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The long wait in the Rückrunde

2/23/2016

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Match day 22 on a grey Saturday in February saw visitors VfL Wolfsburg come to the Olympiastadion to take their chances against high flying Hertha.  Although Hertha were in a creditable fourth place coming into this game the Rückrunde had only yielded three points in four games so far.  This faltering form inevitably gave rise to some nervousness going into this game but a very real knowledge that “we can do this” was also underpinning the atmosphere.
There was a decent crowd in Berlin for the game with an attendance of just over 40,000.  The fans poured into the ground with the normal good humour in trains packed with beer bottles and needed much stronger refreshment.
 
It was a little surprising to see a total absence of away fans until I got into the ground itself.  I was itching to send some tweet and a picture about a “lone wolf” but until it was too late, I didn’t even see one!
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The weather on the day was pretty dull and grey if I was honest but the forecast had been for even worse!  The fans gathered around the “East Gate” with the ground wet from earlier rain but with bottles of beer in hand to lighten the mood.  Again I didn’t see any Wolfsburg fans so I assume they were all at the South gate
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The game itself was a pretty frustrating experience from the stands.  Although Hertha had more possession and shots in the first half it all came to nothing.  There were chances however and Salomon Kalou showed his worth on a few occasions despite the visitors trying to mark him out of the match.  One attempt saw Kalou dribbling around the opposition and making a pass to Vedad Ibisevic who couldn’t quite get the finish to net the ball.  A little later a second pass from Kalou, this time to Darida saw Vladamir put the shot just wide.

In the end an error from Jay Brooks on the left touchline spilled the ball to Wolfburg who then drove on to score.  Against the overall flow of play but that's the way it goes sometimes.  Then, in the 60th minute Vedad Ibisevic was running at the Wolfsburg goal, shot and the clearance went to Kalou who turned and shot with the ball threading through/off a defenders legs and into the back of the net. 

A heroic double save from Jarstein saw Hertha through to a 1:1 draw and the long wait in the Rückrunde for that first victory continued for another week. 


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Pokal Semi-Final Tickets

2/20/2016

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This was always going to be a busy weekend.  A mad scramble for cup tickets and a Hertha Bundesliga game all within 24 hours!  Hertha have reached the semi-final of the DFB Pokal (cup) for the first time in 35 years – quite an achievement and everyone wants to be there.
 
On Friday Hertha were releasing their allocation of tickets for the DFB Pokal Semi-Final cup game against Borussia Dortmund.  For the first two weeks the tickets are only available to members and season ticket holders.  Members are entitled to buy up to four tickets each and season ticket holders have their seats reserved until the end of February.  Members however could only buy the additional four tickets in person and not online.

I can hear you thinking “what’s the panic, you have two weeks to get yourself organised?”.  The devil was in the detail and in this case that last clause.  Members had to buy the additional four tickets in person and not online.  As a result many people wanting to buy additional tickets rushed in on the first day so they could get the best seats.  I walked past the Europa-Center Fanshop 20 minutes after the sale opened and as you can see below the queues were just crazy!  I gather it was much the same at the other fanshops in the city.


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I joined the queue about four hours later and although it was a little shorter it was still pretty long. For the first hour of waiting it wasn’t too bad as the alternative was shopping with my wife (a lucky escape). After that first hour however it was getting increasingly cold as we were all just standing around in temperatures just over freezing with a cold wind making is worse still. By the time I got to the door of the Fanshop I could hardly feel my feet!  It was worth it in the end my ticket was purchased and an afternoon being dragged around the shops on the Ku’damm avoided.  I really should have gone better equipped but hey, hindsight is a wonderful thing!

The numbers of people who were prepared to stand in a line in the cold waiting for the tickets could not fail to impress. The motivation behind their enthusiasm may be a little less clear however. I couldn't help wondering how many of the additional tickets being purchased will end up on eBay and people wanted to be there early to they could get the most saleable tickets. Perhaps I am being unduly cynical here but, perhaps not.  One thing is for sure, come what may, there will be good showing from the Hertha faithful on the day.

There was a bunch of English lads about 20m or so back in the queue from me. I don't know but I suspect they had no idea what they were queuing for and that they could get tickets for the Saturday game at the stadium far more easily. They appeared happy enough and regular scouting parties came back to them with drinks and fast food!

What was even more surprising was the numbers of people queuing out of the fanshop at the Olympiastadion.  The club had said via their website that trying to buy the tickets then would cause unnecessary delays but nonetheless queue they did.  I feel sure that the week of the semi-final will bring a remarkable week of football in Berlin with one match against Borussia Dortmund and, a few days later another against Bayern.  Who knows what the footballing gods will bring the Old Lady that week but it will be a blast watching her give it her best shot!
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What a difference a year makes -  #BSCBVB

2/7/2016

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Greetings gentle readers. As you can see I have returned after a break since Hertha’s victory against Mainz before Christmas 2015. During self-imposed sojourn Hertha have accumulated another three points from three games all of which ended as draws. All this adds up to Hertha remaining in third place in the Bundesliga with a remarkable 35 points after just 20 games and equal to the points tally for the whole 2014/15 season! I would not be alone in saying for the capital city club “what a difference a year makes”.
There were a number of things were promising from the performance against Dortmund albeit from a Hertha fans biased viewpoint. Firstly, Hertha defended so well. Last year our defence appeared shambolic at times from an untrained eyes perspective. When Thomas Tuchel allegedly said “Hertha had ten men in front of the goal” that was code for “they wouldn’t let us score”. He didn’t mention the other five Hertha players running towards his goal on the counter!

There were a few chances for Hertha including a header from Jay Books that just went over the bar, a last second tackle on Baumi when he was on goal and about to shoot and perhaps the best chance of all with Kalou on goal with players to his left and right but decided to shoot and pushed it wide. Perhaps, if Genki Haraguchi had run inside for a 1-2 rather than going out to the right? Who knows, things may have been different.

In the end a draw was a fair result as it turned out I think but you can’t help feeling disappointed that we didn’t get a win. If luck had run slightly differently it certainly could have happened. For example Ibesivic appeared (without the benefit of replays) to have been pushed over in the box and yet the ref was not for pointing at the spot. The Bosnian was clearly livid at the decision and from the limited amount that I could see I don’t blame him. He was taken off soon after (for his own good I suspect) and the penalty wasn’t given so let’s move on. I’m not sure I would be quite so philosophical if we had been a goal down!

So, here we are, vying for European placed and last year we were fighting for survival. Indeed what a difference a year makes in position and expectation.


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