Hertha with Marton Dardai suffered as Union celebrated victory in the last derby
Foto: imago images/camera4+
One game, one question, two answers: This Wednesday, the footballers from Hertha BSC and 1. FC Union will meet in the round of 16 of the DFB Cup. And as always before this city derby, the balance of power in Berlin becomes an issue. “That’s of no interest to me,” Urs Fischer emphasized on Tuesday at the press conference in Köpenick. Union’s coach wants to concentrate solely on the sport, “to prepare the team in the best possible way”. The Charlottenburgers, on the other hand, had clearly positioned themselves on this issue the day before. “If you look at history and Hertha, I think you already know who the number one in town is,” says Hertha coach Tayfun Korkut.
The different answers say a lot about the self-image of the two Berlin clubs. At 1. FC Union you look more at yourself, at “what we can influence”, as Fischer put it. The Köpenickers have come a long way with that – and have also overtaken Hertha BSC. In the two and a half years they have been in the Bundesliga together, they have collected 24 points more than Charlottenburg. Union is currently in fifth place, Hertha is in 13th place again in the relegation battle. And the sporting success also let the Unioners pass in the favor of the fans. At the end of the year, the club reported a membership of 40,725, Hertha BSC announced the number of 40,224 members at the annual general meeting last Sunday.
The people of Charlottenburg don’t have any more arguments than looking into the past. Nevertheless, those responsible at Hertha BSC seem to have sworn the new coaches to at least verbally defend the old claim to power in the capital. Now Tayfun Korkut has the first opportunity to confirm this with his team in terms of football. The 47-year-old took over the team shortly after the last derby. Sporting director Fredi Bobic is very reluctant to remember the 2-0 loss to Union in November, which was followed a little later by the dismissal of coach Pal Dardai. It looked like Hertha “felt without a chance”.
Nothing decisive has changed since then. Korkut also managed two wins in their first six games, but defeats like the 0:4 in Mainz or the 1:3 against 1. FC Köln show that Hertha BSC still have big problems. Especially on the defensive: With 38 goals conceded, the team is the second-worst in the Bundesliga. After the goalless draw against VfL Wolfsburg on the last day of the game, Korkut was happy to have “played to zero”.
Football in Berlin: Celebrated division
»We from the east«, they sing at 1. FC Union –
the western part of the city belongs to Hertha BSC
Urs Fischer has also noticed such small advances from the opponent. Hertha is now “more stable” and “more active in the game with the ball”. This development could also play a role in the reticent choice of words by the Union coach when asked about the number one in the city. Another point for sure: “One flies out, that’s the way it is in the cup,” said Fischer. And in such a game of all or nothing, the standings in the league are irrelevant.
This situation is new for both clubs, it is the first city derby in the DFB Cup. The atmosphere in the large circle of the Olympic Stadium will not be able to do justice to the schedule – only 3000 spectators are allowed, 1. FC Union only got 200 tickets. Because the team felt quite comfortable there in its four “home games” in the European Conference League, according to Fischer, the Köpenickers could now improve their record in Hertha’s home stadium: In the Bundesliga, they lost twice significantly against Charlottenburg.
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