Capital Punishment; Hertha Berlin continues to frustrate Bayern
Hertha Berlin has not won a German Bundesliga title since 1931. In direct correlation, league giants Bayern Munchen have been dominating German football for most of the 21st century.
History notwithstanding, Hertha Berlin has suddenly figured out the formula to get results against Bayern Munchen. With their big 2 - 0 win this Friday evening at Olympiastadion over Bayern. Hungarian manager Pál Dárdai has drawn three and now beaten Bayern in the last four clashes between the clubs.
Pál Dárdai's only other head coaching assignment came when he led the Hungarian National Team for a mere 7 contests (4W - 2D - 1L). In a sport, and league for that matter, that doesn't give much room for mediocrity, Dárdai has managed to keep his job in Berlin since February of 2015.
There have been no trophies or hardware to show for his efforts thus far, but times, they are a-changin'. if one looks at the German Bundesliga table going into this weekend's round of action, Bayern Munchen and Hertha Berlin are first and second at the top of it.
Might there finally be a changing of the guard in German football? Bayern Munchen is on a run of six consecutive league titles, and are obviously the record holders with 28 Bundesliga titles in all. In fact, Bayern has taken 12 of the 18 Bundesliga titles since the turn of the century, to underline their absolute dominance.
Many are starting to wonder if all the football that Bayern plays during the campaign, is catching up to some older legs. Not that Arjen Robben looks like he has lost his vigor, it's the cast that needs to support the cause with a little more passion.
Of course, it is extremely early in the Bundesliga campaign having only played 6 fixtures, but there might be a big meeting coming between the clubs on the reverse fixture of the season.
Should Hertha go into mighty Allianz Arena and escape with another result, that would make it 5 straight outings with points in the matchup. Mark your calendar's for February 23, as Round 23 of the campaign will pit the two against each other again. Might it have more meaning than we all anticipated? It will be fun to watch play out for the fans of the underdog out there.