Nur Nach Hause, Berlin!

Hertha Berlin 2-1 Koln
Bundesliga
Saturday 22nd October 2016

'So then... what is the best stadium that you've been to?'

It's a question which regularly gets asked amongst football fans on social media, internet forums, on the terraces and in the pubs and, depending on your age and experiences, it will be met by a wide variety of different answers.

There are those who'll judge the word 'best' on grandeur and size, whereas others will consider facilities, access options and even the proximity to transport links. There are also people who'll wear their hearts on their sleeves and answer with a particular venue where their own team won an important match which is well-remembered by fans of that club.

As a veteran of travelling here, there and pretty much everywhere watching football games, my own considered answer to this question would be the Olympiastadion in Berlin.

It's a vast stadium which forms the focal point of a large complex on the western outskirts of the capital and it possesses a spectacular 'wow' factor making it unique from everywhere else on the planet. Located not too far from the city's International Bus Station (around half-an-hour by foot), the arena's history dates back almost a century as it was built for the 1936 Olympic Games - the competition where Adolf Hitler famously snubbed Jesse Owens after the sprinter's double Gold Medal exploits. In more modern times the stadium has also seen other iconic sporting moments such as Zinedine Zidane's senseless headbutt on Marco Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup Final and Usain Bolt breaking both the 100m and 200m world records (which remain to this day), three years later.

What makes the Olympiastadion even more remarkable is that other than a roof being added, the entire site hasn't changed a significant deal in the years since its initial construction. Nearly every piece of pre-war architecture remains intact around the perimeter bowl with placards found at various points around the concourse. The famous Bell Tower can be seen from everywhere inside the 75,000-capacity venue, whilst the original bell itself from the 1936 Olympics; damaged during air strikes in the second world war, lies adjacent to the sweeping green space of The Maifield.

It's architecturally a phenomenal place to visit and, simply, if you haven't been here then you really need to visit at some point.

Having been 'wowed' by the place only a few months earlier during a self-guided tour, when the opportunity arose to see Hertha Berlin (who play their homes matches here) in action in October 2016, there was no way I was turning it down.

Afterall, the Bundesliga offers the best matchday experience in Europe; it's affordable, fixtures are well-attended, it's an enjoyable culture and, very much unlike the Premier League, supporters of rival teams are often able to sit side-by-side without the need to hurl obscenities at one another.

Hertha's opponents were FC Koln who, at the time, were riding high in the league table. It promised to be a decent contest and a rousing rendition of 'Nur Nach Hause' (the club's anthem which loosely translates to 'This Is Our House') only whet the appetite further. Being amongst a crowd of approximately 60,000, pretty much all of whom held a scarf aloft whilst they belted out their hymn with total passion, was the sort of experience which made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

The Olympiastadion will, however, have seen more spectacular games than this one because what unfolded on the pitch was a straightforward win for Hertha - without too much drama, controversy or incident. Vedad Ibesevic's early goal put them into a 1-0 half-time lead, before Anthony Modeste levelled for the visitors shortly after the hour mark. Just as Koln's fans were beginning to harbour hopes that they may be able to take a point from the fixture though, Niklas Stark popped up with what proved to be the winning goal on 75 minutes.

Koln did manage to have the last laugh during the season, nonetheless, as they finished in fifth position - above Hertha only on goal difference, but enough for them to qualify for the Europa League - their first venture into Europe for 25 years!