What’s going on at Hertha BSC? Everything about it here in the blog.
The general meeting is over. After 7:31 hours. It was a Sunday that will be remembered for a long time. The revolution did not materialize because all dismissal requests failed, Hertha BSC remains able to act. But there was great turbulence, for example the resignation of acting President Thorsten Manske after his poor result in the vote.
And above all, there was turbulence around Lars Windhorst’s performance – with whistles, boos, but also applause. In the end, the chairman of the meeting, Lentfer, apologized to Windhorst for the general conditions.
And the many, often factual, speeches by members on the microphone showed how deep the gap is between the club management and the grassroots.
Incidentally, things will continue in exactly four weeks: Then the election of the President is on the agenda.
Now “Only home” is played over the loudspeakers again.
Windhorst apologizes for the fact that some installments were paid too late. On the one hand, this was due to the fact that an investment of 225 million instead of 375 million was originally planned and also to Corona.
He was surprised by the reaction of some Hertha managers given the delays. “But as Helmut Kohl already said: What counts is what comes out at the end. I paid the 375 million in full. That’s fact.”
Regarding his goals, he says: “I want Hertha BSC to be extremely successful, that’s the only goal.”
At the time of his criticism of former President Werner Gegenbauer, he said: “I bit my tongue for two years. At some point I had to react.”
Windhorst says he’s happy to finally be able to introduce himself after three years. It was a tempting opportunity to join Hertha in 2019, but not an easy decision to invest so much money in a football club.
He replies to the loud critics during his speech: “Out of Windhorst, unfortunately that doesn’t work the way some people want it to. I’m not standing for election, I can’t be voted out. My shares are mine and will be for the next 10 or 20 years. The shares are paid in full.”
And further: “If I were on the presidium, you could vote me out. But I’m a shareholder. It’s a great honor for me.” There is a lot of applause for that.
Windhorst confirms that the club has no debts with him. The 375 million euros do not have to be repaid. “If there is a real restart, I will invest more equity,” says Windhorst.
For Ingo Schiller it is his 50th (!) and last general meeting. He has witnessed about 900 games and will retire in the fall. He says: “This task has shaped me for almost a quarter of a century, it has always been an affair of the heart for me. Berlin has become a home for my wife and me. I am now saying goodbye to you as managing director, but I will always remain with my heart in Hertha .” The auditorium rises.