Lustenberger admits his performances for Hertha have been hindered by incontinence problems

08.01.2017 14:55

Hertha's ex-captain again speaks toLustenberger: "I have never pissed myself"

For the first time after his dismissal as captain of Hertha BSC 
Fabian Lustenberger expresses himself again extensively. 
And it works quite well.

BY STEFAN HERMANNS

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I say, you can play better without a bandage. 

Coach Pal Dardai in conversation with Fabian Lustenberger. PHOTO: REUTERS

Fabian Lustenberger had the free choice. He was the first to come out on the terrace and chose a place where the sun shines in his face. In his back is the team hotel of Hertha BSC, a classy five-star hotel, with tower and battlements as a medieval castle. Fabian Lustenberger has left the fortress, and this is quite symbolic. For a good six months he has not spoken publicly. When he came from the training ground, he looked fixedly at the journalist or entertained with a colleague; He has blocked all interview questions. "I think I could take it out," he says. "I've never been hiding or, extremely, pissed."

That Fabian Lustenberger did not disturb the fact that he was a bit offended.

The impression was not wrong. In the summer, Pal Dardai dismissed the Swiss from one day to the next as captain and instead Vedad Ibisevic took office . "I had a few days to do with it", says Lustenberger - also because he was completely surprised by the decision. He was a captain for three years, and at first glance, there was no reason to withdraw from him, the most active player at Hertha. There was nothing reprehensible, Lustenberger did nothing bad. Dardai expected from his captain a somewhat more extroverted kind of internal leadership.

"I told Lusti that without the bandage he would be a much better footballer for us and he will play with me again. That's how it came, " Dardai said recently in an interview with the Tagesspiegel. "He is now really good." So the decision was correct. Lustenberger must laugh when he is asked whether he is now a better footballer without a tie. He had not played badly during the three years as captain, he replied, "although this is partly so carried over".

And yet it is a fact that Hertha's coach team was not particularly pleased with him at the end of the previous season that internally even was speculated on a causal link between his contract extension in March (until 2019) and the performance drop in the backround. Just as the squad was more and more playful, Dardai would have hoped for more resistance from his captain. But even or straight Lustenberger could not give the team the necessary support.

In the midfield he gets "a bit more action"

That was different in the first half of the season. The 28-year-old Lustenberger also played a part in the fact that the Berliners were the top runners-up in the soccer league. "I've shown the right reaction with my training, so I've come back," he says. The speculations that he would never play an exposed role at Hertha have quickly turned out to be invalid. In 13 of the 16 previous seasons, Lustenberger was on the pitch, and always in the starting line. Twice he was injured, only Dardai voluntarily surrendered against FC Augsburg - because he wanted to have more body length on the field against the robust Augsburger.

Hertha's coach has long been one of Lustenberger's top performers; And unlike some of his predecessors, he does not see him as an internal defender, but again explicitly in the defensive midfield - "because he can read the game". Lustenberger is also playing on this position now, because there is "a bit more action". He has become accustomed to the increased physical strain in the midfield. At first Dardai had often felt after 70 minutes that he had to take Lustenberger off the pitch, "but he did well."

As in the small, this also applies on a large scale. "He's never going to swallow it," Dardai said about Lustenberger's abdication as captain. That is human. What is important is that the anger does not radiate on its performance, at least not negatively. Dardai has even sought psychological advice on how to handle the matter best, so that no injuries will be left behind by his previous captain.Herthas coach did not take the matter lightly. "Phew," says Fabian Lustenberger, "I do not know how easy or difficult it has been. He gave me the chance, and I used it. That is the decisive thing for me. "

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This was a translated page from Der Tagesspiegal - not made up by me!