Old Friends

The first ever Hertha game I went to was against Stuttgart. It was at home, and after going behind Hertha came back to win it. This was before Hertha was winning games on a regular basis, back when Stuttgart were defending champions, and it was an exciting outing for me.

Since then, Hertha has played Stuttgart twice more, winning both times. For some reason, Favre had Veh’s number. It’s not that Stuttgart were a bad team- far from it. But we had a hold on them that was a bit odd.

Now, though, they’ve got a new manager. Ex-player Markus Babbel, 36, took over the reigns when Veh was sacked and guided them back up the table to sixth. Until last weekend against a resurgent Bremen, they were unbeaten in the Bundesliga since he took over. Their home form is also impressive, losing only twice all season. Favre may have had Veh’s number, but Babbel seems to be something different altogether.

It’s not going to be an easy game by any means. Teams are starting to grow wary of us. We’ll also be without Patrick Ebert, who was knocked back to the amateurs after allegedly damaging cars in Berlin late Wednesday night after his birthday celebration. (He’s now 22.) He was caught by the police at 3:45 AM. Guess who else was involved? Kevin-Prince Boateng, the troublemaker we’d sold off to Tottenham Hotspur for more money than he was worth. He’s back in Germany on loan with Borussia Dortmund, so it only makes sense that he’d come back to start more trouble with us. Sigh! Ebert had a bit of a prior reputation, but it was hoped that he’d been maturing, especially now that some of the bad influences (Boateng, but not only) had been removed.

Ebert’s been in good form, so it’s a shame to not have him for this important game and who knows how long, but this team was built largely on discipline. Form can’t excuse a breach of it. It’s disappointing, because we don’t need the drama at all, and Ebert should know better. Being around his age I understand wanting to be out at 3-something in the morning (I wish there were places in Seattle where I could do that), but I don’t do it on a work night. And my job doesn’t depend on my physical condition.

And, you know, we need to keep winning if we want to keep our position at and around the top, and Ebert has been really helpful with that. This would be an opportunity for new man Marko Babic to step up.

For fellow Statesiders, this is a rarity- two games on GolTV in two weeks. I’m excited to get more watching in, and hoping this doesn’t end up as the banana skin everyone predicts for us.

Category: match preview

Tags: match preview, stuttgart

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