Berlin derby

The Berlin derby is the name given to any association football match between two clubs in Berlin, Germany, but has more recently referred to the derby between Hertha BSC and 1. FC Union Berlin.

History

Before reunification
Despite producing more Bundesliga clubs than any other German city, Berlin derbies have been a rarity during the history of the current German top division. During the 1950s, an intense rivalry between Tennis Borussia Berlin and Hertha BSC developed. A proposal for a merger between the two clubs in 1958 was resoundingly rejected, with only three of the 266 members voting in favour. On 16 November 1974, the first Bundesliga Berlin derby between Tennis Borussia Berlin and Hertha BSC took place at the Olympiastadion, with Hertha winning 3–0, who were playing at their home ground despite being the designated away team. On 10 May 1975, Hertha completed the double over Tennis Borussia Berlin, winning 2–1, again at the Olympiastadion. Following TeBe Berlin's relegation at the end of the 1974–75 Bundesliga season, the pair did not meet again until 13 November 1976, with Hertha winning 2–0, and met for a final time in the 1976–77 Bundesliga on 16 April 1977, with TeBe achieving their sole victory against Die Alte Dame 2–1. All meetings between the pair were hosted at the Olympiastadion. A decade later, three Berlin clubs were involved in the 1985–86 2. Bundesliga: Hertha BSC and Tennis Borussia, both relegated, and Blau-Weiß 1890 who finished runners-up to reach the top division for the only season in their history. A few years prior, in 1982, plans for another merger involving Hertha were drawn up with Tennis Borussia Berlin, Blau-Weiß Berlin and SC Charlottenburg. The plan, nicknamed "FC Utopia" by critics, ultimately failed.

 
Meanwhile in East Berlin, in the DDR-Oberliga, city derbies were more commonplace. BFC Dynamo, moved into Berlin from Dresden in 1954, were seen as the club of the East German establishment, with Stasi chief Erich Mielke backing the club to such an extent the club won ten consecutive Oberliga titles between 1979 and 1988, with allegations of sporting misconduct fueling a rivalry with Köpenick-based club 1. FC Union Berlin. Clashes between Dynamo and Union fans regularly broke out at games between the pair, with Union Berlin being seen as an anti-establishment club, with anti-GDR sentiment becoming commonplace in Union Berlin's fanbase. In 1953 another club, known as Vorwärts, originally founded in Leipzig and associated with the East German army, was transplanted to Berlin to increase the military profile in the capital; they won six GDR titles and two cups in the 1960s before being relocated again to Frankfurt an der Oder in 1971 and later disbanded (their successor today being 1. FC Frankfurt), which allowed BFC Dynamo to take their place as the dominant state-supported team in East Berlin.

During the separation of East and West Germany, Hertha BSC and Union Berlin developed a friendship between both sets of supporters, with Hertha fans visiting the Stadion An der Alten Försterei and Union Berlin fans accompanying Hertha BSC fans whenever Hertha played in East Germany or Eastern Bloc countries (e.g. when Hertha played Dukla Prague in the 1978–79 UEFA Cup quarter-finals). The slogan "Hertha und Union – eine Nation" (Hertha and Union - one nation) was a popular phrase between both sets of supporters during the divide of Germany.

During Hertha and Union's separation, Hertha also held a rivalry with fellow Berlin club SC Tasmania 1900 Berlin (who unexpectedly spent one season in the Bundesliga in 1965–66 when Hertha were demoted for rule breaches and a Berlin entrant was sought for political reasons, with a record low points total recorded by the part-time Tasmania squad) however the rivalry was more one-sided on Tasmania's part and still exists today in their successor SV Tasmania Berlin.

After reunification
On 9 November 1989, the Berlin Wall fell after 28 years of politically, and physically, dividing Berlin. On 27 January 1990, 79 days after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Hertha hosted Union Berlin at the Olympiastadion in a friendly in front of 51,270 spectators. Fans of both club's paid for admission in East and West Germany's respective currencies and sang songs of German reunification as Hertha won 2–1. New Hertha signing Axel Kruse opened the scoring at the Olympiastadion in the 13th minute, before Union Berlin midfielder  levelled the scores at 1–1 before half-time. Hertha BSC eventually won the tie 2–1, thanks to a long range strike from Dirk Greiser. After reunification, Union Berlin were placed into the third tier NOFV-Oberliga Mitte, winning the division in all three seasons it existed. Numerous lower key friendlies followed the historic January 1990 meeting at the Olympiastadion. On 8 July 2009, Union and Hertha played in a friendly at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei to celebrate the re-opening of the stadium following a season-long renovation period that saw 2,000 volunteers contribute to the building of the stadium. Hertha won the game 5–3.

In two consecutive seasons at the end of the 1990s, Tennis Borussia Berlin were drawn to face Hertha BSC in the DFB-Pokal, during a period when Hertha were among German's strongest teams but TeBe had also acquired a rich backer and made expensive signings in an effort to climb through the divisions. In their first meeting in 1998, TeBe won 4–2 to progress to the quarter-finals in a surprise result (particularly as Hertha qualified for the UEFA Champions League at the end of the season). In 1999's Round of 32, Hertha battled to a 3–2 victory but required extra time to overcome their neighbours.

Bundesliga era
In May 2009, Union Berlin won the 3. Liga, gaining promotion to the 2. Bundesliga. During the 2009–10 Bundesliga season, Hertha BSC were relegated to the 2. Bundesliga. On 17 September 2010, Union Berlin played Hertha BSC in the first ever competitive meeting between the pair. The tie at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei finished 1–1 in front of 18,432 spectators. The return game at the Olympiastadion, played in front of 74,244, finished 2–1 in favour of Union Berlin, with Union Berlin cult hero Torsten Mattuschka scoring the winning free-kick in the 71st minute. By the third competitive meeting between the two, signs that the derby was beginning to turn into a rivalry more than a friendship were beginning to show. After Hertha BSC's 2–1 win at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei, Union Berlin goalscorer Christopher Quiring labelled Hertha's fans Wessis, a semi-derogatory term for West Germans, telling Sport1 "They cheer in our stadium. That makes me puke! You have to digest that first. I don't give a shit about my goal. When the Wessis cheer in our stadium, I get sick". Union Berlin manager Uwe Neuhaus subsequently labelled Quiring a "great Unioner".

In May 2019, Union Berlin gained promotion to the Bundesliga for the first time in their history. Ahead of the first top flight Berlin derby in over 40 years, Hertha BSC expressed a desire to play the game on the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 2019. Union Berlin president Dirk Zingler refused, calling the game a "football class struggle", leading to the game being played a week earlier. An 87th minute Sebastian Polter penalty secured a 1–0 win for Union; the game was temporarily suspended by referee Deniz Aytekin, following fireworks fired by Hertha fans landing amongst Union Berlin fans, as well as on the playing surface. 1,100 police officers were on duty for the game, with Hertha fans burning Union Berlin shirts, flags and scarves during the game. Following full time, Union Berlin goalkeeper Rafał Gikiewicz won praise from fans and media alike after ushering Union Berlin ultras from the field of play, following a minor pitch invasion devised to attack Hertha supporters.

Full list of results
Includes all matches between Hertha BSC, 1.FC Union and BFC Dynamo, and other matches between all other Berlin clubs played in the 1. Bundesliga (from 1963), the 2. Bundesliga (from 1974) and the DDR-Oberliga (1949 to 1991); results listed alphabetically by main name of team, then by date. Scores list home team first in all cases.

Blau-Weiß 90 Berlin v Hertha BSC

Blau-Weiß 90 Berlin v Tennis Borussia Berlin

SC Charlottenburg v Hertha BSC

BFC Dynamo v Union Berlin

Lower divisions / cups / friendlies

DDR-Oberliga

BFC Dynamo v Vorwärts Berlin

Hertha BSC v Tennis Borussia Berlin

Lower divisions / cups / friendlies

Bundesliga

Hertha BSC v Union Berlin

Friendly

Competitive

Spandauer SV v Tennis Borussia Berlin

Spandauer SV v Wacker 04 Berlin

Tennis Borussia Berlin v Wacker 04 Berlin

Union Berlin v Vorwärts Berlin

References

Category:Hertha BSC
Category:1. FC Union Berlin
Category:Tennis Borussia Berlin
Category:Berliner FC Dynamo
Category:Association football rivalries in Germany
Category:Football in Berlin
Category:Sport in Berlin