Ernst Mertens - Is it too early to hand him the reigns?
From: DerSturmer.deDate: 1st July 2011
By: Andreas Esbech, freelance journalist
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The Hertha BSC fans are sceptic of the appointment of Ernst Mertens
Having been in control of Hertha Berlin for nearly two weeks now, the young up and coming managerial talent have already upset some of the more established players and staff in the club by revolutionising the training regime and setting a new order in which the players work. This has led to many fans, experts and other managers to question whether Mertens was old enough for the responsibility to manage a Bundesliga team. Mertens agreed that he was very young, but also tried to knock off the rumours that he didn’t have a strategy for managing af football team. “I have some ideas as to how I want my team to train, play and behave. I expect the players will respect my decisions and follow them accordingly.” Mertens has quickly established himself as someone who comes down hard on disobedience. Peter Niemeyer was quickly shifted to Bayer Leverkusen for 5 million € despite being one of the best players on the team. “You can’t base a football team on your best player, if he was essential to our plans we would have looked silly if he had gotten injured. No player is above the team, no player is safe from being sold if the price is right.” Mertens added to the question about whether it was prudent of him to sell one of the teams best players. Mertens added “I would rather have a deep squad than one or two star players, if we are to compete in the 3 national tournaments this year we need more squad depth.” When pressed Mertens even divulged which positions he was prioritising, “I want one or two wingers, preferably one who can start at left wing and another who can backup both wings.”
Some fan groups have already taken to Mertens’ approach. “I really like the idea that he seems to say “no one is above the team” and isn’t willing to compromise. I’m sad to see Niemeyer go, but I can accept that we needed the money.” A fan told us whilst shopping at the club megastore and just before he left he added, “Oh, and the fact that he is a local lad really helps too”. Ernst Mertens is indeed a local lad, he grew up in Spandau only a short distance from the Olympic Stadium. He grew up as a Hertha Berlin supporter and joined the under 15 squad as a 14 year old and was at one point destined to be a future great for the Berlin team. However a career ending injury occurred at the age of 17 in a friendly match against Chemnitzer FC. Where a reckless tackle shattered his left kneecap, he went through 3 years of physiotherapy and never got back to playing top level football. Mertens involvement in physiotherapy, kinetics and sports medicine made him interested in the physical and psychological aspect of football. At the age 25 he graduated university with a combined degree of Sports Psychology and Sports Physiology. He got a job at a local Kreuzberg team as the head coach, the amateur team managed to be promoted from the Kreisliga B to the Bezirksliga, a promotion each season.
Ernst Mertens is a sports academic and has spent many years studying the mental and physical performance of top level athletes. A background which takes him ahead of the game according to Mertens himself, “I believe that I’m educated as a football manager, I’ve studied football players most of my academic career and my thesis was about the mental and physical strains on a football team during a season, it has given me some wonderful input”. Whether Mertens’ education or his inexperience is a favour or a disadvantage to the team only time will tell.
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