First game after the beating scandal
Hertha goalkeeper explains himself
February 1, 2024, 7:10 a.m
Completely surprisingly, Marius Gersbeck is in goal for Hertha BSC in the DFB Cup quarter-finals. Despite the defeat against 1. FC Kaiserslautern, his coach said he had a good game. The 28-year-old has had difficult months after the beating scandal in the training camp.
A small banner before the game reminded us of the path Marius Gersbeck had at Hertha BSC. “Dreams are for chasing and today it will come true. Let’s go Marius!”, the Berlin fans kept their fingers crossed for the second goalkeeper. The 28-year-old was surprisingly in goal in the second division football team’s 3-1 defeat in the DFB Cup quarter-final against 1. FC Kaiserslautern – for the first time in a competitive game since the beating scandal last summer.
After relegation from the Bundesliga, Gersbeck returned to Hertha in the summer – as a beacon of hope for a new beginning. But the transfer took an unexpected turn: At the summer training camp in Austria, the goalkeeper sneaked out of the hotel at night and got into a fight in which he injured his victim’s face with punches and kicks. At the end of September, the Salzburg regional court decided to discontinue proceedings against Gersbeck for serious bodily harm after an admission of guilt on condition that he pay a fine of 40,000 euros. Last October he apologized to members for his serious misconduct. Afterwards he was already in goal in test matches.
After the cup game, Gersbeck said in a Sky interview that it would have been sad if the incident had not made him a more mature person. He “learned a lot.” That’s why he’s full of “humility and gratitude that I can still stand here at the end.” Gersbeck was suspended for a long time and had to train alone. His return was also controversial within the club; ultimately, the recently deceased Hertha President Kay Bernstein is said to have campaigned for Gersbeck to be allowed to return. Both knew each other from Bernstein’s past in the active fan scene.
“First time we talk about football”
Gersbeck was trained at Hertha BSC, but was unable to assert himself. After several loans, he only succeeded in doing so during his time at Karlsruher SC. After four years at KSC, he returned to Berlin last summer. Standing in goal in the sold-out cup quarter-finals were “two sides of the same coin: it’s like a childhood dream has come true. I was finally able to play for my club in the Olympic Stadium,” he told the TV station.
This was “unbelievable,” Gersbeck continued, “and I am very, very grateful – to everyone. Because today was the first time that we talked about football.” He especially thanked his wife and family, “who have stood behind me the whole time.” He would also like to thank the team, the goalkeeping coach and the coaching team. He further added: “I think that’s also clear, I left out a thank you that would of course have gone to Kay (Bernstein), who supported the decision.”
On the other hand, it is even sadder that Hertha lost the game. “This was a huge opportunity for all of us. We all hoped for much, much more,” said Gersbeck on Sky. “That’s why it’s extremely bitter for all of us. And of course that predominates today.” Reaching the cup final “was the goal of all of us,” he explained. “But I think we have a lot to thank Kay for; he also brought us all together. It hurts all the more that we can’t look at the sky and say: ‘We’ve moved on one round for you’.”
He could have saved ten penalties
At the press conference, coach Pal Dardai later explained his decision to field Gersbeck instead of regular goalkeeper Tjark Ernst. The change was agreed upon before the game. Dardai further explained that without the incident in the summer training camp, Gersbeck would have also been in goal in the other cup games. He further compared it to the last game last season that 20-year-old Ernst was allowed to play. “It was a similar case today,” said the 47-year-old.
Gersbeck is part of the team and he is doing “a very good job”. The keeper has noticeably improved in training over the past three or four weeks, explained Dardai. “That’s why he deserves this.” Gersbeck also bears no responsibility for the Berlin team’s departure. “He played well today. He wasn’t to blame for the goals either.”
Dardai also made it clear that there would be no change to the team’s internal goalkeeper ranking. “And (Gersbeck) also knows: If he had saved ten penalties today, Tjark (Ernst) would have played at the weekend too. That’s how it was communicated.” Gersbeck himself made a similar statement. It was completely clear to him that he would be on the bench at the weekend; Hertha is playing in the second division against HSV on Saturday (8.30 p.m./Sky and in the ntv.de live ticker). That’s completely fine, said Gersbeck. He is happy to have “got the chance here. And I will continue to work on it, of course, so that I might be breathing down his neck at some point.”