Hertha Berlin Sign Andreas Ottl and Thomas Kraft

Hertha Berlin have announced the signing of two former Bayern Munich players: midfielder Andreas Ottl and goalkeeper Thomas Kraft.

Berlin are looking to strengthen their squad ahead of their return to the Bundesliga next season. They were the champions of the 2.Bundesliga this season with a total of 74 points --- 9 higher than second place Augsburg. Berlin were quite impressive in the second division after their disappointing 2009-2010 Bundesliga campaign where they finished 18th and were relegated. They scored the most goals and conceded the second least amount this past season.

Ottl has spent the last 15 years with Bayern Munich. His career has taken him from the youth squads, to the reserve team, to the first team. He’s been involved in the UEFA Champions League, and he’s won three German Championships and three DFB-Pokal Championships with the club.

Kraft was with Bayern Munich since 2004. Like Ottl, he’s been with the youth squads, reserve team, and the first team. This season he controversially replaced Jörg Butt in a decision made by then manager Louis van Gaal. When van Gaal was sacked, Butt was reinserted into the starting lineup.

It will be interesting to see what other moves Hertha Berlin have in store for this summer in preparation for their return to the Bundesliga.