Football – Berlin – “Child of the curve”: Bernstein is Hertha’s new president – sport
Berlin (AP) – The members of Hertha BSC dare a small revolution. With 1,670 out of 3,016 valid votes, they elected communications manager and ex-Ultra Kay Bernstein as the new President’s Club on Sunday. The 41-year-old will initiate a drastic, consistent realignment at the capital club. “Our old lady is in intensive care. Now we can heal them holistically from the inside and make them healthy,” he said after his election in the City Cube at the Berlin Exhibition Center and thanked them for their trust.
It’s a victory for the active fan scene and a crushing defeat for the club’s establishment. During the gathering, the alienation between large parts of the membership and the functions on the stage became clear again and again. “We need an honest, real reset,” said Bernstein.
When the result was announced, huge cheers and shouts of “Ha Ho He, Hertha BSC” erupted from Bernstein’s supporters. The 41-year-old, who describes himself as a “child of the curve”, was clearly touched and blew on stage. “Thank you for your trust,” he said. Everyone can help to win back the club’s “blue and white soul”.
The election was eagerly awaited. Bernstein prevailed against the preferred candidate of the supervisory board and long-time CDU member of the Bundestag Frank Steffel and the blatant outsider Marvin Brumme. After 14 years, the controversial Werner Gegenbauer resigned as president at the end of May.
Steffel, who has been leading the Bundesliga handball team Füchse Berlin successfully for many years and is considered the best networked player in terms of sports policy, started the day as a slight favorite. During the gathering, however, it became increasingly clear how he is viewed critically by large sections of the membership – precisely because of his connections to the establishment.
Bernstein was once the lead singer in the east curve and is still involved in social projects for the fans. During the election campaign, he had repeatedly sought dialogue with the grassroots. Better internal and external communication, more cohesion and, above all, better integration of fans and members. Bernstein was able to embody that credibly, now he has to implement it.
The fact that he has no past as an official at the club was certainly part of the appeal for his voters. But it also raises questions. How well can you lead a Bundesliga club without this experience? How do Bernstein’s goals fit into the reality of the football business? With Fabian Drescher, however, he has someone by his side as a deputy who has known the work of the Executive Committee for years. Bernstein is also the head of his own company.
He can’t do it alone, the 41-year-old conceded, but he can and lead good people, he said. He wants to build a team, it needs a truce with everyone in and around the club.
An ex-ultra, a connoisseur of the active fan scene, as president: That could change the external perception of Hertha significantly. In quieter times, the club was often perceived as a bit stuffy and boring, since Windhorst joined the expression Big City Club has been a malicious companion of Berliners. Bernstein, who has now arrived at the stadium in the main stand, does not want to be reduced to his time as an ultra. Nevertheless, that is precisely what makes his election a special personality.
With millionaire investor Lars Windhorst, who was permanently in a clinch with Gegenbauer, Bernstein wants to “sit down, build trust, vote.” Windhorst congratulated him on his election. “We are going into the upcoming talks openly and without any reservations. It can only get better than before,” he told “Kicker”.
Hertha is in the midst of a massive change in personnel, but most of the key positions have now been filled. In the end, Bernstein will not only have to be measured by table positions, but also by whether change and change will come about under him.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:220626-99-806385/8