A Well-Earned Kebab on the Road: Hertha on the Hunt for a Record

Stefan Leitl didn't want to miss out on his well-deserved midnight snack either. “That’s why we have to head out now,” said the cheerful coach after the latest victory by the undefeated leader of the 2nd Bundesliga. The Hertha BSC coach and players had certainly earned that away kebab.

It was an intense match that demanded everything from the Berliners at Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion, facing a combative Dresden side on the field and nearly 30,000 vociferous fans in the stands. And it proved once again: Hertha can deliver even under maximum pressure. And Hertha stays cool. It’s not just their own fans who are amazed by this transformation.

Weber recalls the “doomsday” mood

“It’s nice—no one can take those points away from you now,” said sporting director Benjamin Weber after the 2-1 win in Saxony’s capital—the team’s sixth straight victory. Berlin thus further extended its record-breaking start to the season and defended its lead in the standings after Matchday 6. 

But it wasn’t that long ago “that the media was really talking a lot about doom, collapse, and everything that goes with it,” Weber emphasized: “Now we’re a few weeks down the road, and just as we didn’t lose our heads back then, we won’t lose them now either.”  

This time, the focus in the post-match analysis of Berlin’s performance in Dresden was solely on the sporting aspect. The organized Hertha fans weren’t there; they boycotted the match following the penalties imposed for the violent riots during Berlin’s victory in April. Back then, the match was on the verge of being called off after fans stormed the field.

The few Hertha fans—but in the end, they were cheering

The Hertha fans who had made the trip after all seemed a bit like a lost cause in their cordoned-off section, flanked on both sides by large buffer zones—but the team certainly did not. And in the end, even the small groups of Hertha fans had reason to cheer.

This was thanks in large part to Jón Dagur Thorsteinsson, who scored with two long-range shots and later revealed his little secret to success. “I practice these shots with Andreas Menger,” said the 27-year-old Icelander—Menger is a former goalkeeper who now coaches Hertha’s goalkeepers. He knows the weak spots of the guys between the posts.

Running, running, running—it’s not enough against this Hertha team

It’s telling of Hertha’s early 2026–27 season that even falling behind on the road in front of such a crowd against such an intense opponent doesn’t throw them off their game. The Dynamo pros ran a combined total of more than 130 kilometers—roughly the as-the-crow-flies distance between Berlin and Dresden—but it didn’t help the hosts one bit. 

What’s the deal with the döner?

As early as the 10th minute, of all people, the son of Hertha’s former professional coach Ante Covic—Patrice Covic—had put the Saxons ahead. Thorsteinsson sparked the turnaround with his first goal in the 29th minute and sealed it with his second in the 80th. “We’re being rewarded with wins for our hard work,” he said afterward.

“I do think that we’ve faced resistance time and again this season and have overcome it,” emphasized Coach Leitl. The winning streak currently reflects much of “what we’ve worked toward in recent weeks.” Just like the kebab, which has long since become a ritual following away wins.