“I have never lost interest in Hertha BSC”

Hertha fans are everywhere: Marcel Scholz (left) supports his beloved club all the way from Tenerife in Spain. The 32-year-old’s connection to the ‘Old Lady’ reminds him of his hometown.

Berlin – The sun’s shining, the water’s glistening: a feeling of total relaxation. Marcel Scholz has loved every minute since he moved to Spain back in 2012. The 32-year-old was born in Düsseldorf but spent his childhood in the capital interstation of Hannover. Football hasn’t always been Marcel’s number one sport, as he grew a passion for Judo from an early age. His mother’s partner at the time took him to see the ‘Old Lady’ at the Olympiastadion for the first time when he was just eight years old. Two decades later, and the super fan still owns the kit from 1997/98 season, which he proudly presented to herthabsc.de.

However, Scholz’s passion for the sport only began once he was doing his A levels. There were multiple Hertha fans in his friendship group, whom he often accompanied to the Olympiastadion. Scholz particularly has fond memories of a trip to Eintracht Frankfurt back in 2007, which ended in a 2-1 win thanks to a late Marko Pantelic winner. After witnessing this victory on the final day of the 2006/07 season, Scholz was sold, and the Ostkurve soon became his second home. After graduating from school, the travel enthusiast spent a year and a half moving from place to place as a sports entertainer. In 2009, Scholz followed the club’s results all the way from Greece, watching on as Hertha BSC finished the season in 4th place.

On his return back to the German capital, Scholz began training as a hotel manager, shortly before moving to Fuerteventura to work in a Spanish hotel in 2012. Two years later, the 32-year-old decided to move to the Canary islands, where he spent five years living in Lanzarote, all the while continuing to support his beloved club. Scholz quickly earned himself the tag as the “crazy Berliner” after wildly cheering on a last-minute winner from Julian Schieber against SC Freiburg back in August 2016.

Unforgettable experience in Bilbao

The Herthaner will never forget a bet he made back in the 2016/17 season.     It was getting into the final few weeks of the season and Hertha were fighting for a place in Europe. Scholz was sat with two of his friends and they all agreed that, if the team qualified for Europe and were drawn against a Spanish team in the group stage, then the trio would attend the away game on the Iberian Peninsula. And, as luck would have it, Hertha were drawn against Athletic Bilbao. So, in November 2017, the three friends agreed to take a trip to the north of Spain. The trio spent the early hours of matchday swimming in the Atlantic and indulging in the local seafood. The game unfortunately ended in a 3-2 win for the hosts, confirming Hertha’s exit from the competition. However, Stolz remained in good spirits despite the final score, “for the neutral it was a really enjoyable game, with lots of action.” “It was an unforgettable trip; I’ll tell my grandchildren about it,” said the man from Düsseldorf, who dreams of one day repeating it.

The hotel worker has now lived with his girlfriend in the capital of Tenerife, Santa Cruz, since 2019, working as a receptionist. Scholz aims to return to visit his hometown at least once year. He most recently saw his team play in the 3-0 loss against VfL Wolfsburg on the opening day of this season. “There’s one thing in Germany that I have never lost interest in: Hertha BSC. It’s still so ingrained in me; I read something about the club every day,” said Scholz. Not even being 4,000 km away can change that.