| 29.08.2008 |
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| Amidst all the brow-furrowing over Schalke's massacre in Madrid on Wednesday, it largely went unnoticed that German sides Hertha Berlin and Stuttgart were having some international success on Thursday. Both clubs dispatched obscure Eastern European opponents to win the Intertoto Cup, alias the UEFA Cup qualifications, or, as they known in German soccer fan slang, the doner-kebab competition. These low-level tournaments are reminiscent of a ride along the transit highway from West Germany to Berlin back before the fall of the Iron Curtain. The stadiums seem much more dimly lit than usual, the stands are largely deserted, and there are few visible signs of anyone making any money. Hertha's match -- against a Slovenian side called NK Interblock Ljubljana -- was in fact played out in a Communist relic of an arena. Madonna had already booked Berlin's Olympic Stadium, forcing a move into the city center and back through time that probably took a few soccer star egos down a peg or two. Of course, I had to attend. How could I, a fan willing to brave hour-long train rides to watch the mediocrity usually on display in the Olympic Stadium, refuse to do the same, when it was only three tram stops away and available for half-price? I got what I paid for. I had hardly settled into my Soviet-era, puke-orange plastic seat, when midfielder Patrick Ebert curled in a free kick from 30 meters to put Hertha up 3-nil on aggregate. It was effectively game, set and match -- after 90 seconds. The remaining 90-plus minutes were such that the home fans began imploring their team to run up the score or concede a goal or do pretty much anything other than what they were doing, which was sweet **** all. "Hey, you millionaires, how about working for your money like I do?" bellowed one frustrated spectator, before adding: "Okay, I’m on welfare, but it’s pretty much the same thing." The players on the pitch were unimpressed, continuing to concentrate on avoiding injury and marveling at their opponents' incompetence. So a few supporters took things into their own hands by getting into a fight. That was fun to watch. |
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