This derby was celebrated long before kick-off. As early as late Saturday morning, the topic of conversation on Berlin’s underground and S-Bahn trains towards the Westend was the Hertha vs. Union game in the sold-out Olympic Stadium in front of 74,667 spectators.
By Matthias Koch and Alina Groening
Hertha trainer Felix Magath (68) had previously expressed the motto of the evening: “Finally a full house again and finally a real football atmosphere again.”
Oh, how beautiful! It got really atmospheric for the first time at noon in Charlottenburg.
► At 1 p.m., Hertha fans gathered at Lietzensee, from where they headed towards the stadium via Kaiserdamm around an hour later. Several thousand Blue and White supporters marched down the streets escorted by police officers. They ignited blue pyrotechnics and drew attention to themselves with loud chants.
The Ultras, who returned to the east stand for the first time in more than two years, arrived at the Olympic Stadium just in time for the opening of the stadium at 4 p.m.
► Thousands of Union fans came together at Savignyplatz from 2 p.m. to walk together across Kantstrasse in the direction of the arena. The mood was euphoric. The Olympic Stadium is also a secret place of longing for the people of Köpenick.
This is where the four “home games” in the European Cup took place this season. This is where the cup final rises on May 21 – with Union?
Except for a few wars of words with some Hertha supporters on the side of the road, everything remained peaceful on the march – chants and clinking beer bottles could be heard.
A police spokesman said in the afternoon: “Citywide, 1,100 officers are assigned to the football game. So far there have been no noticeable riots.”
The Berlin police officers were supported by forces from Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Several water cannons were ready for emergencies, which did not occur in the afternoon.
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Gaby Sommer (70) is preparing for the game just a parallel street away from the football train. She has been running the sports restaurant ‘mittendrin’ on Pestalozzistraße for around 20 years.
Once purely a Hertha pub, the door is now open to everyone. The employees wear shirts with the words “we are the fans” and “peaceful, fair, friendly”.
Sommer: “I always ask the guests at the beginning which club they belong to. Of course the heart beats for a team, but with us Unioner and Herthaner look peacefully together. Of course, teasing is part of it here and there, but we don’t want any violence or aggression here. In over 20 years, the police have never had to come to us and we are proud of that!”
A role model for fair derby rivalry in the capital.
