He played 82 games for Germany and 231 for Hertha BSC. He made 15 appearances for VfL Wolfsburg before he ended his career playing in the USA for Chicago Fire. He is now back in Germany with the DFB as the assistant manager of the U18s.
The 35-year-old still keeps an eye on his former clubs, especially the capital club. Berlin face VfL Wolfsburg on Sunday (17:30 CET) in their battle to avoid relegation. It’s an encounter that the 2008 European Championship runner-up and two-time World Cup bronze medallist (2006 and 2010) knows all too well. Arne Friedrich reflects upon a special game from 2010 with DFB.de.
DFB.de: Mr Friedrich, it’s matchday 27 on the 21st March 2010. Hertha were in the middle of a relegation battle and following a home defeat to Nürnberg, all hell broke loose in Berlin. The team were eight points from safety and many fans had resigned themselves to the fact that the team would probably be relegated. Then they faced the German Champions.
Friedrich: Yes, I remember that. After the Nürnberg defeat, there was a lot of doom and gloom. There was especially a lot of negativity among the fans as shown by the pitch invasion. As a team, we tried to block all that out and cling on to the little glimmer of hope that remained. We knew that we could possibly escape the danger zone if we managed to put a run of results together. I have to admit though that it was a very difficult time. The fact that we then went on to win in Wolfsburg, and by such a big margin, was so surprising. Nobody had expected us to win 5-1.
DFB.de: You were rooted to the bottom of the table but then you beat the champions 5-1 thanks to a Gekas hat trick and a Ramos brace. It was unbelievable. Were there any signs beforehand that you could pull off a result like that?
Friedrich: No. It’s a cliché but it’s true: Football is unpredictable. Wolfsburg were the defending champions and a force to be reckoned with. Like I already said though, we hadn’t given up as there were still eight games to go and 24 points available. We all knew that we were better than the table showed.
DFB.de: How hopeful were you afterwards of a miraculous survival?
Friedrich: We were quite certain that the result would give us a boost but we were obviously well aware that we were still five points from safety.
He played 82 games for Germany and 231 for Hertha BSC. He made 15 appearances for VfL Wolfsburg before he ended his career playing in the USA for Chicago Fire. He is now back in Germany with the DFB as the assistant manager of the U18s.
The 35-year-old still keeps an eye on his former clubs, especially the capital club. Berlin face VfL Wolfsburg on Sunday (17:30 CET) in their battle to avoid relegation. It’s an encounter that the 2008 European Championship runner-up and two-time World Cup bronze medallist (2006 and 2010) knows all too well. Arne Friedrich reflects upon a special game from 2010 with DFB.de.
DFB.de: Mr Friedrich, it’s matchday 27 on the 21st March 2010. Hertha were in the middle of a relegation battle and following a home defeat to Nürnberg, all hell broke loose in Berlin. The team were eight points from safety and many fans had resigned themselves to the fact that the team would probably be relegated. Then they faced the German Champions.
Friedrich: Yes, I remember that. After the Nürnberg defeat, there was a lot of doom and gloom. There was especially a lot of negativity among the fans as shown by the pitch invasion. As a team, we tried to block all that out and cling on to the little glimmer of hope that remained. We knew that we could possibly escape the danger zone if we managed to put a run of results together. I have to admit though that it was a very difficult time. The fact that we then went on to win in Wolfsburg, and by such a big margin, was so surprising. Nobody had expected us to win 5-1.
DFB.de: You were rooted to the bottom of the table but then you beat the champions 5-1 thanks to a Gekas hat trick and a Ramos brace. It was unbelievable. Were there any signs beforehand that you could pull off a result like that?
Friedrich: No. It’s a cliché but it’s true: Football is unpredictable. Wolfsburg were the defending champions and a force to be reckoned with. Like I already said though, we hadn’t given up as there were still eight games to go and 24 points available. We all knew that we were better than the table showed.
DFB.de: How hopeful were you afterwards of a miraculous survival?
Friedrich: We were quite certain that the result would give us a boost but we were obviously well aware that we were still five points from safety.
DFB.de: It didn’t work out and in the end Hertha, a team who had challenged for the title the year before, were relegated. Can you explain how such a good team all of a sudden had such a change in form and became so poor?
Friedrich: We lost quite a few key players, including Josip Simunic und Marko Pantelic. We then got off to a poor start and manager Lucien Favre was relieved of his duties. There was a lot of unrest in the club. You can quickly become caught in a downward spiral in football and it’s tricky to put a stop to it. We couldn’t sort the mess out.
DFB.de: It’s a similar situation in parts this year. Hertha are again stuck in a relegation battle and Wolfsburg are favourites to win the match. Did you think that Berlin would have so many difficulties this year?
Friedrich: I didn’t expect it and find it difficult to explain what’s happened. I’m not closely enough involved with the team so I can’t really judge it. They are currently missing some key players, including Tolga Cigerci, Alexander Baumjohann and Änis Ben-Hatira, while Fabian Lustenberger has injuries time and time again. Compared to 2010, the team is in a better position with a smaller gap to close and in fact, half of the league are still involved in a relegation battle.
DFB.de: Pal Dardai, who you know well, has now taken over at Hertha. Do you think he can get the best out of the players?
Friedrich: Pal was a top professional in every respect. His attitude was always exemplary and he always gave everything for Hertha. He’s also a very nice guy. I can’t judge his coaching abilities, although that's not my job. I wish him and Hertha the very best as the club belongs in this league. The fact that Hertha now have to play Wolfsburg isn’t a negative. Everybody has seen that Hertha find it easier against teams in the top third of the table.
