On October 16 1906, a 57-year-old shoe-factory worker named Wilhelm Voigt donned an army captain’s uniform, commandeered a handful of soldiers to occupy the city hall of Kopenick, to the south east of Berlin, and confiscated a small fortune on false pretences.
The impersonator was arrested a few days later but he became a folk hero in Imperial Germany and is the subject of a satirical play (“The Captain of Kopenick”) that’s still widely read today.
116 years later to the day, Union Berlin’s stadium announcer and club press officer Christian Arbeit reminded the crowd at their Alte Forsterei stadium of the anniversary of Voigt’s derring-do in their local district, a call to arms for another raid on the establishment.
Nothing’s ever subtle at Union. But that’s a big part of their success.
Yesterday’s 2-0 home win over Borussia DortmundThis was the most recent and impressive proof of concept.
Urs Fischer’s men run and fight harder than anyone else. They are more disciplined and precise than any other team in defending and counter-attack. They are, in terms of pure collectivity and togetherness, right where they belong: top of the table and four points clear of Bayern Munich, Germany’s serial champions and still the best team in the league.
“You know exactly what they will do before, but you can’t do anything against it,” Dortmund coach Edin Terzic said, with equal parts of praise and resignation. “That’s the mark of a top side.”
Union was presented with a head-start by the visitors.
After only eight minutes, Keeper Gregor Kobel slipped and presented Janik Haberer the easiest of finishes.
