Hertha opt to part company with Dardai again

Shortly before kickoff in Saturday afternoon's home fixture against 1. FC Kaiserslautern, rumors surfaced that trainer Pal Dardai's third stint in charge of the Hertha BSC's first team would be coming to an end after the season. Dardai coached Hertha for four seasons in the top flight between 2015 and 2019. He was brought back to help the club avoid relegation late in the 2020/21 campaign, ultimately helping them do so. 

Sacked in November of the subsequent season, Dardai was once again brought back last spring with the aim of helping Charlottenburg's "alte Dame" avoid the drop last spring. This time Hertha were unable to avoid relegation, but decided to stick with the Hungarian for the current 2. Bundesliga campaign. Dardai was unable to help the club achieve promotion. Dardai confirmed the rumors in his pre-match interview. 

"I'm always a person who thinks positively," the 48-year-old told the Sky microphones shortly before kickoff on Saturday, "I'm sad. We've developed a great deal. I trained and developed with the boys for a year, but that's life as a coach."