The last few weeks have been a bit of a rollercoaster for Hertha. We’ve had some good times where we took Bayern by the scruff of the neck, gave them a shake and found very little falling out. A quite remarkable win at home against a team that has dominated recent Bundesliga seasons. The atmosphere in the Olympiastadion for that game was electric perhaps especially because nobody quite believed it was happening. In the first half in particular, Hertha bossed the champions and despite hanging on a little in parts of the second half they richly deserved the 2:0 victory. Good times indeed.
I want dwell on the details of that game as it was some time ago now but I thought it would be worth sharing a snapshot of how Hertha fans enjoyed the day.
I want dwell on the details of that game as it was some time ago now but I thought it would be worth sharing a snapshot of how Hertha fans enjoyed the day.
Following on from the epic win against Bayern Hertha had what felt like bad times. Perhaps only bad when compared to the euphoria of match day six. Hertha had two draws firstly against Mainz and then Freiburg at home. To be honest although we picked up two valuable points the results felt like two losses. Perhaps that is nor fair but that’s the way it felt especially as our next appointment was with high flying Dortmund. The prospects certainly didn’t look good.
The impressive Signal Iduna Park (Westfalenstadion) was the venue for the encounter with the league leaders Dortmund. I guess nobody expected too much from this match but after taking all three points from Bayern a few weeks before hope was not absent by any means.
There were 80,000 or so supporters in the stadium for the game and some of those were to play a part in what would become an ugly period of match-day nine. Initially I will only address the events on the pitch but I will broaden my scope later on to include the “ugly”.
The early minutes were all Dortmund with Hertha defending for their lives however in the 8th minute Achraf Hakini blocked Duda on a counter attacking run and picked up a yellow in the process. A minute or so later Kalou won a duel to get the ball to Ibisivic who sadly lost the ball but it showed the home side wasn’t having it all their own way.
In the seventeenth minute Hertha fans had to yank their hearts out of their moths as the English rising star Jason Sancho slotted the ball into the net. The goal was disallowed however as the assist pass from Marco Reus came from an offside position albeit only just (by a foot). Nine minutes later Hertha were not quite so lucky however. A cross from Marion Gotze brought the English youngster into a shooting position with just Rekik left to defend against three yellow shirts. That was never going to end well and Jarstein was left with no chance and and no clean sheet.
With just five minutes to go before half time it was time for a little magic from Hertha this time. Maxi Mittlestadt picked up the ball deep in the Hertha half and ran equally deep into the home sides half before placing a great pass over to Kalou. The Ivorian did well to control the ball and get off a shot that proved to be clinical. We were all square again going in at half time.
In the second half we found a returning Darida come on to replace Skelbred who had pulled a muscle. Dortmund didn’t have it all their own way as Darida passes to Kalou but it was really high and he just couldn’t pull it down to get a shot away. A little later Lazaro passed ahead of Darida who slid in trying to get a shot away but again, he couldn’t control it and the ball headed skyward.
The home side had a string of chances which they would regret not taking but with sixty minutes remaining Marco Reus fired off a shot that Jarstein didn’t quite gather in and that man Sancho, just eighteen years old, was there to tap it in.
There was still drama to be enjoyed/endured in the remaining minutes. Some good blocks by the veteran Lustenberger but failed offside traps found Stark scuttling back to clear the ball after Jarstein was forced to parry to ball away. At the other end Selke forced a cracking save from Bürki and a blast from Kalou was blocked by Zagadou’s face! Perhaps Zagadou’s head was still spinning but be rashly fouled Selke in the box just a minute later and the penalty was correctly awarded. Salomon Kalou, calm as you like sent Bürki the wrong way and we were all square at 2:2 in the 91st minute. Strangely, after the two previous games ending in draws feeling like losses this third draw felt like a win. Good times again.
The impressive Signal Iduna Park (Westfalenstadion) was the venue for the encounter with the league leaders Dortmund. I guess nobody expected too much from this match but after taking all three points from Bayern a few weeks before hope was not absent by any means.
There were 80,000 or so supporters in the stadium for the game and some of those were to play a part in what would become an ugly period of match-day nine. Initially I will only address the events on the pitch but I will broaden my scope later on to include the “ugly”.
The early minutes were all Dortmund with Hertha defending for their lives however in the 8th minute Achraf Hakini blocked Duda on a counter attacking run and picked up a yellow in the process. A minute or so later Kalou won a duel to get the ball to Ibisivic who sadly lost the ball but it showed the home side wasn’t having it all their own way.
In the seventeenth minute Hertha fans had to yank their hearts out of their moths as the English rising star Jason Sancho slotted the ball into the net. The goal was disallowed however as the assist pass from Marco Reus came from an offside position albeit only just (by a foot). Nine minutes later Hertha were not quite so lucky however. A cross from Marion Gotze brought the English youngster into a shooting position with just Rekik left to defend against three yellow shirts. That was never going to end well and Jarstein was left with no chance and and no clean sheet.
With just five minutes to go before half time it was time for a little magic from Hertha this time. Maxi Mittlestadt picked up the ball deep in the Hertha half and ran equally deep into the home sides half before placing a great pass over to Kalou. The Ivorian did well to control the ball and get off a shot that proved to be clinical. We were all square again going in at half time.
In the second half we found a returning Darida come on to replace Skelbred who had pulled a muscle. Dortmund didn’t have it all their own way as Darida passes to Kalou but it was really high and he just couldn’t pull it down to get a shot away. A little later Lazaro passed ahead of Darida who slid in trying to get a shot away but again, he couldn’t control it and the ball headed skyward.
The home side had a string of chances which they would regret not taking but with sixty minutes remaining Marco Reus fired off a shot that Jarstein didn’t quite gather in and that man Sancho, just eighteen years old, was there to tap it in.
There was still drama to be enjoyed/endured in the remaining minutes. Some good blocks by the veteran Lustenberger but failed offside traps found Stark scuttling back to clear the ball after Jarstein was forced to parry to ball away. At the other end Selke forced a cracking save from Bürki and a blast from Kalou was blocked by Zagadou’s face! Perhaps Zagadou’s head was still spinning but be rashly fouled Selke in the box just a minute later and the penalty was correctly awarded. Salomon Kalou, calm as you like sent Bürki the wrong way and we were all square at 2:2 in the 91st minute. Strangely, after the two previous games ending in draws feeling like losses this third draw felt like a win. Good times again.
Now we come on to what only be described as the ugly.
As everyone knows the use of pyrotechnics in stadia in Germany is not permitted. It is also well known that they often are used. In this game one of the Hertha Ultra groups - "Hauptstadtmafia" had a 15 year anniversary banner across the front of the away block. At the start there was a choreographer and a number of pyros were set off. Even on the TV coverage the smoke from the pyros could be seen quite clearly.
A little later in the first half I gather that more pyros were set off and at this point the local Police intervened by starting to take down the banner at the front. They did this I gather as they believed more pyros were concealed behind the banner however, banners are a big deal to the ultras and it seriously escalated events.
As you can see to some extent in the video below (posted by "Mr Keim #81" on YouTube - a great clip btw) some ultras jumped down to try and prevent the Police removing the banner and violence ensued. Flares thrown, flag poles used as weapons and toilet facilities vandalised.
I must emphasise - none of this can, should or will be condoned. I believe violence and the wanton destruction of property has absolutely no place in football. Having said this, part of me thinks the police tactics did not help in this particular situation. That is not an excuse in any way and I don't pretend to know how, but if it had been handled differently perhaps nobody would have been hurt.
As everyone knows the use of pyrotechnics in stadia in Germany is not permitted. It is also well known that they often are used. In this game one of the Hertha Ultra groups - "Hauptstadtmafia" had a 15 year anniversary banner across the front of the away block. At the start there was a choreographer and a number of pyros were set off. Even on the TV coverage the smoke from the pyros could be seen quite clearly.
A little later in the first half I gather that more pyros were set off and at this point the local Police intervened by starting to take down the banner at the front. They did this I gather as they believed more pyros were concealed behind the banner however, banners are a big deal to the ultras and it seriously escalated events.
As you can see to some extent in the video below (posted by "Mr Keim #81" on YouTube - a great clip btw) some ultras jumped down to try and prevent the Police removing the banner and violence ensued. Flares thrown, flag poles used as weapons and toilet facilities vandalised.
I must emphasise - none of this can, should or will be condoned. I believe violence and the wanton destruction of property has absolutely no place in football. Having said this, part of me thinks the police tactics did not help in this particular situation. That is not an excuse in any way and I don't pretend to know how, but if it had been handled differently perhaps nobody would have been hurt.
A post on Reddit allegedly a first hand account of the events was posted a few days later under the username - Mzehrer
"It started with the usage of pyrotechnics during the "Hauptstadtmafia" choreography. This is, as we all know, forbidden. I was directly in block 61, the main standing block, with my family and I felt at no time threatened by the pyrotechnics. The Ultra guys always take care while doing this. But officially is is not allowed. So police took action and moved in front of the the block, they tried to remove the choreo banner because they suspected more pyrotechnics that was hidden behind it. Removing banners or flags is not really deescalating, so some people jumped over the fence to prevent this. At this point things went out of hand and the police used pepper spray to get the situation under control. This was a very dangerous move and I felt very threatened! By doing this the police accepted that they could create a mass panic in a standing block with a few thousand people! Fortunately, everyone was very disciplined and it didn't happen. To sum things up, the police action was very unprofessional and dangerous. We regulary have pyrotechnics in the guest block of the Olympiastadion and there never was an escalation like this. Everything after this was the ususal chain of events in a violent escalation."
In my experience, when I've been near where people have let off pyros there was a lot of smoke but I, like Mzehrer, never felt in any danger as a result of them being used. I think I am correct in saying pyros were set off in various DFB Pokal games on the following Tuesday with no resultant injuries. In Dortmund there were 45 injuries and 35 of those resulted from pepper spray used in the police responce. To avoid such regrettable and indeed ugly scenes in the future perhaps both sides need to find some kind of middle ground. How to achieve that I think I'll leave that to cleverer people that me!
In the future I hope we can enjoy a little more of the "good" not so much of the bad and none of the ugly at all.
"It started with the usage of pyrotechnics during the "Hauptstadtmafia" choreography. This is, as we all know, forbidden. I was directly in block 61, the main standing block, with my family and I felt at no time threatened by the pyrotechnics. The Ultra guys always take care while doing this. But officially is is not allowed. So police took action and moved in front of the the block, they tried to remove the choreo banner because they suspected more pyrotechnics that was hidden behind it. Removing banners or flags is not really deescalating, so some people jumped over the fence to prevent this. At this point things went out of hand and the police used pepper spray to get the situation under control. This was a very dangerous move and I felt very threatened! By doing this the police accepted that they could create a mass panic in a standing block with a few thousand people! Fortunately, everyone was very disciplined and it didn't happen. To sum things up, the police action was very unprofessional and dangerous. We regulary have pyrotechnics in the guest block of the Olympiastadion and there never was an escalation like this. Everything after this was the ususal chain of events in a violent escalation."
In my experience, when I've been near where people have let off pyros there was a lot of smoke but I, like Mzehrer, never felt in any danger as a result of them being used. I think I am correct in saying pyros were set off in various DFB Pokal games on the following Tuesday with no resultant injuries. In Dortmund there were 45 injuries and 35 of those resulted from pepper spray used in the police responce. To avoid such regrettable and indeed ugly scenes in the future perhaps both sides need to find some kind of middle ground. How to achieve that I think I'll leave that to cleverer people that me!
In the future I hope we can enjoy a little more of the "good" not so much of the bad and none of the ugly at all.
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