“He set fire to the club” – attack on the Hertha investor
Gegenbauer resigns as Hertha president
Werner Gegenbauer has announced his resignation as President of Hertha BSC. The 71-year-old was last in a clinch with investor Lars Windhorst. Coach Felix Magath and CFO Ingo Schiller are also leaving the club.
Even after staying up, Hertha BSC does not calm down. On the contrary: the outgoing President Gegenbauer attacked investor Windhorst harshly. It’s about power and vanity – even coach Magath, who leaves Hertha again, finds clear words.
EIt was only a matter of time before he would respond and verbally strike back. Now that Hertha BSC’s managed to stay up and can continue to play in German football’s top tier, Werner Gegenbauer saw the time of the counterattack.
Following his resignation as president of the Bundesliga club, he made serious allegations against millionaire investor Lars Windhorst. “In the last few weeks, in the middle of the relegation battle, he has set fire to the club. Windhorst stands for a split that has troubled the club and all departments. It will be the task of my successor to reverse this division, says Gegenbauer to Tagesspiegel.
Magath advises Hertha to make big changes
Gegenbauer, 71, announced on Tuesday – a day after 2-0 (1-0) in the second relegation match against Hamburger SV – that he will stop after 14 years at the top of the club and was thus probably also a humiliating voter General Assembly on Sunday ( at 11) preceded. Windhorst, among others, urged Gegenbauer to fall in March and accused the entrepreneur of having burned off his 375 million euro investment at Hertha.
Gegenbauer now accused Windhorst of creating mood. “He entices by giving more money when the club gets a new management,” he said. He and the outgoing CFO Ingo Schiller stood in the way of the 45-year-old to have more influence on the operational business of the Bundesliga club, Gegenbauer emphasized to BILD. At the same time, he did not always meet his payment obligations on time, which “has caused considerable turbulence in the licensing department,” said Gegenbauer, who dismissed the charge of cheating: “In short: everything went right. That’s the facts.”
Windhorst himself on Wednesday morning denied the serious allegations. The sponsor of Hertha BSC wants to avoid an open escalation of the conflict shortly before the groundbreaking general meeting where he wants to talk to members.
“We see with respect that Werner Gegenbauer has paved the way for a fresh start. The very personal, unfounded attacks on Lars Windhorst have nothing to do with a fresh start. Kicking back is not our style, says Windhorst spokesman Andreas Fritzenkötter. According to Windhorst, he has no ambitions of his own for the position of chairman, which will be filled at another general meeting in just over four weeks.
Despite the harsh words, Gegenbauer also described the deal with Windhorst as the best decision of his tenure. “I would do it again. Firstly because Hertha BSC urgently needed this money for change as a club and business. Without this money we would be worse off. And secondly because I believe in the benefits of an investment,” he said. Counterbuilder. In the future, the collaboration will be “calmer and more harmonious”.
Clear edge in the curve: For weeks, Hertha fans have been demanding the resignation of President Gegenbauer and investor Windhorst. The club manager has now announced his resignation
Source: pa / dpa / Andreas Gora
It remains to be seen who will become president in the future. It is also still unclear who will fill the coaching position at Hertha BSC. Sandro Schwarz and Adi Hütter are considered candidates.
Felix Magath, who was brought in by Hertha CEO Fredi Bobic about nine weeks ago to succeed Tayfun Korkut and is now leaving the club, recommends urgent changes for the Berliners. The 68-year-old told PICTURE: “And it was not the first bad season,” he said, but the third in a row. It should finally be the point where you are ready to change a lot, maybe everything. ”
