OMG — Hertha BSC
‘Berlin is poor but sexy’ is a line usually attributed to former mayor Klaus Wowereit.
Scandals and Affairs
‘Berlin is poor but sexy’ is a line
‘Berlin is poor but sexy’ is a line usually attributed to former mayor Klaus Wowereit.
usually attributed to former mayor Klaus Wowereit. However poor, quirky and pulsing the capital may be, in footballing Europe Berlin has very little to say. No other capital in the European top five leagues has a football record as unsuccessful as reunified Germany’s capital. In footballing terms, Berlin is poor and not particularly sexy.
Even Austria does it better: Berlin is the
Even Austria does it better: Berlin is the only capital city in the top five leagues where the capital’s leading club regularly oscillates between mediocrity and second-division football.
only capital city in the top five leagues where the capital’s leading club regularly oscillates between mediocrity and second-division football. Set aside the title collectors from London, Paris, Rome and Madrid and even Vienna can boast more. Rapid Vienna alone have 32 Austrian titles; Hertha only two German championships – and those came more than 80 years ago.
Financial Crises and Power Struggles
Bundesliga scandal: no team took more bribe money
Bundesliga scandal: no team took more bribe money than Hertha.
than Hertha. During the great Bundesliga bribery scandal of 1971, no club in the corruption swamp of manipulated matches actually accepted more money than the Berliners. There was talk of 240,000 marks for a single match, a 1:0 defeat to Arminia Bielefeld. Fifteen players were banned, some for life, and Hertha’s team fell apart.
The fog match against Barcelona: whenever Berlin does
The fog match against Barcelona: whenever Berlin does make it into Europe, luck tends to desert it – and then misfortune often shows up too.
make it into Europe, luck tends to desert it – and then misfortune often shows up too. On November 23, 1999, dense fog descended over the Olympiastadion for Hertha’s Champions League home match against Barcelona. Russian referee Nikolaj Levnikov still let the game kick off.
Most spectators merely sensed Luis Enrique’s two goals and Kai Michalke’s equalizer. The fans oscillated between fury and sarcasm.
Curiosities and the Unbelievable
And one more political note: at Hertha BSC
And one more political note: at Hertha BSC it is considered a major defeat that after 1990 the club never truly managed to become popular in East Berlin.
it is considered a major defeat that after 1990 the club never truly managed to become popular in East Berlin. Hertha has fans in West Berlin and Brandenburg, but in many parts of the East it is still seen as a typical West Berlin club with a provincial Spandau-Charlottenburg vibe. Then came the attempt to use Lars Windhorst’s money to turn Hertha into a ‘Big City Club.’
Lars Windhorst: swap a big New York-based investment
Lars Windhorst: swap a big New York-based investment company for Lars Windhorst.
company for Lars Windhorst. Hertha BSC instead of REAL. Football instead of supermarkets.
After failing with a German retail deal, Windhorst bought into Hertha through his Tennor vehicle for 125 million euros. As of 2019 the idea was that he could rise to 49.9 percent in the Hertha BSC GmbH & Co. KGaA – no more, because of the 50+1 rule.
The club sold roughly half its shares for about 225 million euros. At current transfer prices, that buys you one elite defense, one elite midfield or one elite attack. Once.
But the shares are gone forever. Big City Club – OMG.