It’s big one this afty! Two hours before kick off and the S3 carriages are already groaning with cheerful polyester fatties, packed as tightly as the oaty goodness into a Harry Kane Cinnamon Loop. This is my first time back at the Station der Altern Försterei since promotion, and (once inside) it has changed… not even slightly. This is a GOOD thing.
There are a LOT of St Pauli shirts in Berlin today. Mostly of the white skull/black tee variety rather than the replica shirt variety. This isn’t (mainly) because of travelling Hamburgers. Rather, it is testament to a football club whose global reach, due to its socio-political positioning, far outstrips it’s purely sporting CV. This has happened in a bottom-up fashion and is a GOOD thing.
It’s a rare excursion for me to the heady heights of the Bundesliga 1. The revolutionary vanguard of the working class (Pauli) come up against the actual working class (Union). Stereotypes – or, perhaps, more accurately archetypes, that contain truth. The massed wearers of the Skull & Crossbones = doughty warriors of the progressive Left. Union Berlin = a proud community club, built (literally) by their own fans.
There are some (tenuous) Hull City links here. The likeable moptop Jackson Irvine, 107 games for City between 2017 and 2020, is now club captain at Pauli. Chris Bedia, of Ivory Coast & Union Berlin (though only starting 7 times for Union) , was on loan at City last season, playing 21 times. He now plays in Switzerland.
Anyway. Here in Berlin, 12th plays 16th in a massive fixture for both teams.
Union are within touching distance of safety – another 5 or 6 points will do it- and also (after 7 years now at this level) probably closer than touching distance to becoming the recognised #1 football club in the German capital. BSC Hertha Berlin, with an exciting young team, are currently lurking with intent at 7th in Bundesliga 2, eyeing a play-off place which could bring them up against…
St Pauli, who lie in 16th, occupying the play-off place and desperate to claw their way past either Bremen or FC Köln. And having watched Köln a few times recently, I think eff-zeh will be ok…which leaves a straight scrap with Bremen.
Incidentally, apropos of nothing at all, these two teams happen to have been the subjects of two of the best football books of recent years:
‘Another Football is Possible’ by Carles Vinas / Natxo Parra
and ‘Scheiße! We’re Going Up!’ by Kit Holden.
Both are highly recommended !
