It's hard to believe, but it did exist. Pictures of celebrating fans of Hansa Rostock and Dynamo Dresden, together on the Baltic Sea, united in happiness and beer bliss. It was at the end of the 1980s when both groups of supporters were still close friends. It broke up over the years. Today the clash of rivals is a high security risk game, as it is called in the jargon of the police. Between 500 and 1500 officials should be on duty this Saturday evening (8.30 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the 2nd Bundesliga and Sky) when Hansa Rostock receives Dynamo Dresden. "The duel has become increasingly explosive in recent years," says Florian Weichert.

Weichert wore the Hansa Rostock jersey at the time of the turnaround. He was born in the city, and his North German dialect can sometimes still be heard. After Hansa's first relegation from the Bundesliga, he left the club in 1992, later he was hired by Dynamo Dresden and after retiring he lived in the Saxon capital for a long time.

After the end of the GDR, Dynamo Dresden and Hansa Rostock were the only clubs that could qualify for the first all-German Bundesliga season. "Dynamo was certainly the bigger club with the more successful history and the greater potential, but at that time we had the better team," says Weichert. The proof: With a 3-1 win against Dresden, Hansa was the last club to win the championship in the GDR. Hansa couldn’t lift the form into the Bundesliga, the Rostockers were relegated immediately after a year. Dynamo Dresden lasted another three years before the crash and license revocation followed.

After Dynamo's disappearance from professional football, the heyday of Hansa Rostock began.

The promotion was achieved under the coach Frank Pagelsdorf, then Hansa stayed in the top German league for ten years.

Rostock became the representative of a lost country, Hansa stood for football from the east.

A role that was actually predicted for the Dresdeners.

"Sleeping Giant"

The "sleeping giant" is still used when it comes to dynamo.

In Rostock, too, many are dreaming of ambitious goals in the face of financially weaker middle-class clubs such as Greuther Fürth, Arminia Bielefeld or Union Berlin, all of which have made it into the Bundesliga.

Many Rostock residents clearly believe that they are in a more favorable location than they are.

The same applies to Dresden.

But the reality is different. As a climber from the third division, both of them are primarily concerned with staying in class. The start was successful, Dynamo Dresden is even in second place in the table after three match days, Hansa Rostock is ninth. 15,000 fans are expected in the stadium. Hansa trainer Jens Härtel says: “The fans are longing for us to beat Dresden. We'll go to our limit. ”Härtel is a matter-of-fact, calm guy. The Dresden soccer teacher Alexander Schmidt is a little livelier. Both led their teams to the second Bundesliga.

“As clubs, Dresden and Rostock have the potential for the Bundesliga, but what is decisive is what happens behind the scenes. Squad planning and transfers are even more important today than the work of the coach, ”says Weichert. He has to know. In his time things weren't going well in Rostock and Dresden, among other things because there were internal disagreements. For a change, the present looks better than the past for the two traditional clubs from the East.