Hertha BSC History

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Description

Full name: Hertha-Berliner Sport-Club von 1892 e.V.
Nickname(s): Die Alte Dame (The Old Lady), The Blue-Whites
Founded: July 25, 1892
Stadium: Olympic Stadium, Berlin
Stadium Capacity: 74,500
Chairman:  Dieter Hoeneß
Manager:  Lucien Favre
League: Bundesliga
Home colors: Blue and white
Away colors: Red and black


 

Overview

Herta Berlin, based in Berlin, Germany, was founded in 1892 as BFC Herta 92. It was one of the founding members of the German Football Association in 1900. The name of this club is inspired by something that does not even remotely resemble a football. One of four young men, who were responsible for the establishment of this club, had been on a trip on a steamship with his father. He suggested that the group name the club after this steamship. Herta is also another form of the name of a Germanic deity of fertility.


 

Early Success

The club proved to be extremely successful during the first years of its history. It won a Berlin Championship in 1905. Although successful on the field, the club had to face intense financial struggles. Its financial instability prompted it to merge with a richer club called Berliner Sport Club and become Herta Berliner Sport Club. The resulting team continued tasting success on the field.

From 1926 to 1931, the club made it to the championship finals six times, but they won the title only twice in 1930 and 1931. It emerged as Germany’s second most successful team during the years between the two World Wars. In 1933 the club was playing in Gauliga Berlin-Brandenburg. It regularly finished in the upper half of the table and captured the division title in 1935, 1937, and 1944. After the war, however, the club’s spell of success ended, and it was dissolved by the Allied authorities.

 
 
Hertha better than FCB!
 
Created on: 5/22/2008
 
By: AlonaS
 
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Post-WWII

In 1945, the club, reborn as SG Gesundbrunnen, began playing in Oberliga Berlin, Gruppe C. In 1949, it regained its identity as Herta BSC Berlin and earned a place for itself on the top. Due to the Cold War, the team was prevented from playing against East German teams in the 1949-50 seasons. In the 50s, the team developed an intense rivalry with Tennis Borussia Berlin. It was so bitter that a proposal for the merger of the two teams was rejected fiercely.

In 1963, the Bundesliga was established. Since the club was a champion in Berlin, it easily gained entry into the top division. It was demoted from the top league in 1964-65 when it got entangled in a bribery case, in which the club was accused of attempting to bribe players. Although it managed to return to the top division in 1968-69, it got caught in a match fixing scandal again in 1971. Investigations into this matter revealed financial irregularities too. The club was found to be in a debt of 6 million DM. However, the club managed to overcome its problems by selling its former home ground.


 

End of Success

In spite of its financial irregularities and its involvement in various scandals, the team enjoyed great success on the field. It finished the 1974-75 season in the second place, made a semi-final appearance in the 1979 UEFA Cup, and two appearances in the finals of the German Cup in 1977 and 1979. The golden decade ended with relegation into the second division, where the club had to spend thirteen of its next seventeen seasons.


 

Recent Times

In 1994, the club found itself steeped in a debt of 10 million DM. It found a way out of its financial mess by selling some of its real estate holdings. It procured a new sponsor and a new management team. By 1997, Herta was back into the Bundesliga. Recently, the club has appeared in the European competitions several times. It has also taken players such as Sebastian Deisler and Marcelinho. The latter has been named as the Bundesliga player of the year in May 2005. Herta has also focused a lot on its youth football academy, which has been an excellent source of young, talented players.


 

Stadium

The club plays its matches in Berlin’s Olympia Stadium, a facility which can accommodate 76,243 spectators. It is the second largest stadium in Germany, the first largest being Borussia Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion. The stadium hosts the finals of the German Cup. It also hosted six matches of the 2006 FIFA World Cup along with the tournament final.

The club played in Plumpe in the city’s wedding district during the initial days of its history. In 1923, a stadium with a capacity of 35,000 seats was built in the same place. The club left this ground when it joined the Bundesliga in 1963. The sale of this property in 1974 saved the club from bankruptcy.


 

Star Players

The following players have gained fame and name in this club: Alex Alves, Mario Basler, Rafael Busch, Yıldıray Baştürk, Erich Beer, Stefan Beinlich, Fredi Bobic, Dick van Burik, Ali Daei, Sebastian Deisler, Vasile Gergely, Christian Giménez, Bart Goor, Thomas Helmer, Hendrik Herzog, Lorenz Horr, Gábor Király, Andreas Köpke, Niko Kovač, Axel Kruse, Christopher Sullivan, Andreas Thom, Dariusz Wosz, Witthaya Hloagune,Witthaya Laohakul, and Tomasz Kuszczak


 

Club's Honours

•    German Champions (2): 1930 and 1931
•    Oberliga Berlin Champions (8):  1925, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, and 1933
•    Gauliga Berlin-Brandenburg Champions (3):  1935, 1937, and 1944
•    Premiere League Cup Champions (2):  2001 and 2002
•    UEFA Intertoto Cup Champions: 2006


 

Current Squad

Goalkeepers: Jaroslav Drobny, Christian Fiedler, Christopher Gäng

Defenders: Arne Friedrich (captain), Steve von Bergen, Sofian Chahed, Josip Šimunić, Amadeus Wallschläger, Malik Fathi, Pascal Bieler, Gojko Kačar

Midfielders: Gilberto, Mineiro, Pál Dárdai, Lúcio, Andreas Schmidt, Patrick Ebert, Tobias Grahn, Bilal Çubukçu, Fabian Lustenberger, Ibrahima Traore, Ljubomir Fejsa

Forwards: Marko Pantelić, Raffael, Solomon Okoronkwo, Lukasz Piszczek, André Lima, Chinedu Ede


Squad
NamePositionGrade FansGroups
Christoph Janker
Defense
1
 0
Christian Lell
Defense
9
 0
Andre Mijatović
Defense
0
 0
Ronny Heberson Furtado de Araújo
Defense
4
 0
Maikel Aerts
Goal
0
 0
Raffael Caetano
Offense
0
 0
Roman Hubník
Defense
1
 0
Nikita Rukavytsya
Offense
0
 0
Levan Kobiashvili
Midfield
5
 0
Peter Niemeyer
Midfield
2
0
Sebastian Neumann
Defense
0
 0
Nico Schulz
Defense
1
 0
Pierre-Michel Lasogga
Offense
1
 0
Sascha Bigalke
Midfield
0
 0
Fanol Perdedaj
Midfield
1
 0
Gustavo Adrián Ramos Vásquez
Offense
4
 0
Alfredo Morales
Defense
0
 0
Sascha Burchert
Goal
0
 0
Last edited by:
On: July 07, 2008
Version: 12