Here dismay, there jubilation: The changing of the guard in Berlin football continues. With the victory in the cup derby against Hertha, Union set an exclamation mark in the fight for the capital.
He was served before he was even on the pitch. At least that’s the impression who saw Kevin-Prince Boateng on the sidelines before he came on in the Berlin Cup derby against Union in the 75th minute. The Hertha professional shook his head in desperation after Kevin Behrens had almost made it 4-1 for Union just seconds earlier. After the deserved 2: 3 bankruptcy, Boateng had had enough and stomped into the dressing room in a rage.
Hertha coach Tayfun Korkut later didn’t want to sugarcoat anything, spoke of a “huge disappointment”: “Today was a very, very important game for the fans, for the club.” The big goal “cup final in the home stadium” remains unfulfilled once again. The DFB Cup final has been held in the Berlin Olympic Stadium since 1985 – only the amateurs made it to the final in 1993.
Desperation is written all over his face: Hertha goal scorer Suat Serdar. (Source: Contrast/imago images)
Hertha boss Fredi Bobic in particular sounded optimistic and full of fighting spirit before the cup derby: “The players would have to run out with the knife between their teeth. As a footballer, you live for games like this.” The only problem was that his team couldn’t see it. Union, on the other hand, lived exactly what Bobic demanded from minute one. Two statements by the coach after the game fit in with this.
Unions Urs Fischer: “We absolutely wanted to win this game.”
Tayfun Korkut: “We weren’t even in the game for the first 30 minutes.”
The changing of the guard in Berlin football is still in full swing. Here are the Unioners, who are in fifth place in the league and can dream of the cup final. Because Hertha, who are in 13th place, confirmed the negative trend of the last few weeks in the derby. The fans in blue and white then went on the barricades. “We’re fed up,” was the nicest thing to hear.
This is what winners look like: Union celebrates the derby success. (Source: Contrast/imago images)
He was asked whether coach Korkut can understand the reactions. His brief answer: “Absolutely understandable.” And right now FC Bayern is coming. On Sunday (from 5.30 p.m. in the t-online live ticker) the German record champions will be guests in the Olympic Stadium. To build more self-confidence, this is probably the worst of all opponents.
“We’ll worry”
“There’s a lot to talk about. We’ll do that too. We’ll think about it and things will be addressed. We don’t go into the next day and say that’s what happened now,” said Korkut. What exactly is supposed to make hope for a surprise success remained unanswered.
For Hertha it is probably the two games after Bayern, against Bochum and Fürth, that must bring the turning point. Otherwise Hertha’s overall situation will become even more threatening – and it should also be much more uncomfortable for Tayfun Korkut, who appears bewildered.
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