The First Visit

After arriving in Berlin we all decided to buy the Hertha Berlin home shirt as we could wear these for match day. However we didn't expect the rather surreal experience that followed, with what felt like everyone in Berlin either starring at us, mocking us, or the general football abuse/banter from the thousands of visiting Schalke fans.

On route to the Olympic Stadium there was a good mix of home and away support with most people enjoying a sing along without a hint of trouble. What we didnt realise before we organised the trip to Berlin was that Hertha were fighting relegation and Schalke challenging at the top of the table. What's more after a recent 2-2 draw with Nürnberg, 150 'ultras' invaded the pitch, chased the players with flag poles and dismantled the dugouts. This resulted in the notorius Ostkurve to remain empty for their following game (a 1-0 loss to VfB Stuttgart) and only allowed to sell 25,000 tickets. A cracking game in prospect then...


I'll leave the match report up to someone else, however I must say the atmosphere from both sets of supporters was the loudest I have ever experienced. 5 English boys in their Hertha shirts sat next to the away supporters also made us stand out like a sore thumb, and it was hard not to join in with the constant wave of song from Schalke supporters. Ultimately a defeat which all but condems Hertha to relegation, but a great day out had by all. We will continue to follow Hertha in Bundesliga 2 next year and maybe even a trip to the Allianz Arena against 1860 Munich. Who knows, this time next year we may be celebrating the success of winning a league title!