Union
By Tim Hobden
Forgive me for breaking with convention, but my love affair
with 1.Fc Union wasn’t forged by the cracking atmosphere. Nor was I wooed by the defiant fan culture. Shockingly, it was the team, the players, and one game in
October 2008, which means I now nervously wait for Tweet updates from the Alte Försterei.
It was a standard lads’ weekend away. I’d managed to lure a
small band of mates away from the confines of an Irish bar – don’t ask me which
one – into the drizzly Prenzlauer Berg afternoon.
I didn’t intend spending four hours mainlining Berliner Pils
while gawping at Soccer Saturday, as it excitedly told me Rotherham were drawing
nil-nil with Macclesfield. Nor did I want to don a sweaty helmet and put my dignity at
risk on a city Segway tour, while an American tourist repeatedly shouted: “So,
where’s Hitler’s bunker?”
I wanted earthy city culture. Not post-modern attempts at
art in a derelict warehouse. I wanted proper sights and sounds. And, I won’t
lie, a decent bratwurst. A simple scan of the interweb informed me of a third
division tie between FC Union and SC Paderborn. That’ll do. A rallying clap of the hands gathered two semi-enthusiastic
pals and one who clearly misheard the activity on offer, while four still found
Jeff Stelling more appealing.
I strode purposefully towards the U-bahn with a finger stuck
to the Kopenick stop on the map and my less than merry band in tow. The thongs of red bobble hats, scarf skirts and sleeveless
denim jackets bubbling out of the station suggested we were headed in the wrong
direction.
On the assumption they weren’t all bound for a 40th
birthday party where the theme was ‘random third division football club’, we
about-turned and followed. Unfortunately, my first experience of Union was at the
less-than-grey Jahn Sportpark. A Soviet-style complex with huge floodlight
pylons arching over the oval.
Cordons of disinterested police stood stony faced as we
purchased bottles of one Euro beer from vendors lent over shopping trolleys… we
all wondered how Rotherham were getting on.
For the record, I got my sausage (two). And we filed into a
block behind the goal. Fans packed into one side, the rest of the stadium was
sparsely populated at best. It was nice to see a series of vehicles parked on the
running track in a flashback to a 1980s Stamford Bridge.
Meanwhile, Paderborn fans obviously hadn’t got the email and
almost universally forgotten to turn up, despite the fact they topped the
league and were facing the second placed team.
As initial impressions go, it was less than inspiring. I was
about to be proven wrong.
A Kop-style display of unfurled scarves and a grumbly choir
shouted out the Eisern anthem. The chants began in earnest and we would get a
taste of Union fans in full flow.
It was, however, all about the game. To be as brief as
possible, Union were two nil down and had a man sent off. They looked dead and
buried. The ten men were beleaguered with a little over 20 minutes
left and we started mulling drinking holes to head to. But, in a script Roy of the Rovers writers would declare too
fanciful (and, yes, they would use that word), Union turned the game on its
head in spectacular fashion. Three goals, including a winner at the death, fired the team
to the top of the league, leapfrogging Paderborn in the process.
A more spirited comeback I don't remember seeing and
haven’t seen since – especially with top spot at stake. And that was it. I was hooked… all over 20 minutes of
football.
By the time we reached the bar, the late afternoon
Premiership match was about to kick-off. We couldn’t have cared less. Talk was about a stunning football match, warming shots of
Jaegermeister to toast each ripple of the net – and, where the hell is
Paderborn?
We had been collared by a supporter in the stadium who told
us all about the fans redeveloping the ground, the rivalry with Dynamo etc. Yes,
it all added spice. But, in truth, it didn't need tarting up. This was my new
team… and to think Soccer Saturday almost got in the way.
Here is a decent snapshot of the afternoon http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXNpiw2d-HI –
listen to the cameraman is the video (for some reason I am picturing a man with
a huge beard).
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