timo Ochs went off injured on his first game. So it’s great to see him back. (Although this report in Bild on him playing through injury is a little worrying. But it’s Bild, so take it with a grain of salt.)

Pal Dardai (who talks more like a captain than Friedrich did or does) says we need nine points before the winter break. Three wins, or two wins and three draws, would see us on that track. It’s not exactly a call to arms but it’s feasible. No use in getting carried away on one good result.

During that winter break we’ll be hoping to bring in some reinforcements, and if the papers are to be believed, it’s going to be some familiar faces. Ashkan Dejagah started his career at Hertha before leaving for the wealthier climes of Wolfsburg. But he’s not been starting lately and rumors suggest we may go for him on loan.

And since it is the tabloid press, they have to tease us suffering Hertha fans more by suggesting that we will make yet another move for Andriy Voronin. We all love Andriy, and I for one would love to bring him home. I’m pretty sure Liverpool don’t want him, and his energy and experience would be so helpful right now. As would his presence. There’s something about him that does make me smile.

We’re out of the Cup, so we have a week to dwell on things before going to visit a surprisingly sturdy Borussia Dortmund. We’ll see if our turnaround will continue.

Not, you know, that there wasn’t a reason to start them. 45 goalless minutes started the game, although the official Hertha liveticker (it’s very hard to watch a game when you’re supposed to be working) assured me that they had the better of the chances. But chances haven’t been converted into goals as of late, and the Danes would make us pay for those missed chances.

A poorly-cleared corner in the early stages of the second half meant that Brøndby not only had the lead, but an away goal. And better goal difference. And as the minutes ticked down at my cubicle, it started to look as if fortune had truly deserted us.

But there was life in the Old Lady yet. In the 75th minute, who else but Gojko Kacar rose above at a Hertha corner and headed the ball home. Game on, although I was skeptical that after our goalscoring issues we’d be able to score even another to get into extra-time, much less the two we’d need to go through outright, in the fifteen minutes there was left. And rarely have I been so happy to have my game-day pessimism thrown back in my face.

Five minutes after Gojko’s goal, Pal Dardai took a long-range shot and hammered it into the goal. 2-1, and heading into extra time, which was already enough to make me elated. And it took just 4 minutes for Gojko Kacar, that wonderful boy, to complete what was looking improbable just twenty minutes before. Nemanja Pejcinovic, marauding up his side, noticed his countryman, sent in a cross, and Gojko sent Hertha to the group stages.

Holy crap, man. Just check out these entries from the liveticker guy, who I’m a bit in love with now:

73. Minute:
Diesmal legt der starke Ebert auf Pejcinovic ab, dessen Schuss zur Ecke abgeblockt wird…

74. Minute:
…uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuund TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOR FÜR HERTHA BSC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

74. Minute:
Nach der Ecke von Nicu steigt Gojko Kacar am höchsten und nickt am langen Pfosten zum 1:1-Ausgleich ein. Dieser Treffer war sowas von verdient, aber auch ein wenig überfällig – jetzt bleiben den Berlinern 15 Minuten, um noch ein Tor zu schießen und damit die Verlängerung zu erzwingen.

76. Minute:
Kacar legt per Hackentrick auf Piszczek ab, der minimal zu hoch ansetzt. Der Ball geht übers Tor, Hertha drängt sofort mit aller Macht weiter nach vorne.

79. Minute:
TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOR FÜR HERTHA BSC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

79. Minute:
Ebert legt an der Strafraumgrenze auf den besser postierten Dardai ab, der fasst sich ein Herz und hält voll drauf – unhaltbar für Keeper Andersen schlägt das Leder in der rechten Ecke ein – das erlösende 2:1 für HERTHA BSC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

81. Minute:
Jetz müssen die Dänen erstmal wieder ihren Rythmus finden, bis jetzt standen sie nurnoch tief in den eigenen Reihen. Doch Hertha will jetzt alles klarmachen und spelt weiter nach vorne.

86. Minute:
TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOR FÜR HERTHA BSC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Shut up. I think it’s cute.

Anyway, the win changes things. For one, we won. That’s totally different. And we scored 3 goals, when the chips were completely down- that’s new. It’s got to give the side a whole new bit of belief going into the Werder game on Sunday. Confidence had been disturbingly low. Now, it’s got to be a little bit better.

Also, how good is Gojko Kacar? It’s rumored that FC Barcelona are looking at him (although I heard that was just the Serbian press reporting back on this article praising him, but we need him far too much to sell him anywhere this season. Everyone’s been saying that he’s going to have a big, big season…well, it’s already started. 4 goals in all competitions. Simply, he’s our crown jewel. His start to the season means that the rumors won’t die. A continuation on it, though, and that €12 million Stuttgart offered is going to look paltry indeed.

With the Europa League qualification completed successfully, we have a million or so more euro and a certain amount of prestige with which to sign a player (or two). Bild is reporting that Deportivo Cali claim to have reached an agreement with Hertha over Adrián Ramos. The 23-year-old has scored 12 goals in 17 appearances in 2009, and other than that I can’t much say anything. Preetz hasn’t admitted to the deal yet, calling him simply “interesting”, and the board is worried about about acclimatization, which is a valid concern. But, a striker is needed, and maybe our luck is back.

It’s the story of the first few games. We haven’t been looking too terrible, or at least we’ve been creating chances, but our scoring just hasn’t happened. It’s certainly worrying and it seems to be taking its toll on the confidence of the players. I don’t remember being hugely reliant on our strikers last season – Voronin scored 11 goals, which is a good return, but not massive numbers, while Pantelic’s goals from his random appearances was 7. Last season lots of positions managed to chip in with goals, and our chances to goals ratio was excellent. Now, though, it seems all reliant on the striker we hope is coming.

What can be said? Bochum scored from a free-kick that went through the wall, and that was it, despite our best efforts. I’m blaming GolTV as much as anything because they decided to delay the game by an hour for some reason. When I went to check some other scores I saw that the game that had just started on my TV was actually halfway done, and Bochum had just scored. (Seriously, what the hell? What benefit does GolTV get by showing a game an hour late? Is 9:30 EST worse than 10:30 EST? Who wants to watch a delayed game that isn’t even delayed fully? And can’t they at least not put “live” on the website when it’s not? I know I could have calculated the right time myself and just not inadvertently spoil myself, but math isn’t my strong point.)

Anyway, I don’t know what else to say. We need to start scoring goals, if just to get back the belief that we can score goals. Confidence is a weird and complicated thing, especially with a team like Hertha. The margins for wins and losses for us are so narrow that a slight jar is proving to be a bit more catastrophic than hoped.

It’s not getting any better, either. First Artur Wichniarek got himself injured, and now it looks like Raffael’s broken his elbow. He’s not exactly a striker, but he’s an attacker, and they’re in very short supply in the Hertha grounds.

Unverified rumor says that Scottish striker Kris Boyd is on his way to Berlin to discuss terms and have a medical. He scored 27 goals last season in Scotland and is only 26. I can’t imagine him actually showing up in Berlin, but I wouldn’t be displeased if he did. Other reports have us interested in taking Markus Rosenberg of Werder Bremen on loan. Rosenberg is currently a benchwarmer at Bremen, but he does have talent and could be worth a punt.

The search is on. Hopefully, we’ll catch one before time runs out.

Over the past season we gained a reputation for taking our chances, turning lack of domination and possession into three points and generally baffling pundits with our ability to keep winning while not playing well in a conventional fashion. Borussia Mönchengladbach, after miraculously escaping relegation last season, seemed to have learned how to do that against us.

We’d started playing well, with Gojko Kacar having a good game and Maxi Nicu and Raffael firing wide, but it was Gladbach who opened the scoring. On the 23rd minute the Dutchman Brouwers, who’d scored in their opening game against Bochum, headed firmly past a somewhat-surprised Drobny for a lead that they never lost.

The second goal came in the second half, veteran Oliver Neuville making it pretty easy for Karim Matmour to finish with a cross and a bit of class. Light glimmered for the Berliners when that boy Gojko made it 2-1 only 60 seconds later, finishing off a Raffael corner, but it was not to be and the points stayed in the Rhineland.

It’s a blow to be sure, but we didn’t play all that badly and it’s early in the season. Last season we had a good habit of shrugging off losses, and I can only hope that the tradition continues. That doesn’t mean the team is off the hook for lack of concentration, and I really hope the Swedish kid can make a difference at the back when he finally plays.

Also, Arne broke Jaroslav Drobny’s nose. He definitely looked a little off and dazed after the collision, which happened fairly early, and I can now see why.

That’s not the real news, though. The real news is that the rumblings around the return of Andriy Voronin are turning into more of a roar. Lulu told Bild that he’s still in contact with the forward, and Preetz says he’d love to have him back if the price was right. News of the World (yeah, I know) suggests that he’s on his way for a €3.5 million fee. I’m not sure we actually have that money. And if we did, my head says that we might be better off spending it on someone on the correct side of 30.

But my heart says “come back Andriy! They don’t love you like we love you!”

There’s something about him that’s just so damn personable. I think a lot of it is that he clearly enjoyed playing here, and he clearly took Berlin to heart. That means a lot for a team like Hertha, without the sort of glory and success of some of our peers. Also, he played very well for us and fit into the style Lulu was crafting. It’s one thing to get a young player in and hope he does well, another to have one we know can. And that likes it there. And has a fantastic ponytail. Maybe I’m just justifying my irrational desires, but I’m pretty sure that I’m not the only one who’d like to see him back here.

Am I?

Oh yes, it’s good to be back.

Hannover, much to my pessimistic predictions, put up more of a fight than they appeared capable of in pre-season. They had the better of what few chances there were in the first half, hitting the bar or having their shots blocked. As for Hertha, new boy Nemanja Pejcinovic started at right-back, in place of Lukasz Piszczek who was replacing Patrick Ebert in midfield. Artur Wichniarek also got a start up front with Raffael. (It seems he had a bit of a time of it, as well- the Berlin fans aren’t exactly patient, are they?)

The second half started a bit like the first, but eventually the home team started to turn the screw. Gojko Kacar gave a glimpse of what was to come by unleashing a 30-yard drive, saved by Enke, in the 52nd minute, but it was 30 minutes later (when it seemed as if the game was about over, but at least we’d keep a clean sheet, right?) that he finally made the breakthrough. Much praise also needs to be given to Valeri Domovchiyski, who worked the ball down the right side, playing an excellent one-two with Cicero before providing an excellent cross to Kacinho, who slid it through the Hannover defense and into the back of the net. That was all that we needed for a 1-0 game and the resumption of the season, right where it was.

And, okay, maybe Robby was right and it wasn’t the most exciting of games, but the goal, when it came, was particularly sweet. Creative, feisty, and everything that I hope to see in the season ahead, particularly with the good work by Domovchiyski and Kacar. There’s going to be a lot of pressure on those young shoulders, particularly Gojko’s- he’s already being touted as the new star of Berlin now that Pantelic and Voronin are gone. He seems eager to start on it.

Let’s all watch the goal, shall we?

Link:

There’s still about 20 days in the transfer window, too, and still much more to be done. We are apparently interested in Rwanda’s U-20 captain, Haruna Niyonzima. I can’t say much more about that. There are also reports that we’re planning on loaning Tunisian striker Amine Chermiti and bring in another striker. He’s never quite settled here – although a long-term injury hasn’t helped – and it might be a good idea to let him regain his confidence and scoring somewhere else. Although I still think he can come good for us.

The signings we’ve made are also not without controversy. According to various sources, Lazio are so peeved at our nicking of Rasmus Bengtsson that they may take it to FIFA. They claimed that they already had an agreement with Bengtsson’s agent by the time we signed him, but we were the ones who ended up with his name on a shirt. We’ll see.

Oh, and Marko Babic’s gone to Zaragoza.

There’s also the next round of the DFB-Pokal to think about. We’ve been drawn away to Munich, of the 1860 variety. The second-division Löwen came in twelfth in their league last season, but they did win their first game.

The Battle of Berlin ended in a 5-3 win for Hertha. A festive Alte Forestei was treated to two goals from Artur Wichniarek, and one each from Amine Chermiti, Raffael, and Valeri Domovchiyski. Also a laser show. And fireworks. (And three goals from their own team.)

Having not watched it (work gets in the way of everything, again), I can’t say much about it, other than I would have loved to be there. It seemed like a great time and a wonderful day out in Berlin. And it’s impossible to say much about a friendly this early in preparations, especially one that’s more of an event like this one was. However, to quote something I once read, it was particularly pleasing to see our goalscorers score. There’s going to be a lot of pressure on those four to duplicate what Voronin and Pantelic did. It’s nice to see them get started early.

And just as we can’t read too much into a friendly win right now, we can’t read too much into a friendly loss, either. We played the newly-promoted (in the Austrian Bundesliga) Wiener Neustadt on Saturday, and lost 2-1. The entire team (barring young goalkeeper Christoph Gäng) was swapped out at the half, and they’re so new to pre-season that you can’t read much into the result. However, Wichniarek scored again. And that’s nice.

What the friendlies are showing is that we could possibly use a real replacement to Simunic, or at least another defender. One that we’re apparently already in talks with is the Tunisian Hamdi Rouid. He’d join Chermiti and the possibility of other countrymen, as well.

The most interesting story I’ve read, though, is Christoph Metzelder talking about going to Berlin. Metzelder’s Spanish career is noteable only for its injuries, but when he’s fit his quality is obvious. He was excellent at Borussia Dortmund and even despite his constant injury-proneness, I wouldn’t mind having him on the roster.

That doesn’t mean it will actually happen. Michael Preetz says that we’ve made no contact. Plus, Madrid would want money and I can’t imagine his salary being in our range. Still, though, that he’s even talking about it signals a change in the attitude towards Hertha. Berlin itself is a fantastic destination, but Hertha has never been much of one. Is that changing? It seems to be so.

Whether my hunch is true or not, it does seem that Lulu’s in for a new contract anyway. He just signed a new one, but this one will be longer. And presumably heftier.

Oh, and if you want a Hertha article to read that sums things up pretty damn well, Deutsche Welle’s got one.

That doesn’t mean it doesn’t sting.

But it does mean that despite the disappointment, despite the knowledge that it may be another 70-some years before we get this close again, I’m still proud of the team for getting so far. While the nature of our fall may have been disappointing considering it was that final home game of the season, the fact that we were there with a shout in the first place is pretty exciting. The sort of thing that any Hertha fan would have given anything for at the start of this season (or last). And but for a disallowed Pantelic goal…

So, what can be said? The penultimate game was a 0-0 draw against Schalke, a frustrating grinding thing where they had the majority of the possession and not much to do with it. As I predicted, it wasn’t the rollover the pundits were predicting. I’m not surprised, in all honesty, that a draw was the result. Schalke didn’t have much to play for, but that also mean they didn’t have much of a reason to attack, which meant that we didn’t have much of a way to attack.

Much was made of the lineup, with Arne Friedrich and Andriy Voronin starting on the bench. Controversial, but not without sense- Arne’s the inspirational captain and all, but he was out injured for a while and is probably not fully there yet. Voronin’s not quite been back to normal since his suspension and the current attack has been doing things well, especially Pante (showing off to possible suitors?). But in the end, our luck, perhaps, just ran out a bit.

There’s not much to say about the game. Drobny didn’t make a save for 70 minutes. It was boring. It was, well, Schalke. It’ll be interesting, in the future, to see what Magath makes of them.

So, disappointment. But things aren’t over yet. A win on Saturday will get us one of those Champions League spots that can enable us to do so much. A draw between Stuttgart and Bayern would even put us directly there.

In the talk of the Bundesliga run-in this final game was considered to be a walk, as Karlsruhe were considered to be just about relegated. Unfortunately for us, they haven’t been. A win against a distracted Werder Bremen has them still clinging to 1. Bundesliga status, which means a much more fired-up team than we might have faced otherwise. And a severe strain on the Fanfreundschaft that I’ve written so often about. A win for us and we go into the Champions League. A win for them means there’s a chance they can save themselves, thanks to the Bundesliga’s promotional playoffs. There’s only a point between them and 16th-placed Bielefeld.

So we’ll see. We’ll see. Cross your fingers for us anyway.

Well, that has been claimed. Two games away from the end of a completely insane season, we’ve officially qualified for Europe. With seven points over sixth-place Borussia Dortmund, we’re guaranteed at least a place in the third qualification stage of the shiny new Europa League. And while at the beginning of the season us Hertha fans (and those Hertha players) would have been very pleased for that qualification, now we have so much more to play for. The question becomes now, with two games from the end of the season, how far can we go?

A 2-1 win against 1 FC Köln was what clinched Europe. As always, it wasn’t as easy as our respective league positions (and Köln’s injury list) would have you believe. Andriy Voronin was on the bench in favor of the returning Gojko Kacar, which meant Marko Pantelic started the game as a lone striker. It took us a bit to break the deadlock, but it was Pante having a hand in it again- doing all the great work down the side before cutting back to Cicero for a fairly easy goal two minutes from the end of the first half. The Brazilian was scoring at a heavy clip in the first half of the season, but he’d slowed down of late- it’s great to see him back in the charts.

The second half had Köln starting brightly, only to find it undone by the sort of odd luck that’s stood by us this season. Patrick Ebert’s sort-of-shot was deflected by an unlucky Giromel to loop over the Köln goalkeeper. A goal in the 90th minute (and possibly a turned-down penalty shot) wasn’t enough for Köln to get back into it, and we came out 2-1 winners. And European qualifiers.

But there’s a chance for more. A sold-out (!) Olympiastadion will welcome Schalke this weekend for the penultimate game of the season. A win from that, and well…

(Oh, and Bild can finally stop promoting Lulu for the Bayern job.)

Our Kacinho (thanks Jefferson!) was suspended due to yellow-card suspension, but Andriy Voronin was finally back, after serving his 3-match ban. The ponytailed one started the game, alongside another striker known for his luscious locks, Marko Pantelic. Other than that switch, it was the same team that earned a draw at Hamburg.

The game was won on two quick counterattacks. The first came in the 39th minute, from the combination of Pante, Voronin, and Patrick Ebert. A free-kick in our area from Bochum was quickly broken up, and our attackers raced towards their half. The original shot from Voronin was saved, only for Ebert to recover it, launch the ball back in, and Pante headed it in. It’s been a bit since we’ve seen a Pante goal, and despite everything, it’s lovely to see it again.

The second was somewhat similar, except this time a Bochum corner broke to Lukasz Piszczek, who provided a cross to the onrushing Raffael. He met it on the bounce with an odd sort of half-volley, flying it in past Fernandes in the Bochum goal. That was pretty much it. We had a few chances to score others, with Amine Chermiti deciding to shoot instead of passing it to a wide-open Ebert, but we didn’t need any more. In the end, an easy win.

What was most interesting was the attendance figures. 70,000-some filled the Olympiastadion- for Bochum. No offense to Bochum, but they don’t have the superstars that normally draw the Berliners out. It was just a fairly normal league game. And yet, the high attendance normally reserved for the visit of Bayern Munich.

But there’s no time to rest on it. it’s an English Week, which means tomorrow Hertha are already back in action. Their opponents? 1 FC Köln, currently fairly comfortable in 12th place. Their 2009 hasn’t been particularly good, but their 2008 is enough that they’re just about safe from relegation. They’ll also be missing quite a few of their more recognizable names, like goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon, who’s injured, and prolific striker Milivoje Novakovič, who’s suspended. For us, we’ll not only have Gojko Kacar back, but the Kapitän as well. Arne’s recovered from his surgery and is back in the squad for the trip.

Let’s hope for another 3 points, and a step closer to our goal…whatever that may be.