Matt Morrison reports on the latest chapter in the turbulent history of Berlin's premier football club.
When I saw Hertha Berlin beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-1 at the Olympiastadion in February 2009, Hertha went top of the Bundesliga. Chants of “‘Spitzenreiter, spitzenreiter” (essentially translated as ‘top of the league’) were ringing around the ground as the final whistle blew. The Hertha players saluted the ultras in the Ostkurve and the beer continued to flow as everyone traipsed back to the train station to take the party into the town.
I have followed Hertha’s progress over the past couple of years and things have gone downhill ever since. Although they find themselves top of the table, two points clear of the mighty Augsburg, it is the 2.Bundesliga and very much the wrong Bundesliga from their point of view. They went on to finish fourth in the 2008/09 season, six points off eventual champions Wolfsburg, and claimed a Europa League spot. Last season they were relegated after finishing bottom with just five wins all season and their Europa League campaign ended at the hands of Benfica in the round of 32.
I took Hertha to my heart for a number of reasons; their club shop is probably the best I’ve visited. Not a day goes by that I don’t regret not buying their Frucht Gummi Balle. Or a Hertha themed toaster. They also had my favourite shirt of all time. The ticket for the game at the Olympiastadion was €11 which, bearing in mind I paid £8 to get in at Mangotsfield United’s Cossham Street ground shortly afterwards, I felt was excellent value. The Hertha fans were brilliant too, treating matchdays as a massive party and meeting up at 11am to start drinking. The drinking does not stop en route to the ground and trolleys are provided as recycling bins for the endless cans that are disposed of before entering the ground. The drinking then continues throughout the match as two litre pitchers can be bought at the ground and enjoyed in the comfort of your seat. It’s then back into town for some meat and krautrock/techno/hair metal, plus more beer. And not a hint of trouble all day. This was a club after my own heart.
 |
Olympiastadion, Berlin: not pictured - Hitler. |
Berlin is a slightly strange city amongst major European capitals for not having a high profile football team. This could partly be put down to the split in the city during the post-war years as tensions between the east and west of the city meant the development and management of a stable football club was difficult, and far from high on the agenda. The city’s main footballing rivalries were separated by the Berlin Wall and Stasi tampering in the DDR-Oberliga in East Germany culminated in ten straight title wins for Dynamo Berlin between 1979 and 1988. Much interest and support was lost as a result. In the end the Stasi couldn’t even be bothered to keep their interference covert as Dynamo were awarded a dubious 94th minute penalty in a match against Lokomotive Leipzig to make the score 1-1 and hand Dynamo their eighth successive title in 1986. But I digress.
Hertha were hardly breaking records during that time but have had a decent spell over the past ten years or so, including an appearance in the Champions League in 1999/2000, but they have never been a force in German football. They have never won a Bundesliga title, their highest league finish was second in 1974/75, and they found themselves in the third tier (the Oberliga) as recently as 1988. They rarely fill their 74,500 capacity home Olympiastadion and that the ever-trousered Gabor Király was voted by fans as Hertha’s ‘Goalkeeper of the Century’ says something about the quality of goalkeeper they must have seen over the years.
"Their 2-1 defeat at home to Nürnburg last March ended in chaos as home fans attacked the dugouts."
On the day of the win against Mönchengladbach, Andriy Voronin (on loan from Liverpool) scored the opener and looked like a superstar, though that may be more of an indictment of Mönchengladbach’s form at the time as they propped up the Bundesliga table. Voronin returned to Liverpool at the end of the season and can now be found scoring not very many goals for Dynamo Moscow. Star striker Marko Pantelic alighted to Ajax on a free while experienced defenders Josip Simunic and Arne Friedrich also jumped shipped to Hoffenheim and Wolfsburg respectively. As a result of losing the spine of their team, the 2009/10 season was a disaster for Hertha as they were relegated following a 1-1 draw away at Bayer Leverkusen in May and having won just once at home all season. Despite having led them to that fourth place finish in 2009, Swiss manager Lucien Favre was dispensed with before the end of September and his successor Friedhelm Funkel had no luck in halting the slide. Their 2-1 defeat at home to then relegation rivals Nürnburg last March ended in chaos as home fans stormed onto the pitch attacking the dugouts and generally making a nuisance of themselves. Not a happy time.
 |
Andriy Voronin: still a fat Paris Hilton. |
One highlight of this season, and a match that did fill the Olympiastadion, has been the first ever Berlin derby between Hertha and former DDR club Union Berlin. After sharing a 1-1 draw at Union’s cosy Alten Försterei ground in September, Union triumphed 2-1 at the Olympiastadion on 5th February. As Union are currently residing in lower mid-table, that win should give them the bragging rights for a time as it looks increasingly likely that there won’t be a Berlin derby next season as Hertha’s return to the Bundesliga is edging closer.
Hertha’s song, ‘Ha-ho-he! Hertha B S C!’, has been heard a lot more this season though perhaps not with the gusto it could be heard when they were topping the Bundesliga. Club legend Michael Preetz is now at the helm and hopes his new look side can retain top spot and re-establish the side in the top flight. Hertha fans will hope 2009/10 was a mere blip in the club’s history as their thoughts turn skywards and the heady days of Champions League qualification. One step at a time though.
No comments:
Post a Comment