Actually, all protagonists at Hertha and Union agreed, the derbies should be the highlight of the season. Now everything is different because of Corona and the controversial ghost games.
Berlin (dpa) - Before the first Bundesliga derby between Hertha and Union, all of Berlin was electrified, even the celebrities from entertainer Günther Jauch to discus-throwing Olympic champion Robert Harting were thrilled with the past November.
Hertha manager Michael Preetz spoke of "radiance" for the city, Union President Dirk Zingler of "football class struggle". Well, in times of Corona, there is not much left of the derby feeling when 1. FC Union, which was founded in 1966 as one of ten GDR football clubs, and Hertha BSC, the founding member of the Bundesliga newly motivated by millions of investors, for the sixth time to meet in a competitive game.
Before the kick-off in the huge but empty Olympic stadium on Friday (8.30 p.m.), players and officials are trying to build tension despite the unreal situation. "It is a game under special conditions, but it remains a derby. So it will be very explosive," said Preetz: "Of course it will not be a derby as everyone would like it to be, but one thing will apply to the players: if the Whistle the referee, they're totally focused. " And Union trainer Urs Fischer said: "A derby victory always means something to me."
But after the pictures from the first ghost matchday of substitute players with face masks and huge gap, but also tough duels, of course with physical contact and Hertha cheers after their own goals, the critics also remain with their opinion. "This whole spectacle has nothing to do with the football that we love and support," said the support group Ostkurve. It was also open "whether the ghost games should ensure the survival of the clubs or simply save the existing salary structures in the millions," wrote the association of various Hertha fan clubs on Twitter.
Two days before the special Derby reissue, fans who did not turn away were still worried whether they would be able to see live pictures of the game at all via a streaming service. The German Football League had to reassign the rights for the Friday games after Eurosport had not agreed to the modalities of the season continuation. "We assume that the game will be shown on television," said Union spokesman Christian Arbeit. He described the probability that the match at the start of matchday 27 in the Olympic Stadium will not be visible to the fans as "relatively small".
Hertha head coach Bruno Labbadia "no longer wants to deal with the circumstances during the Corona crisis". Instead, it is important to "focus on what we can influence". His Union colleague Fischer, who had not been on the bench due to a bereavement in his family in the recent 0-2 of the Iron against FC Bayern, said: "I will try to get the focus on the game, even if it doesn't is that simple. " And the Swiss player followed in derby mode: "I'm sure I'll do it." After two negative corona tests, Fischer can coach his team in the Olympic Stadium.
Motivation would draw his team above all from the sporting course of the first leg, which Hertha had lost 1-0 to Bundesliga promoted Union through a last-minute goal from Sebastian Polter, Preetz reported: "This is a huge opportunity for us to strike back We haven't forgotten what happened in the last game. " The outsider has already won two of the five competitive derbies, Hertha only one. "That's why it's so important to us," emphasized Preetz. In the current table, Hertha has now overtaken the Unioners and as eleventh with 31 points one point more than the twelfth-placed city rival.
Bundesliga table
Hertha squad
Hertha game plan
Union squad
