Berlin Derby

The Berlin Derby is the meeting of the German capital's two best-known clubs, Union Berlin and Hertha BSC. It is a fixture shaped by the unusual history of the city itself, and for supporters in Berlin it carries a meaning that reaches well beyond football.

Hertha BSC are one of Berlin's traditional clubs, with a long history and a base in the western part of the city. For many years Hertha carried the ambition of being the capital's leading club, and they play in Berlin's vast Olympic Stadium.

Union Berlin grew up in the east of the city and built a reputation as a club of fierce local loyalty, famously close to its supporters. Union's rise from the lower divisions into the top flight, achieved with their distinctive community spirit intact, won admiration across German football.

The rivalry is coloured by the long division of Berlin, with the two clubs associated with the formerly separated halves of the city. That history gives the derby a weight that few other German fixtures carry, a reminder of how recently the city itself was split in two.

Meetings between Union and Hertha are among the most charged occasions in the capital. They settle local pride and reflect a deeper story about Berlin and its past, which is why the fixture means so much to both sets of supporters whenever it comes around.