Friends or Enemies? The Berlin Derby

The Berlin derby is set to be played tomorrow night at the Olympiastadion in the German capital between Hertha Berlin and Union Berlin. This game has it's passionate fans, tifo displays and firecrackers. However it will be played in completely different surroundings on Friday night in a behind closed doors match due to the coronavirus outbreak.

You'd expect every football obsessed country to have a top team in it's capital city. London has Arsenal and Chelsea, Rome has Lazio and Roma, Madrid has Atletico and Real, but why are these two clubs in Berlin not top dogs in Germany?

Berlin isn't known for being big football city. Strange considering Germany have won four World Cups. The capital is well known for it's art, music, nightclubs and of course, it's history.

Hertha and Union may have found the answer to the long, endless search for Berlin's football identity.

This game is a rivalry but it's not as bitter as you think. Berlin has had it's fair share of wars in the past. The city was divided for 30 years from 1961 to 1991. The Communist government of East Germany built a wall separating East and West Berlin to stop it's citizens from fleeing to the west of the country.

Since the Berlin Wall got knocked down in 1991, the older generations supporters of these two clubs consider this game to be about friendship, due to the cities past prolonged divide. It's a good time for fans to unite, come together, have a laugh but at the same time represent their clubs. Forget those dark bitter years.

However times have moved on since 1991, and the younger crowd see this game as the battle of Berlin.

It's a battle but it's no Montagues v Capulets.

To sum it up, the hatred between both sets of fans is only fierce and tense in the 90 minutes on the pitch, but off the pitch, it's back to being friends - You could never imagine West Ham and Millwall doing that.

The Last Time They Met:

Union 1-0 Hertha, 02/11/19 - The first ever meeting in the Bundesliga.

Table Positions:

Hertha: 11th

Union: 12th

(You just can't separate them!)

Latest Results:

Hoffenheim 0-3 Hertha Berlin (16/05/20)

Union Berlin 0-2 Bayern Munich (17/05/20)

Top Scorers (Bundesliga Only):

Hertha: Dodi Lukebakio (5)

Union: Sebastian Andersson (11)

Form:

Hertha: (LWLDDW)

Union: (LWDLLL)