This match was the last of my trip. Union Berlin vs. RB Leipzig was basically the reason I was in Germany in the first place. My friend Johann had invited me to watch a game of Union at their home ground before they start renovation works and move to the Olympic Stadium for a while.

Union is notoriously difficult to get tickets for; the club has as many as 70,000 members while their ground can only fit 22,000, so as you can imagine, it’s always sold out. Johann managed to secure a children’s ticket for me (hence the low price), with which I thankfully had no trouble getting in.

Our day started in a Union bar in Friedrichshain, where we had beers and some potato salad before taking the train that would take us to the stadium. The Alte Försterei is located on the far east side of the city, near the Spree river and next to a big forest that gave it its name. It is quite an iconic stadium; it was inaugurated in 1920 and it still very much maintains an old-school feel, with three out of four stands being standing-only. We walked by the forest and passed through ticket control without too much hassle. I bought a Champions League scarf that was on sale and we headed to our gate. It wasn’t long before kick-off and all the stands were packed; thankfully, some friends had made space for us.

Whenever Union plays RB Leipzig, the former’s fans remain silent for the first 15 minutes of the game as a protest against the latter’s commercial structure, and today was no exception. Though I must admit that, although a plastic club, RB’s fans put in a pretty solid performance. But after the 15th minute the battle of the stands shifted towards the home side. The whole stadium was now chanting in full force for Union Berlin. I’m not sure if it has to do with the short and direct nature of German chants or with the structure of the stadium—probably both—but I felt that this was the loudest ground I’ve ever experienced, as big of a statement as this might be.

Johann was stressed all day that Union would get absolutely destroyed by their rivals, and to be honest, he didn't have many reasons to be optimistic about their performance. In the end though, things took a surprising turn. The reds’ coach came up with a completely new formation, and Union ended up putting in their best performance so far this season. Usually a 0-0 scoreline implies that a game was rather boring, but what we saw was anything but boring. It was one of the most exciting yet frustrating games. The home side played great, attacking football and missed one chance after another. By the end, you thought that they HAD to score; you could sense that the stands were ready to explode but… that’s football. I guess a draw is not the end of the world anyway.