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Hamburger SV and Lasogga's return

10/25/2014

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It is a dull, grey and cool day here in Berlin on match day nine when Hamburger SV comes to the capital.  It doesn't look too inviting out there this morning and at 5°C I might need my Hertha scarf around my neck as well as being held aloft!

Who knows which HSV will turn up today - the one that lost to the newly promoted Paderborn or the Hamburgers that won against BVB and held Bayern to a 0:0 draw. Naturally I hope it is the former!

The papers have articles about Pierre-Michel Lasogga returning to face his old club and some people have been tweeting things that are rather rude about him.  For my part I bear no animosity towards any Hertha players that have moved on, quite the opposite really.  I think it's quite nice to hear that Adrian Ramos scores a goal for BVB, or Raphael makes one for Mönchengladbach as long as it isn't against Hertha!  So, I hope Pierre-Michel has a really bad day today and perhaps clips one into his own net . . . 

I'll be wandering around town this morning with my better half and we plan to have plate of liver and onions to set us up before heading off to the Olympiastadion. There is a wonderful place just down the road from us that sells the best liver and onions in the world.  Great pre-football match food I think.  As usual I've put up a few photos after the match (not of the liver and onions).  

Well we found out which HSV was going to turn up and if the Dinosaurs go on like this they will soon be extinct!  Although they had over 55% of the possession they did nothing with it and 
Pierre-Michel Lasogga was ineffectual.  Perhaps the barrage of whistles he received from the Ostkurve hsd an impact.
 
The match started fairly evenly with surges forward by Hertha followed by poor finishing and moments of having my heart in my mouth as HSV had a shot.  For the first 45 minutes or so Anis Ben-Hatira had a shocking game and there were mutterings of take him off all around.  It's just as well Jos Luhukay didn't listen as he came alive in the second half and scored two out the three goals with the first in the 59th minute.  He was clearly onside, wrong footed the defender (who fell over) and steered it past Drobny - a good goal showing confidence and composure.
The second came from a corner (taken by Ben-Hatira) and headed balls bouncing around all over the area. It ended up nearly going out but being saved by (I think) Hosogai's boot which sent the ball, via the near post to Johnny Heitinga who was waiting, unmarked on the back post - bang 2:0.
Lastly a pass from Per Skjelbred threading through the HSV high line left Ben-Hatira (just onside) one on one with Drobny and a defender chasing from behind - bang 3:0 and game over.  Hertha are starting to have a little run at home now and lets hope it continues, next visitor Hanover '96.
Needless to say the fans enjoyed the win except for one poor Hamburg fan who had a seat just in front of us.  He walked out in disgust with five minutes to go.  I never understand that, a lot can happen in five minutes of football and you never know it could be your turn for a miracle.
Anyway here is a short and somewhat fuzzy (sorry about that) clip of the team celebrating with he Ostkurve after the match.
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Schalke 04 after the international break

10/18/2014

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The international games following the home win against Stuttgart have given us a two week break from Bundesliga games. Naturally this includes Hertha although there was the training game against Erzgebirge Aue at the Amatuerstadion which ended 1:1.

For some in the Hertha squad including Salomon Kalou, Hajime Hosogai, Per Skjelbred, Nico Schulz and others, their international duties have lead to a break in training with their teammates. Naturally this will have disrupted preparations for the next match against Schalke 04 in Gelsenkirchen. Although you could argue Schalke are in the same position Hertha are perhaps more vulnerable as a result of having so many new players who are still in the process of settling in.

Time will tell what impact this will have on the team from the Capital. It has been reported the remaining players are pretty pumped up with a minor scuffle between Ronny and Johnny Heitinga during training.  A bit of aggression is not necessarily a bad thing as long as it is well channeled and hopefully the international players will come back fresh and full if ideas.
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Good new for UK based Hertha fans


For readers in the UK and who have access to BT Sport over the Internet there was some good news in that the game against Schalke was broadcast on "BT Sport 1" at 17:30 (BST) on Saturday.
Clear pictures all around providing you can get access to it!

PictureImage thanks to @HerthaBSC
On match day the Hertha fans were still able to leave the capital for Gelsenkirchen despite the train strike. There are advantages to having Deutsche Bahn as the shirt sponsor for the club!

It would have been better if the travelling fans hadn't had to get back to Berlin at 04:30 after the 2:0 defeat.  One great thing however was to hear the Hertha fans singing louder than the locals at the start of the match!


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Stuttgart at home

10/4/2014

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It is a fine sunny day on the Day of German Unity (Tag der Deutschen Einheit) here in Berlin. It is remarkably warm bearing in mind it is October - our outdoor thermometer says 24°C! That's pretty amazing for the time if year but hey, I'm not complaining.

We plan a wander around Potsdam before the match as we have a visitor from England with us for the weekend. The gardens and palaces look so pretty in the autumn sunshine.

The evening held the main event - Hertha v VfB Stuttgart. As always I was hoping for another home win and a vital three points.  A few snaps taken during the evening . .
Well, I was hoping for another home win and a vital three points and  I got my wish! 

A 3:2 home win and for a few hours at least Hertha is up to twelfth place in the table.  A brace for Salomon Kalou, a nice finish for Roy Beerens and even Sandro Wagner got a goal . . . 
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Here is a clip showing the Hertha hard-core singing their support for the team before the game.  Huge swathes of the crowd standing and clapping in time to the Ostkurve beat during parts of the match, especially near the end - simply superb.
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