A turbulent week for 1.FC Union has, in many ways, been incredibly instructive. About the past and the present. About the scars of Berlins history, and the perceptions of the people in the East and the West that still go on today. more »
Jul 27, 2011 by Jacob Sweetman in The Berlin Blog (1 Comments)
Photo by Wikifreund (Wikimedia Commons)
The end of an excellent, entertaining and absorbing World Cup will also mean the end of the World Cup. It will mean the bloating, cash grabbing, free for all can begin in earnest, and it can take its true place next to the men's game. more »
Jul 20, 2011 by Jacob Sweetman in The Berlin Blog
Photo courtesy of www.union-foto.de
It seems so early. It is so early, but on Friday the 2. Bundesliga returns from its summer holidays. To get ready 1.FC Unions last friendly was against Hearts, and the fans have got themselves a new hero. more »
Jul 13, 2011 by Jacob Sweetman in The Berlin Blog (4 Comments)
Photo courtesy of Klitschko Management Group GmbH
Waiting, waiting... The Sportsdesk does have better things to do sometimes. Honestly. But there is something about the time between the football seasons, when we get a chance to enjoy the gentler sports. Like tennis. And boxing. more »
Jul 7, 2011 by Jacob Sweetman in The Berlin Blog (2 Comments)
The Women's World Cup finally began on Sunday with a traditionally bizarre and irony free opening ceremony at the Olympiastadion. The Sportsdesk wasn't there (not important enough) but we watching it in a pub just for you. more »
Jun 29, 2011 by Jacob Sweetman in The Berlin Blog (3 Comments)
It's the Womens World Cup and, as the opening fixture will prove, there is as much intrigue as in the men's game. Germany vs. Canada pits two all powerful managers against each other, Silvia Neid and Carolina Morace. more »
Jun 22, 2011 by Jacob Sweetman in The Berlin Blog (2 Comments)
Photo courtesy of BFC Dynamo
BFC Dynamo's 2-0 win over SFC Stern in the Berlin Pokal last week has led them to be drawn against the Bundesliga's Kaiserslautern in the DFB Pokal first round. A tie that gives them the chance to show that they have changed. more »
Jun 15, 2011 by Jacob Sweetman in The Berlin Blog (6 Comments)
Football in Germany is often lauded by fans in the UK for being a throwback to what the game used to be like. But in some ways it is not just the prices that have remained. more »
Jun 8, 2011 by Jacob Sweetman in The Berlin Blog
1.FC Union's former midfielder Macchambes Younga-Mouhani may have to go to the civil courts to face VFL Bochum's Matias Concha, whose ankle snapped under his challenge in the teams match in December. It could set a precedent. more »
Jun 1, 2011 by Jacob Sweetman in The Berlin Blog
Thursday night sees the Women’s Champions League final at Craven Cottage in London, but many football fans will content themselves being rude about it without bothering to watch it at all. more »
May 25, 2011 by Jacob Sweetman in The Berlin Blog (1 Comments)
Photo by Christopher Voitus
Dynamo Dresden will try to join the promoted Hansa Rostock in the 2. Bundesliga next season, as they face a two legged playoff against Osnabrück. The former Eastern giants are slowly making their way back. more »
May 18, 2011 by Jacob Sweetman in The Berlin Blog (4 Comments)
Photo by Dr. Ralf K. Reinhardt (Wikimedia CC)
Boxing is a dirty and dangerous sport. Everybody knows that, but as Rola El-Halabi prepared for her world title fight in berlin last month she didn't know that it would all end so tragically. more »
May 4, 2011 by Jacob Sweetman in The Berlin Blog
The Berlin Eisbären are the German Ice Hockey champions again. Their support within the city is huge, and despite the connections to a past that have haunted their former GDR companions. The fans don't care though, they are in seventh heaven. more »
Apr 26, 2011 by Jacob Sweetman in The Berlin Blog
Photo by Russell James Smith (russelljsmith; Flickr CC)
It's almost done. the chips have fallen, and Hertha BSC will, almost certainly, represent the Haupstadt in the Bundesliga next year. The crowds have been huge, and the league has been a cakewalk, but they shouldn't get too used to the feeling. more »
Apr 20, 2011 by Jacob Sweetman in The Berlin Blog
The pitch at Körnerplatz in the grounds of the Olympiastadion has been ripped up, and the Berlin cricket league has nowhere else to go. As Prince Far-I said about Michael Holding, it's getting "Heavy, heavy, heavy, heavy..." more »
Apr 13, 2011 by Jacob Sweetman in The Berlin Blog (2 Comments)
I have argued before about the Chinaglia principle – ergo to be a truly great goal scorer one must have a bit of the bastard about oneself. Karim Benyamina is no shrinking violet, but he is struggling for goals at FC Union Berlin. We wonder why. more »
Apr 6, 2011 by Jacob Sweetman in The Berlin Blog
Photo by Matzeachmann (Wikimedia CC)
Get your bunting out, it's the EXBERLINER Sportsdesk's first birthday. I'll see you all round Lothar Matthäus' house for cake, tea and pinning the tail on the supermodel from the former Soviet Union. more »
Mar 30, 2011 by Jacob Sweetman in The Berlin Blog (2 Comments)
Photo by Klaus Oberst
BFC Dynamo beat BAK in the quarter finals of the Berliner Pilsner Pokal on Wednesday night 2-1 after extra time, and with practically the last kick of the match before penalties. more »
Mar 24, 2011 by Jacob Sweetman in The Berlin Blog (2 Comments)
1.FC Union Berlin got an excellent 0-0 draw at home to second in the table FC Augsburg on Saturday. A point well deserved, but the sportsdesk has got a yearning, an unfulfilled passion for goals. more »
Mar 16, 2011 by Jacob Sweetman in The Berlin Blog (1 Comments)
Football can be as weird as the people who watch it at times. On Sunday, during a turgid 0-0 between BAK07 and BFC Dynamo a legend was born. Nobody is quite sure why though. more »
Mar 9, 2011 by Jacob Sweetman in The Berlin Blog (24 Comments)
Rudi Assauer. Photo by Produnis (Wikimedia CC)
The Surrey and England wicket-keeper (this is cricket for those at the back of the class) Steven Davies came out this week. It didn't matter a jot. more »
Mar 2, 2011 by Jacob Sweetman in The Berlin Blog (1 Comments)
Photo courtesy of Turbine Potsdam
1.FFC Turbine Potsdam beat 1.FC Saarbrücken 7-0 to remain at the top of the German Women's Bundesliga. They are the current title holders and Champion's League winners. The sportsdesk was there to see what the women's game really looks like. more »
Feb 22, 2011 by Jacob Sweetman in The Berlin Blog (2 Comments)
Photo by Platte C (Wikimedia commons)
This weekend will see the second highest attendance ever in the second division at the Olympiastadion for the derby between Hertha and 1.FC Union Berlin. 75,000 fans with more in common than they like to think about. more »
Feb 2, 2011 by Jacob Sweetman in The Berlin Blog (2 Comments)
Photo by Armin Kuebelbeck (Wikimedia CC)
As the football world debates whether to have a World Cup in the winter, an example of how it works is happening at the moment. The Handball World Cup is currently taking place in Sweden, and this is serious sporting business. more »
Jan 26, 2011 by Jacob Sweetman in The Berlin Blog
Photo by Stewart Damonsing (Wikimedia CC)
Poor old 1860 München – the Lions. Their famous blue and white-striped kit getting a bit ragged at the elbows and with holes in the back, having to go cap in hand to the big house to ask Master for a handout. Or maybe a bit more time to pay the rent. more »
Jan 19, 2011 by Jacob Sweetman in The Berlin Blog (3 Comments)
