The Beautiful Game in Berlin

On Sunday 16^th March, we went down to Schwalbe bar in Stargarderstrasse to watch a televised football match between SpVgg Greuther Fürth and  1. FC Union Berlin.  Holing up in a bar to watch a televised match or, on a dark winter Saturday afternoon, the ‘Konferenz’ – the German equivalent of Soccer Saturday – has become a favourite pastime since we moved here.  The Konferenz is gripping – whereas on Soccer Saturday, the action is conveyed verbally to the viewer by members of a studio-based panel and an army of reporters stationed at various grounds, the Konferenz actually switches to the matches themselves, showing each goal and each significant bit of action.  Although Schwalbe is a bar for followers of F.C. Koln, Freiburg and Union, the clientele generally includes supporters of just about every Bundesliga team, who cheer noisily or drop their heads into their hands depending on how their team is progressing. 

Whether live in the stadium or on TV in a dedicated sports bar, watching football in Germany is a delight.  It is also something that an increasing number of English fans are embracing.  Often, but by no means always, the motivation for fans’ defection to the Bundesliga is purely economic.  When one considers that a season ticket for F.C. Bayern can be bought for not much more than two match day tickets to a high-profile Premiership fixture, the attraction becomes even more understandable.

Once, in a bar in Birmingham, I got talking to a local who was wearing a St Pauli T-shirt.  He explained that, although a life-long Villa fan, he could no longer justify the cost of a game.  It was, he said, more rewarding for him to travel to Germany to watch the 2. Bundesliga side.  Pauli, with its famous anti-racist/sexist/homophobic stance, is a popular choice of club for many who look to Germany for fulfilment of their footballing needs, and its left-leaning ideology has long attracted followers of an anarchic or alternative bent.  The club had an avowed commitment to eradicating prejudice and discrimination long before the footballing authorities acknowledged a need to act and long before the well-intentioned but largely ineffective ‘kick it out’ type campaigns were established.   Although based in Hamburg, the appeal of Pauli is far-reaching.  Here in Berlin, it is common to see people walking around in clothing which bears the distinctive St Pauli skull and crossbones motif.

However, nearly every German club seems to have a British following of some sort.  Berlin itself is home to two clubs which regularly attract a decent number of British fans – Hertha BSC, a top-flight club which plays its home games at the monumental Olympiastadion in the far west of the city, and 1. F.C. Union, which can be found further East in the suburb of Köpenick.  Many English fans have found their way here and, for one reason or another, chosen to follow Union rather than their better-known rivals.  There is a unique and captivating atmosphere at Union which has to be experienced to be properly appreciated.

During the Cold War, Union remained in the shadow of BFC Dynamo, whose stature (under Stasi patronage) in East German football, was massive – the club won the league on ten consecutive occasions between 1979 and 1988.  Union was a solid, working class club with an outspoken resistance to Stasi authority which made it a natural enemy of Dynamo.  In the years since reunification, Union has worked its way up to a respectable position in 2. Bundesliga, although its progress has been gradual and not without difficulties.

One of the most impressive things about this club is the close links it has with its supporters.  Union fans are passionately devoted to their club.  In 2008, aware that the stadium was in need of modernisation that the club’s finances could not stretch to, fans donated their labour and rebuilt the ground themselves. 

On the pitch, results are almost of secondary importance – the real raison d’etre for the fans is simply to support the team through thick and thin.  This ethos has proven very attractive to a number of British fans, whether Berlin-based ex-pats or visitors who have attended a game at the club’s Stadion an der Alten Forsterei and been so enchanted with the experience that they regularly return.

Mark Wilson and Andrew Cherrie are British fans living in Berlin.  Together, they founded the excellent website ‘Union in Englisch’, which features news, match reports, and general information for English-speaking ‘Unioners’.  It is a labour of love and a fantastic forum for anyone interested in finding out more about the club.

A regular feature on the website is ‘My first time’ in which fans recall their first visit.  In February, I wrote about the first time I went to an Union match (against Bochum in August 2011) which was published on the Union in Englisch site.  To read it, or just to learn more about 1. F.C. Union, go to www.union-berlin.com/

Another interesting article, by online magazine Sausages and Caviar, can be found at www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vd9UDyu8E98

Schwalbe www.schwalbeberlin.de/ is in Stargarderstrasse, a few minutes’ walk from the S- and U-Bahn station at Schönhauser Allee.

Another good venue for televised football is FC Magnet Bar http://www.fcmagnetbar.de/  in   Veteranenstrasse, Mitte.

 

Union in Englisch sticker 'You go to football, we go to Union'