Boarding the S-Bahn train at Berlin's Friedrichstrabe station on a Hertha Berlin match day can be quite the human experience. Two train lines cater the route that leads people to the Olympiastadion, the 74,064 seated home of Berlin's only 1st division Bundesliga team. It is pretty much inevitable that you will get cosy with multiple people on the way to and from the stadium. They are a jovial bunch though, a minority sing while others mostly talk amongst themselves and sip on their beers.
Given the team's recent form, you cannot blame the club's faithful for drowning themselves in a beer or 10. Heading into that night's match against Hannover 96, Hertha Berlin had lost its last 2 matches & sat in 13th place in the Bundesliga standings. Despite being the capital's main club (FC Union Berlin play in the 2nd division of German football), Hertha has had anything but a monopolistic rule on Germany's top flight. Hertha Berliner Sport-Club, founded in 1892, last won the Bundesliga title in 1931 (it should be noted that due to war & the post war division of Germany, football leagues in Germany were often tinkered with & took many forms. The Bundesliga in its current form was not re-formed until 1963). Since then the trophy cabinet has been almost bare, barring 2 German Cup titles (2001,2002) & the rather municipal Berlin Cup, in which teams from Berlin compete for the city's bragging rights. Not exactly the Champions League.
Sprinkled in with this sparse success has been down right failure. Through the 60s & 70s match-fixing scandals hit Hertha Berlin hard. Despite a 2nd place Bundesliga finish in 1974-75 the following years were a train wreck. In 1975-76, Hertha was relegated to the 2nd division of German football after a dismal season. They would spend the next 13 out of 17 years toiling in the German 2nd & 3rd tiers. Also during this time, some of the club's most faithful fans were unable to attend matches as the Berlin Wall had been constructed in 1961, separating East & West Berlin.
After years of match fixing, financial calamity, the division of Berlin & perpetual relegation battles, the club finally made its way back to the German top flight in 1997. For 6 years prior, there had been no Berlin side in the Bundesliga. Though a hot bed of talent and football, Berlin had no representation at the club level in its top domestic league. Imagine that happening in another major European capital: London, Paris, Moscow, Madrid or Lisbon. Almost unfathomable.
Since 97' Hertha has remained in the top flight for the most part, with occasional relegation (as recently as 2012-13). Not what you would expect from the lone club in one of Europe's biggest capitals. This translates to a loss in big business as well. Out of the top 20 revenue producing clubs in Europe in 2012-13, unsurprisingly 4 were German clubs: Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Schalke & Hamburg. Furthermore, 9 out of the clubs 20 are from large European capitals, such as Paris, London, Madrid & Rome. The only one missing? You guessed it. Berlin.
Enough to make a fan drown their sorrows in fine German beer isn't it? This night's match saw high flying Hannover pay the "The Old Lady" a visit. 39,710 fans piled into the cavernous stadium to watch Berlin & Hannover vy for valuable points. Nowhere near a sell-out. So why is this the case? Firstly, it is important to understand that Berlin is a large metropolis & full of transplants, people from other parts of Germany, Europe & the world. Not every one living in the city is originally from Berlin. Therefore there's a good chance that you will likely to run into fans of Borussia Dortmund, Stuttgart & Hamburg in Berlin. For instance, I attended the match with two FC Koln fans and had an Everton FC fan sitting in front of me. Secondly, the city of Berlin in its current form is very new. This match took place 2 days before the 25th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall. Prior to November 9th 1989 the city of Berlin had been divided for 28 years. It's important to remember that Hertha Berlin's stadium falls in what would have been West Berlin, while East Berlin had its own local teams. Hertha Berlin
should be a club for all Berliners, but it is far from being that. The city's division during the last century still yields relatively fresh wounds.
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| Hertha Berlin's historic Olympiastadion |
On this night with Borussia Dortmund, Hamburg & Werder Bremen all struggling at the bottom of the table, Hannover were looking to get some added separation from the Bundesliga's cellar dwellers. For Hertha Berlin on the other hand, every match is of the utmost importance as the club sits in the bottom half of the table, just a few points out of the relegation zone.
Loaded with Berliner Kindl beer & passion for their club, the Hertha fans started the match in full voice urging their team to push forward. The enthusiasm didn't last very long. Jimmy Briand struck right before half-time & Hiroshi Kiyotake finished the job 12 minutes after the break. Hannover beat a sloppy Hertha Berlin that lacked creativity of any sort, particularly in the midfield.
The fans had had a enough of the frustrating display as well, some hurled beer cups onto the track surrounding the pitch at the Olympiastadion, angrily shouting at the players & voting with their feet: leaving the match with a full 20 minutes still to play.
Dismal results continue, but this can surely change right? Hertha Berlin should be one of Europe's elite clubs, based on the sheer size of the city it is in, the large stadium it calls home & the market share it should command. In theory, yes. But unlike England, a total takeover by shareholders of a club & a massive cash injection that usually follows is not possible in Germany. Bundesliga rules do not allow for any shareholder to have more than a 50% share of any club (also known as the "50 + 1 rule"). This has scared away the Roman Abramovich (Chelsea) and Glazer family (Manchester United) type of business tycoons in Germany. For one, it is hard to establish yourself as an elite club in Germany, and if positive change does come, it will be painstakingly slow.
What does this all mean for Hertha Berlin? For Hertha Berlin fans the only way the
status quo will change is if the club continues to develop young talent, avoid relegation & stay in the Bundesliga. But that is not enough. In order to become a true giant one day, Hertha needs to qualify for the Champions League regularly. This will prove difficult as the club is currently 1 point above from being last in the Bundesliga after its most recent 5-0 drubbing at the hands of Hoffenheim. Until Hertha Berlin can attract the right young players & produce any sort of consistency, the giant will stay in its slumber. Keep the beers coming Hertha fans.
