Kevin-Prince Boateng plays a crucial role in saving Hertha from relegation to the second division. In an interview, the Berliner now explains how he persuaded coach Magath to take over his duties.

Magath? “Wasn’t there”: Coach Felix Magath openly admitted that Kevin-Prince Boateng set up the team before the Hertha rescue in the relegation against HSV. Now Boateng goes even further. In the “Spiegel” he says: “I gave the speech before the game. Magath wasn’t there at all, the assistant coach sat next to me, put the laser pointer in my hand and said: Talk to the team.”

Boateng ready to coach: Boateng received a lot of praise after Hertha’s victory in Hamburg and staying in the class. His speech was apparently well received by the team. He remembers: “An hour and a half later we drove to the stadium together and won. For me it was like a knighthood. I can now also become a coach.”

Magath just said “okay”: Boateng goes into how the agreement between him and Magath came about. “I explained to him what line-up I would like to play with and said: ‘If we play like this, we’ll win and we’ll stay in the Bundesliga. I talk to the players. Trust me, Mr. Magath.’ Then he replied, ‘Okay.'”

Short, compact, clear