2347 spectators in a test match between a fourth and fifth division team. This is a special thing even in Berlin, which is used to craziness. A social media star playing for the Hertha amateurs shows how to grab attention without a big-city label.
The Champions League anthem sounds in Berlin. A new big city highlight? no Nader El-Jindaoui, a new addition to the Hertha amateur team, underscored the melody to an Instagram story for his audience of millions there on Saturday evening, rounding off a rather unusual football afternoon in Berlin.
Sandro Schwarz is not on Instagram and not on Twitter. Social media is not his world. So the Hertha BSC coach may not have even noticed what was happening at home when he found mild words for his professional team's 0-1 draw in the test at English third division club Derby County. Three weeks before the start of the Bundesliga with the local duel against Union Berlin, the Hertha pros were obviously tired from the exertion of training. The Derby test was not a Derby benchmark. And the sporty at Hertha is secondary again.
The amateur team had just had a "space storm". But no worries, not out of new Hertha fan anger. But from a social media whim, caused by that Nader El-Jindaoui. 25 years. And star of an internet bubble. "El-Jindaouis. What a day it was. Wallah. I just can't cope," said the offensive player after the 3-1 win against Tasmania Berlin, which he had helped to attract astonishing attention with his online campaign.
2347 fans came to the small stadium at the throwing ground in the shadow of the Olympic Stadium. Almost six times as many as the Hertha amateurs, known as "Bubis" in the capital, had on average in the Regionalliga Nordost last season. El-Jindaoui, through his channels with 1.6 million followers on Instagram and 1.2 million on YouTube, had promised an autograph and photo to anyone who came to the game wearing a shirt with his name and the number 37. This is how football marketing works these days.
Shortly before the end of the game, the mostly young fans couldn't keep their seats after the third Hertha goal. They stormed the lawn. The referee capitulated and stopped whistling. However, the quickly produced online headline "Abandoned Game" was too lurid for the exuberant scenes. El-Jindaoui even reprimanded the few speedsters who apparently went too far.
Even before all the shirts were signed, the police had to end the show, as the influencer regretted and was wrong, at least the Berlin police said. The organizer canceled the game, she said. Meanwhile, on Sunday, the star of a new era rounded off his Insta story with pictures from his new "office". Before that he cut his clips on a "rubber ball in the kitchen".
And Hertha also reacted and wants to be better prepared in the future. "We're delighted that so many fans came to a test match of our U23s. That was a previously unknown dimension. We will now monitor developments and react accordingly. For example, with an increased number of security personnel, because of course they are there Despite all the enthusiasm, the smooth running of the game is the priority and must be guaranteed," said Managing Director Fredi Bobic.
Hertha BSC and its online luminaries, that's a special story this summer. A week ago, the club's former e-soccer player, Elias Nerlich, caused a crowd of fans on a district sports field with his real district league project Delay Sports. He also has more internet followers than the Bundesliga clubs Hertha and Union and manages to inspire his fans with a mixture of the World Wide Web and amateur folklore.
Hertha benefits from El-Jindaoui, who came from the Berlin AK in the summer and owes his prominence to regular YouTube and Instagram stories about his private family happiness. The real jersey of the virtual hero sells well. "I'm looking forward to everyone who will come in the future, it wasn't the last game," he said. Professional trainer Schwarz will definitely stop by, even without an online invitation.
