Hertha BSC's "gigantic" cup evening

Six goals in regular time, the decision is only made in a penalty shoot-out: Hertha BSC and HSV fought a memorable duel in the DFB Cup round of 16. In the end, one player in particular stands out: Fabian Reese.

How quickly the world can change: Just a few weeks ago, few people would have thought they would find a declaration of love for soccer at Hertha BSC. After (roughly estimated) 374 million negative headlines, the Berlin soccer club was relegated from the Bundesliga last summer. The squad was crumbling apart and there was a huge hole in the finances. In the worst-case scenario, there was even a threat of the end of professional football in Berlin's Westend.

This makes what happened on Wednesday evening in Berlin's Olympic Stadium all the more astonishing. In a wild round of 16 match in the DFB Cup, the Berliners beat HSV 3:3 (2:2, 1:2) n.V., 5:3 i.E. And Hertha's Fabian Reese stood in the catacombs afterwards and couldn't stop raving. The 26-year-old converted the decisive penalty and was arguably the outstanding protagonist of an evening in the cup.

"I think that's why we love soccer," said Reese, who never took his eyes off the match ball. "It's what we work for every day, it's what you live for to a certain extent - for these emotions, to be there in places like this, in moments like this and to be able to experience it." He will tell his children about it one day. It was "a gigantic evening". "And I think something very special was created in the team tonight."

HSV countered with a double strike

The declaration of love was the result of an evening of soccer that only a knockout competition can produce. Floodlights and an almost full house: 58,946 people in the stands of Berlin's Olympic Stadium watched a rousing match, partly because they fired up the players on the pitch in sub-zero temperatures. HSV contributed more than 20,000 fans to an impressive background noise.

A wild spectacle unfolded on the pitch. Although HSV had a lot of possession at the start, they posed little danger and had one problem in particular: according to coach Dardai, Hertha's Reese was constantly "tearing his side apart". In the 21st minute, he powered his way through, his pass to Florian Niederlechner somehow came back to him and he slotted the ball into the net after a one-two with the HSV post.

However, Tim Walter's team struck back before the break - twice: first with a very impressive long-range shot from Immanuël Pherai (31') and then less impressive thanks to László Bénes (43'). Berlin struggled in the second half, but failed to score. Until the end of normal time: Reese (90') equalized at the last second.

But that was only the first part of the drama: in extra time, HSV once again took the lead in spectacular fashion (102'). In the 120th minute, the man who captain Toni Leistner described as the height of madness struck again: Fabian Reese. Again, it was the final seconds of the match. This time he found Jonjoe Kenny, who until this season was a perpetual relegated player, but who suddenly not only pushed the ball over the line, but is also a building block of an amazing Berlin team. The cup fight culminated in a penalty shoot-out.

Leistner is "extremely proud"

Even the boldest optimists could not have imagined a few months ago that it would come to this. As recently as mid-August, Hamburg had beaten Hertha badly in the league. Coach Pal Dardai described the 3-0 away defeat at the time as a "difference in class"; his team was inferior in every respect. Three and a half months later, however, there was no sign of that. It was proof "that we have developed extremely well," said captain Leistner. "That makes me extremely proud."

After all, it was a different team on the pitch on Wednesday evening. Not one that was very unsettled after numerous departures, but one that has now been unbeaten for seven games. And, above all, one that is now producing many little heroic stories. Be it Haris Tabakovic, affectionately christened "Fluppe" by the fans, who until recently scored goals like a conveyor belt. The 20-year-old goalkeeper Tjark Ernst, who saved a shot in the penalty shoot-out. Or Niederlechner, who didn't score for a long time and now scores very frequently. It's these little stories that ultimately give soccer meaning. They show that something is happening.

And then there was the latest heroic epic: Nader El-Jindaoui, the 27-year-old internet star who finally made his professional debut. Even after the game, he "hadn't really realized it yet", he said. "I've been fighting for this my whole life and today was the day," he explained. "And the fact that we got through to the next round was the cherry on the cake. It was just an indescribable feeling." He converts his shot in the penalty shoot-out. Before the penalty shoot-out, his remarkable move found Reese, who did the rest in conjunction with Kenny.

"If you google me, it says 'footballer'"

El-Jindaoui moved from Berliner AK to Hertha's second team in the summer of 2022. The transfer caused quite a stir, with more than 1.7 million people following him on YouTube, where he talks about his everyday life. "Even if some people like to say I'm an influencer: I'm a footballer and I share a bit of my life," he said. "If you google me, it says 'footballer' and that's how I feel. And I hope I was able to prove it today."

He had done just that and established a new reputation as an oracle. The evening before, he had shared a short story with his followers on social media. The family man showed his wife, his child was already in bed. "Dinner now and maybe DFB Cup game tomorrow," he wrote: "Inshallah, I'm in the squad and we'll progress to the next round." That's what happened. The Berlin way proclaimed by president Kay Bernstein, who was cowering in the stands watching the game, had already cleared a new path.

All these stories seemed almost unimaginable just weeks ago. After a poor start to the season, Hertha are now eighth in the league. The current season is supposed to be a transitional year after the major squad upheaval. It also gives an indication of who could be key players in the coming years. First and foremost, of course, is Reese, whose recipe for success is "hard work, coupled with a lot of trust from the club, a certain flow, a little bit of luck and fun at work". After the success in the round of 16, his captain named him "currently the best player in the second division".

Will Reese now even become an international?

"We can always use him: his power, his speed, his assists," said Leistner, who was initially met with hostility in Berlin due to his past at Union Berlin and who arrives at the other end of the city with more and more scars on his face. He also succeeded in doing so against HSV. Again. In the league match against the Rauten, he had suffered a broken nose, this time it was enough for a laceration.

So many heroic stories and Reese, the former Kiel player who embodies the image of the new Hertha, was beaming at the top. Everything can change. But not on this night. Just the cup. And anyway: The Hungarian on the touchline, the eternal Pal Dardai, who no longer gives a damn about a sporting figure, but continues to give everything for Hertha in his third term of office, did not want to see the victory as a heroic show: "You could say it was the Fabian show, but it wasn't," he clarified. "We invested so much and were rewarded. That was an awesome evening."

And Reese still has work to do. He should throw himself more into the defense, be even more focused. "I'll keep practising with him until he's an international in the end," promised Dardai. But it will probably be a while before then. Although, on this evening in the Olympic Stadium, everything seemed possible, and that was more than anyone at Hertha would have dared to dream of back in August. That was soccer. For that brief moment, the second division team was once again the most successful club in the city.

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Despite facing tough competition, Fabian Reese has gained international recognition, thanks to his impressive performances on the pitch, earning praise from Hertha BSC's captain and manager. The DFB Cup quarterfinals will present a new opportunity for Reese to prove his worth and further cement his status as a key player for Hertha BSC and potential future international.

Source: www.ntv.de