Hertha BSC played a total of 1318 games in the Bundesliga. Since 1963 there have also been numerous competitive games in other competitions. And the first almost 70 years of the club’s history are not even taken into account, for example the games at Berlin level from the end of the 19th century.
In short: countless games have been played since the club was founded on July 25, 1892. This will be the 130th anniversary on Monday and there is a new book about the club just in time for the milestone birthday.
Sports journalist Michael Jahn has attempted to list the 100 most important games in Hertha’s history. From the beginnings in the founding year in friendship against Berolina to winning the relegation second leg at Hamburger SV two months ago. Unfortunately, there are hardly any games from the first three decades, which is due to the scarce source situation.
“The selection was difficult and one can certainly discuss it,” reads the foreword. That’s the beauty of listings like this. One of the greatest tasks of the author, who has accompanied Hertha BSC for almost a quarter of a century for the “Berliner Zeitung”, was the narrowing down: where to start? And where to stop?
The list is arranged chronologically, which was definitely the right decision compared to a possible ranking by importance – which would have been much more difficult to do. There are games that shouldn’t be missed. Championship finals from the mid-1920s, big games in national and international cups, unforgettable games in the promotion and relegation battle.
Then there are games that will be forever ingrained in the collective fan memory and will provide an “oh yeah, remembered” effect. To name just a few: The attendance record in the Bundesliga against 1. FC Köln, the record win against Borussia Dortmund, the second division game against SG Wattenscheid 09 two days after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the victory in the second division against 1. FC Kaiserslautern in the sold out Olympic Stadium.
It gets exciting with the games that are not in the first row of memories for everyone. Their mention – with text, Hertha’s line-up, number of spectators and goal scorers – is completely justified. Be it the promotion to the Bundesliga in front of 80,000 spectators against SV Alsenborn or the away win at Hannover 96 with four goals from Erich Beer.
Other encounters might raise the question of what qualifies them for this exclusive list. About the 5-0 win against BFC Südring in 1950 in the contract league. The explanation may surprise you – and it is convincing.
There are not only great victories, almost a third are defeats. Here, too, it goes far beyond the most well-known games, keywords TuS Langerwehe or BVL 08 Remscheid. At the end of the entertaining foray into Hertha’s history, fans will ask themselves: What else would I have included?
The 3:0 against Tennis Borussia in 1957 in the packed Olympic Stadium, which brought Hertha the first Berlin championship after the Second World War? The premiere victory in the Bundesliga at Meidericher SV in 1963, when Helmut Rahn received the first dismissal in the history of the league? The 5:2 after 0:2 against FC Gütersloh in 1997 in the second division? Or, or, or … As suggested in the foreword, this should provide material for exciting discussions.