Florian Niederlechner ran towards a wall. On a wall of people. Four camera teams stood behind the barrier at the Hertha BSC training ground, along with a good dozen journalists. And everyone had come for him.
The sight made Florian Niederlechner realize once again that a lot had changed in his life at the beginning of the year. “Only the ‘Ausgburger Allgemeine’ would have come in Augsburg,” he said.
The “Augsburger Allgemeine” will probably come to Berlin this Saturday when Niederlechner and Hertha meet his former club, FC Augsburg, in the Bundesliga. It’s a quick reunion, exactly 38 days after the Berliners announced the striker’s signing. It is also an explosive one.
Sandro Schwarz, Hertha’s coach, “doesn’t want to exaggerate anything”, but the duel with Augsburg is an “important game, no question”. In the Olympic Stadium, two direct competitors meet each other to stay up in the league. The Berliners are penultimate, FCA have at least worked their way up to 13th place thanks to nine points from the first six games of the year.
The situation is still far from calming, and that’s why Niederlechner’s transfer to a possible opponent in the relegation battle has dragged on a bit. It had long been clear that he would join Hertha after the season, then on a free transfer; However, his previous employer’s efforts towards an immediate change were received with reservation.
“When I signed in January, things got a bit more turbulent in Augsburg for a short time,” says Niederlechner. But in the end both sides went their separate ways. This could also be due to the change modalities that FCA negotiated with Hertha – and which may result in Niederlechner having to watch the duel with his former employer from the outside.
Based on his previous performances for Hertha, there would actually be no reason to leave the striker on Saturday not to let play. And yet his Sandro Schwarz was remarkably reserved in the press conference on the game. “The fact that it’s against his former club does not necessarily mean that he will play,” said Hertha’s coach. “Let’s see if he’s in the starting XI on Saturday. We’re keeping that open.”
Such considerations obviously have no sporting background, but are exclusively of a financial nature. As the “Kicker” reports, Hertha was able to sign the striker in January for a comparatively low base fee; the club would have to pay a lot of money for that if Niederlechner was used against his former club. Supposedly a high six-figure amount.
The clause about a bonus payment was the toad that Hertha had to swallow in order to be able to sign the 32-year-old Niederlechner in winter. In view of their difficult economic situation, it is at least questionable whether the Berliners really afford the luxury of letting the striker play against FCA. Regardless of the sporting value he has already demonstrated in his first few weeks at his club. Since his debut in the Berlin derby, when he came on as a substitute with 20 minutes left, Niederlechner has started three times in a row.
He is held in high esteem at Hertha
At Hertha he feels the appreciation of which he was no longer quite so sure in Augsburg after three and a half years and 101 Bundesliga games. “I could have easily imagined ending my career in Augsburg. The club has really grown on me,” says the 32-year-old. But after FCA informed him that they would only talk about the extension of his expiring contract in April or May, Niederlechner took a different approach.
Sandro Schwarz played a not insignificant role in the move to Berlin. Both have known each other for a long time. When Niederlechner made his Bundesliga debut at Mainz 05 in August 2015, Schwarz was the U-23 coach of the 05ers. “A very good guy who integrated into the team very quickly,” recalls Schwarz. “He gives himself completely to his boys. That is the attitude and attitude that you need.”
He spends himself completely for his boys.
Hertha’s coach Sandro Schwarz about Florian Niederlechner
It’s the attitude and the attitude that the newcomer from Augsburg showed in his first appearances for Hertha, even if he hasn’t scored a goal yet and hasn’t prepared one yet. “He is very hardworking, has a very good start-up behavior and good physical condition,” says Schwarz. Niederlechner is “a very good guy all round, who completely identifies with the team and the club. You can see that in his style of play.”
The offensive player fulfills his task with great commitment. And part of this task is to make it as difficult as possible for the opposing defenders to build up the game with his strike partner Jessic Ngankam by starting up early. “When you play with two strikers, you always have one next to you who supports you and is also there for the second ball,” he says.
Niederlechner is not vain enough not to see such an order as an impertinence. He didn’t really gain a foothold in professional football until he was in his mid-20s, which is why he treats every game at this level almost as a gift. “I’m 32 now, I probably won’t be a national player again, I won’t win the Champions League anymore,” he says of his personal goals. “I just want Hertha to be successful. That is my top priority.”
To home page
