Saddam's return: Felix Megat returns to the artist to save Hertha Berlin
He has the image of a dictator abusing players in training, and is true, but tells only part of the story of one of the most successful coaches in German history.
On the Herta bench, he may have a chance to arrange for himself a retirement in more positive shades
Michael Yochin
17/03/2022
Thursday, March 17, 2022, 6 p.m.
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Nearly a decade after finishing his last role in Germany, 68-year-old Felix Megat returned to the Bundesliga when he was appointed Hertha Berlin's emergency coach - and the country is enjoying celebrating the event.
The jokes are thrown everywhere.
Will "Saddam" save the club from the capital, which sank below the red line, from relegation?
Can his working methods yield results in modern football as well?
Will the Herta players survive the grueling training that awaits them in the coming weeks?
The best joke on the subject is not new - it was said by Norwegian striker Jan-Uga Fiortefort long ago: "I do not know if Megat would have prevented the sinking of the Titanic, but the survivors were certainly in fantastic physical shape."
This is a classic case where one particular aspect completely takes over a person’s image.
Say Megat - and the immediate association of any German fan will be cruelty and a military regime.
Everyone knows to tell that Felix is the son of an American officer, even if he left for Puerto Rico shortly after birth, and Megat first met him only when he was 43. There are countless wonderful quotes from players who suffered under Megat's guidance and felt an abysmal hatred for him, but on the way Tend to ignore countless great quotes from other stars who loved the mentor very much and thank him to this day for his contribution to their careers.
Megat is not a monotonous dictator, but a very complex figure - and he is also one of the most successful coaches in the history of Germany.
Even before that, he was one of the best connections in the history of Germany, belonging to the squad in two World Cups in which the team qualified for the final.
He was the man who scored the last goal for Dino Zoff's net before the retirement of the great Italian goalkeeper - a huge missile for connections in the 1983 Champions Cup final.
It was Hamburg's Victory Gate, and Megat was her hero on the road to the highest achievement in its history.
He is also a partner in all three of Hamburg's Bundesliga championships, the first of which was particularly important.
In 1979 the Northern Club won the title against all odds, while some commentators even predicted a decline.
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Was the hero of Hamburg.
Felix Megat in his days as an actor (Photo: GettyImages, Bongarts)
"Principles - Discipline, Order and Physical Fitness"
Branko Zebetz, the coach who signed the splash, defined German football in many ways, laid the foundations for Bayern Munich in the late 1960s. His career, and in fact his life, ended too soon due to alcohol addiction, and you can read his tragic and fascinating story here.
His influence on Megat was enormous on every scale, and he always saw himself as following in the footsteps of the genius Croat, who was also perceived as a dictator in his time.
When I interviewed Megat about two years ago, he recounted: "Zevetz was a very smart man, and he taught us how to play in order to win. He taught me that there are three components to a footballer's success - discipline, order and fitness. Whoever applies them, can soar to heights, We had to work harder and harder, and it paid off. Thanks to him we won the championship, and thanks to him I became one of the best players in Germany. The club was in a difficult situation when he came and finished the previous season in tenth place, Then we faced the best teams in Europe. "
Megat even stressed: "The requirement to give 100 percent of yourself always, in every training session and in every game, was the same towards all Zevetz players. He gave me everything, and taught me how a professional footballer should play and conduct himself. I saw the results up close, when he became a mediocre roster "He has a great top team, and I also implement his ideas as a coach myself. The goal is to develop the teams through commitment and hard work, and try to promote each and every player individually."
Not a monotonous dictator, but a very complex figure.
Felix Megat (Photo: GettyImages, Christof Koepsel)
Nurtured Philip Lam
He never wanted to be flattered, and deliberately created a tough image, but often knew how to find the way to the hearts of the players to upgrade their ability.
Early in his career as a coach, he was defined as a rehabilitation specialist for teams in crisis.
He took Nuremberg, for example, in 1998 when it was at the bottom of the second division and marched it up.
In 1999 he got the job at Eintracht Frankfurt which was in humane condition, leaving her in the league.
He did the most impressive job in Stuttgart, when he replaced Ralph Rangnik in 2001 with whom the club slipped below the red line - and there he not only left it in the league, but built an empire.
Stuttgart fans will not forget the special 2003/04 season, in which the team galloped to the top and led throughout the first round thanks to a combination of quick and lethal attacks with an iron defense that conceded just 24 goals in 34 rounds.
One of her standout stars was young left-back Philipp Lahm, who was loaned out from Bayern Munich.
The Bavarian management did not really believe him because he was too skinny, but reserve coach Herman Garland stated: "He may look 15 years old, but he plays like a 30-year-old."
The only one who agreed to listen to him was Megat, and so the loan set off.
This season has been highly defining for the development of the future world champion captain - with the tough boss he has gone from a teenager to a legitimate Bundesliga star.
Quite amusing, then, because Megat came to Bayern before the mother - the defender stayed for another season in Stuttgart, but in Munich they wanted the coach as early as 2004.
His first two years on the flagship resulted in consecutive double wins, an achievement that no one after him has yet been able to replicate, despite Bayern's complete control of German football.
Over time, his iron grip weakened and led to rebellion, and in general coaches of his kind were unable to withstand such a politically complex club for too long, but Karno was its owner - and he was due for the most brilliant adventure of his life.
The loan season was constitutive of its development.
Philip Lam in Stuttgart uniform (Photo: GettyImages)
A magical championship with Wolfsburg
The championship with Wolfsburg in the 2008/09 season was phenomenal in many respects, because Megat created a well-oiled machine from a very young squad that played flashy and offensive football.
The young Edin Dzeko bombed 26 goals in the league, but his Brazilian partner Graffita overtook him with 28. No pair of strikers came close to the peak of their 54 conquests, and behind them operated playmaker Zevzdan Misimovic who set a cooking record that was later broken only by Kevin de Bruyne.
The 1-5 win over Bayern, with Graffita's insane final goal following a slalom in the box, is one of the greatest games Germany has ever known.
And all this Hinds Megat in a dual role, as the coach and athletic director who was responsible for selecting the procurement players.
The murderous discipline and training did not harm the joy of life of the wolf players, but quite the opposite.
At this point, the urine rose a bit to the head, and he lost touch with reality.
Schalke lured him in dreamy conditions to the same dual role, but he wanted even more - complete control of the club.
This dictatorship did not work in Gelsenkirchen, the fans and players revolted against him, and the ending was particularly bleak.
During this term Megat became a kind of cartoon of himself, and his image was painted in negative tones.
Even a return to Wolfsburg did not help her rehabilitation, although he managed to save it from decline and contributed greatly to the development of Mario Mendzukic.
The well-known Croatian was known during his excellent career for his character and willingness to work hard, but at the beginning of his career he was quite problematic.
Megat's ability to put players like him on the right track is certainly commendable.
Felix Megat Wolfsburg coach (Photo: GettyImages)
Hertha is a type of Titanic
So on the one hand, Megat left quite a few haters along the way.
Rafinha, Schalke's Brazilian defender, asserted: "He hates Brazilians because we are happy people."
On the other hand, he also has many fans.
Graffiti, a Brazilian at every turn, owes his career to Megat and a happy dancer when his beloved coach returns to Wolfsburg. It's not a matter of black and white.
The point is that this issue belonged to the past. Believe it or not - the first German coach ever in the Premier League, and an adventurous adventure in China in 2017, Megat no longer coached. Hertha's sporting director, Freddie Bobic, decided he was the right man to save the sinking ship.
In the two months remaining until the end of the season, Megat has no time to substantially improve the physical condition of players, even if he wanted to, but his record in such situations is indeed fantastic.
He has proven himself in both top-flight fights and bottom battles, and mentally it's really not too late.
The big question is whether at his age he is capable of it.
Bobic hopes so, as does Luther Mathews, who played alongside him in the link at the 1986 World Cup final.
"Felix deserves this opportunity. I think this is a great idea," he wrote in his commentary.
Herta waits for savior (Photo: Reuters)
hard in training easy in battle?
Quite amazingly, Megat met in his new team one of the heroes from the Wolfsburg championship season.
Slovakian Peter Pakarik was signed by the coach in January 2009 from Žilina, immediately became a banker in the squad and was a senior partner in the sensational win.
After the mentor's departure, he declined in fitness, and in his second term at Wolfsburg allowed Megat to leave Berlin for almost no consideration.
"That was my gesture to Herta," he said.
And Packarik is still there, at 35. Somehow, fate brought them together again.
Megat, who is endowed with excellent self-humor, opened the first conversation with the media on precisely this subject.
"I'm sure all the Herta players have already asked Peter about the training difficulty that awaits them," he smiled.
And yes, it's definitely a good topic for jokes.
But who knows, maybe in the short weeks in the capital, Megat will still be able to arrange a retirement in a more positive tone.
Between us, he just deserves it.
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