Danilho Doekhi has never played in front of such a crowd. With Union Berlin, the defender wants to build on the strong first half of the season in the game at Hertha BSC.
Looking forward to the Berlin derby: Union’s Danilho Doekhi.
IMAGO/Nordphoto
Danilho Doekhi was still out in the 3-1 win over Hertha BSC in the first leg. The 1. FC Union Berlin defender had to follow the action at the An der Alten Försterei stadium from the bench. But tomorrow, Saturday (3.30 p.m., LIVE! on kicker), the Dutchman, who came from Vitesse Arnhem in the summer of 2022, should be right in the middle of the action. At least he was always in the starting eleven in the last four Bundesliga games for the Irons. He even scored two header goals against TSG Hoffenheim (3-1).
His anticipation of the full Berlin Olympic Stadium is great. “It’s going to be a nice game. There’s always something special about derbies,” said the 24-year-old defender.
Around 75,000 visitors are expected. With this, Doekhi actively experiences the greatest backdrop of his life. A similar number of visitors also fit into the Olympic Stadium in Rome. But when Doekhi played there with Arnhem in the round of 16 of the Europa Conference League at AS Roma (1-1) on March 17, 2022, only 40,435 fans were there.
“Once you lose…”
Union is the clear favorite as second in the penultimate Hertha. But Doekhi warns. Derbies are always different. Of course he still hopes for a win. The mood in the team is good after the two wins in the new year against Hoffenheim and Werder Bremen (2-1). “But we still have a lot of games. It’s no time to celebrate. We have to focus on the next game,” said Doekhi.
A look at the table, in which Union is in place after the first half of the season, brings the defender into ecstasy. That’s crazy. We’re second and already have 33 points. This shows that we are on the right track. We have to keep going like this,” said Doekhi. “But if you lose once, you can also fall back to fourth or fifth place.”
