First and Last and Always

By: Abby | September 15th, 2008

VfL Wolfsburg had their third successive 2-2 draw (that’s kind of weird, isn’t it?) with Hertha on Saturday, scoring in the first and the last minute to gain a point and dash our hopes.

By all accounts it was an open, entertaining game, both teams wanting to attack and win. I can only speak from highlights and written accounts, as despite my best efforts I could only follow along with the Hertha liveticker (even sources of dubious legality prefer to show bigger team’s games, I suppose). But at least it was in real time, which means I was barely settled in by the time Wolfsburg had their first goal, and already smiling at the thought of a win when they got their second.

In between Hertha had managed to miss a penalty. The culprit was none other than Marko Pantelic, giving him a 0 for 4 record in this sort of thing. In fact, he’s so notoriously poor at penalties that Lulu had told the team that he wasn’t to take them. The order was supposed to be, while Sofian Chahed is out of the side, Cicero, followed by Patrick Ebert. Problem is, Pante is the star of the team, and when the penalty was awarded for a Wolfsburg handball in the 64th minute, he decided he was taking it.

Lulu was far from happy. Him raging on the sidelines is the story in the press today, an example of the continuing power struggle between the reforming manager and the star striker (who is 30 years old today, happy birthday Marko!). It’s been an ongoing issue for the past season, and it doesn’t seem to be getting any better. Lulu- and now even Dieter Hoeness, who’s always been Pante’s staunch supporter- says he’s not to take penalties again, but the big Serb has said he’d do it again. Battle lines, it seems, are becoming drawn.

I have to say, at this point I’m behind Lulu. I love Marko, don’t get me wrong, and I’m incredibly grateful for what he’s done for the club. I hate to think of where Hertha would be without him. But there has to be respect for a manager that deserves it, and Lulu has shown so far that he does. If Hertha is going to realize its ambitions, it needs a manager like Lucien Favre and he needs to be respected by the players. As big of a part of the team as Pante is, he shouldn’t be spoiled. And, quite frankly, and I hate to say this…he’s 30 years old. Lulu’s done a great job in finding new players, and who’s to say he won’t uncover another striker? It makes me uneasy, yes. But if I have to choose, this time, it’s with the manager. This time, anyway. (If you want to see a bit of why I think Lulu is the one to take Hertha forward, check out this interview.)

And speaking of Lulu’s new Hertha squad, it was two of the newer recruits that scored the two Hertha goals. Cicero, who was supposed to take a penalty, scored in the 85th after a good cross from Marko Pantelic. (Regardless, the above paragraph still stands.) The first came from Gojko Kacar’s strong header from an Ebert free kick, proving that the young midfielder hadn’t used up all his goals back home.

Speaking of Gojko Kacar- I love him. What a class player he’s turning into. I hope dearly that we achieve a European place on merit this season, because otherwise I can’t see us keeping him for long.

Anyway. So a poor 20 first 20 minutes and a(nother, poor thing) defensive lapse from Steve von Bergen at the end meant the points were shared. It’s hard to say exactly what to think. The draw was probably the best result, and a good result against a team with Champions League ambitions like Wolfsburg, but it’s hard not to feel aggrieved considering how close we were to the victory. But we played well and Voronin, who did start, looked lively. More time with the team can only do us well.

Here’s what happened:

2:2 Berlin vs. Wolfsburg – MyVideo

But we can’t dwell on the weekend. Tomorrow we’ve got UEFA Cup to do! The draw paired us with St. Patrick’s Athletic, of the Irish league. We’re the favorites, to be sure, although I may have jinxed us by giggling at someone at the bar this weekend saying that St. Patrick’s Athletic sounds like a Catholic high school team. I also may have said something disparaging about the Irish league. I realize now that is likely to offend the football gods, but I hadn’t slept enough (thanks to trying to watch the Wolfsburg game) and a pint of Strongbow in (which has less of an excuse). Let’s hope Hertha are not punished too badly for my hubris.

Anyway. St. Pat’s are currently second in the Irish league, 24 games in, well behind leaders Bohemians. Their last game was last Thursday, a 3-3 draw with Sporting Fingal in the quarter-final of the FAI Ford Cup. Their last league game was a 3-0 loss to the aforementioned Bohemians on September 8. A striker and midfielder, Mark Quigley and Keith Fahey, have overcome minor knocks and will be fit, but there might be an issue at left-back for the Irish squad.

As far as we go, no new injuries or anything. We may be seeing Lukasz Piszczek instead of Patrick Ebert, and Raffael is still waiting on the birth of his child, so there’s a slight question mark over him. Lulu is advising caution and I have to agree with him. They’re a team with nothing to lose, who have already knocked out a good side in Elfsborg, and we’re awful in Europe, mostly. Plus, they have that whole plucky-underdog thing going for them, at least in the English-speaking press. Everyone likes an underdog. Except for me, when it’s keeping one of my teams away from the next round of a competition. Grr.

I’m a little apprehensive, but hopeful nonetheless. Let’s put this European curse to bed, yes?