Berlin Football | Union Berlin v. FC St. Pauli - Pure Atmosphere!

[GuyGermanLatic]

It's been quite a while since I last wrote one of these. This report I'm doing now isn't new either - it's from before I even visited Tennis Borussia Berlin earlier this year. This is from March when FC St. Pauli came to Berlin in the second leg of the season. Whilst Union Berlin were looking to gain promotion, FC St. Pauli were trying to keep their heads above water in the 2. Bundesliga.

The teams played not so long ago at the kick-off of the 2013/2014 season, which was perhaps one of the most memorable matches I've ever seen: FC St. Pauli were winning 2:0 in the first 10 minutes of the game which left the Iron Union shocked. Somehow though they managed to bring it back level and even send the Hamburgers home packing as Union won 3:2. Crazy stuff.

 

In the past I've written how lovely the weather was or how nice it was for Berlin to finally be warm again. Sadly Berlin is :censored:ing freezing in the Winter. Just a few weeks before this I'd stupidly chosen to walk home from work instead of getting the underground assuming it'd be quicker and "not so cold." -15 my arse! I couldn't go to this match - or so I thought - as I finished work around 4:30 leaving things tight before kick-off which was at 6. Union Berlin play at the Stadion an der Alten Fösterei (what a name) which is located in south-east Berlin, quite a way from the city centre anyway.

 

As I got home though a friend called: "I've got tickets. Let's go!" I ate as much wurst as I could, chugged it down with some Warsteiner and flew out of the door. I got the first tram I could find and headed to his place where we'd drive to the stadium. Now this guy is a through-and-through Union fan, something I didn't quite think about on my way there. So he hands me my ticket designated for the block beside the Union ultras and we're off. Just as a reminder about how football in the UK is a rip-off:

2. Bundesliga ticket: £10

The ground is in the heart of what was East Berlin. Union Berlin was a representative of what was East German pride and its name comes from the socialist principles its country was very loosely founded upon. As you all know however that's gone now but the mentality hasn't quite faded. Union fans are extremely proud of and loyal to their club. When rebuilding the stadium, fans offered to help out and can officially say that they built their new stadium themselves. The main stand especially (with it being the newest stand - only a few months old) was their latest and greatest creation. The club's nickname is Eisern Union (Iron Union) and actions like that kind of justify the name.

 

There were streams of fans flooding towards the stadium. A see of red was everywhere you looked with only the odd brown shirt or Jolly Rodger hoody breaking it up. We went left towards the end where the ultras were found. You could see them at the side of the stand singing and causing one hell of a racket, huge flags included. It was like waiting to get in Glastonbury: I looked down and realised we were all standing in a big pile of :censored:ty mud. Nobody seemed to care though: this is their club and you they'd do anything to see them play, rain or shine.

 

 

Just before we went in we got the usual body pat down from security. A lot of German fans hate this: they believe it makes them out to be criminals just because they want to use pyro as a way of expression (which is that what they sneak in). As a Union flag says: "Pyrotechnik legaliseren - Emotionen respektieren!" (Legalise pyrotechnics - respect emotions!)

 

The ground is built on like a mound. You have to walk up some steps to get to the stands. Just at the bottom of these stairs though are the most clever inventions I've ever seen: 4 criss-cross walls and in each inner part a urinal. It's the solution to the German beer/football problem every fan has been waiting for - quick and simple. I normally go out of my way to get some photos but you can do one if you think I was going back for a snap of some blokes having a piss outside...

 

It was bitter cold that night. I was wrapped up well - thank God - but it must've easily been below -5. We'd just got to the stop of the stairs to be greeted by an almighty roar from the Union fans. They were singing along to their club's anthem "Immer Wieder Eisern Union" (Always Eisern Union again - hard to translate into English). They were also displaying some sort of choreography which I rushed down to get a picture of. The stands were full, the fans were awesome and not a seat was to be seen - all terrace, baby!

 

 

 

"Keiner kriegt uns klein, was zählt, ist der Verein! | Nobody gets us small, what counts is the club!"

 

At kick-off the fans didn't stop. It was 90 minutes of pure atmosphere! Union and St. Pauli just couldn't out-do one another in the first half. They were purely equal having the same amount of chances as well as the same amount of defensive success. When Union did manag to pull ahead St. Pauli brought themselves right back in it with an equaliser - not something to silence to the ultras of course. Both fans at each end were going for it. It was Union though who managed to upset the St. Pauli fans once more by slotting in a goal just before half-time leaving Eisern Union 2:1 up in a vital fixture.

 

I always feel like they've got things right in Germany. They have this ability of being able to have their cake and eat it. I walked down a little to the bottom of the stand right up to the fences. I couldn't help but think the Margaret Thatcher brigade would be all over this if it were in the UK. Germany doesn't even have problem with crowd surging so terraces and fences are common place at almost every ground you go to - even Bayern München's.

 

 

One of the best things about buying a beer at a German match isn't the fact you can drink it wherever you want: it's the cup it's in. Imagine a plastic pint glass with a long, L-shaped handle. Silly, you might think. The idea is that you can hook than onto the fence without it getting kicked over or giving someone a beer shower when a goal's scored. Ingenious!

 

St. Pauli were making a bit of noise during half-time with an interesting brown-red choreography to protest how their club is being overrun by hipster knobheads - which it sadly is. They held up this sign in between which appeared to be in Italian. All I could make of it were the ending words "...militante antifascista" (militant anti-fascists) - seems safe.

 

 

The second-half looked promising from the start. When a ball fell to a St. Pauli player quite a way out of the box, the ever-singing Union fans paused as they watched an absolute bullet of a shot beat the Berlin keeper bringing the sides back level - 2:2. It was a kick in the balls for Union but performance was on their side. The lack of endurance and consistency is that which had placed St. Pauli so low in the table in the first place.

It was only a matter of time until a slip-up by the keeper Philip Tschauner of St. Pauli put the Berliners back in front. It seemed inevitable somehow as St. Pauli stopped creating chances and fell onto the back foot. One of the best things about Union is their fan-relations. When they'd scored the announcer almost had a conversation with the fans as they all roared as loud as they could replying to him:

 

Announcer | Fans

GOAL for 1. FC Union Berlin!

Goalscorer, number [X - first name]

[second name], football God!

New score: 1. FC Union Berlin!
Three!
FC St. Pauli...

None!*

And never forget...
EISERN UNION, EISERN UNION, EISERN UNION!

*They say none regardless of how many the opposition has scored

 

With that goal the game was almost sealed. St. Pauli looked tired and the Union fans were singing their boys home to another 3 points on the table. Eventually the lads from Hamburg couldn't hold out any longer and let yet another goal in the net leaving the final score at 4:2 to 1. FC Union Berlin.

 

 

The players did their standard lap of honour until they finally reached the ultra section. It's traditional in Germany for players to do this and finish with the iconic raised arms "Whay!" chant. Almost everyone in the surrounding stands stayed behind (apart from the main stand) including the FC St. Pauli fans who raised their scarves and started singing "You'll Never Walk Alone."

 

I've been to quite a few grounds in Berlin now. I've seen teams from the first league to the sixth and I have to say that this lot has to be the most passionate bunch I've come across yet. This is THEIR club which THEY built. They have a lot to be proud of for a team which every year is on the brink of sealing promotion yet gets pushed out at the last second. I hope Union go on to get promoted to the 1. Bundesliga. They may not have the bigger stadium, larger fan base or iconic players but they certainly do have a certain panache that is unmatchable to the Hertha giants.

 

As the signs read all across the stands of the stadium:

OUR LOVE - OUR TEAM - OUR PRIDE - OUR CLUB

Fancy having your ears blown off by the atmosphere that night? Have a watch of the video which highlights the best bits of the noise the fans made!

Edited September 17, 2013 by GuyGermanLatic