Götz pays price of Hertha slump
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Article summary
Hertha BSC Berlin coach Falko Götz has been sacked in the wake of the German club's dismal form since the turn of the year, with Karsten Heine stepping up.
Article body
Hertha BSC Berlin coach Falko Götz has been sacked as a result of the German club’s dismal form since the turn of the year.
Relegation fear
Having resumed the Bundesliga campaign in fifth place and dreaming of Europe, Hertha have taken just eight points from their last eleven games and not won any of their last eight matches. The capital club are still in relative safety in ninth place, but are nevertheless only five points above the relegation zone with six games to play. To make matters worse, their most recent result was a 1-1 home draw on Saturday against lowly DSC Arminia Bielefeld.
Heine promoted
The 45-year-old Götz, a UEFA Cup winner as a defender with Bayer 04 Leverkusen, had been in charge since July 2004, and had a contract that was supposed to last up to summer 2008. Also leaving will be his assistant Andreas Thom, the former Hertha player. In their place, Hertha have promoted Karsten Heine, who had been in charge of the amateur side, to first-team duties until the end of the season, with Sven Kretschmer as his No2. The 52-year-old Heine has taken the caretaker role on two previous occasions in 1994-1995 and 1999.
