At 1. FC Union Berlin, they are currently very happy with numbers, which is why some of the most important are clearly visible on the club's website.

Anyone who visits the homepage will notice them immediately.

A red two is there after "current placement", a 33, also in the club colors, after "current score".

And because in the Bundesliga the strengths of one person are inevitably also the weaknesses of the other, those responsible have put the balance sheet of a less successful competitor alongside it.

Current placement 17, current score 14 is there.

The fact that the selected competitor is Hertha BSC makes the statistics even more pleasing from the point of view of all Berliners who are open to the Union.

This Saturday (3.30 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Bundesliga and on Sky) there will be a derby in the Olympic Stadium, the gap between Hertha BSC and 1. FC Union in favor of the guests has never been greater.

Hertha is once again in dire relegation troubles, Union finished the first half of the season second best behind Bayern.

If that is still the case after the last matchday at the end of May, qualification for the Champions League would be the result.

Exaggerated humility?

It always seems odd when Union coach Urs Fischer calculates week after week how many points are still needed to reach the magic limit of 40 points for him.

In his opinion, that's how many it takes to play in the Bundesliga again next season.

"We haven't achieved anything yet, even though things are looking good," says Fischer.

This humility may seem exaggerated, but it has its roots in historical realities.

It was not even two decades ago that Union was still in the fourth division in the amateur field.

Hertha, on the other hand, had made their first forays into the Champions League and boasted international greats like Marcelinho, Yildiray Bastürk and Marko Pantelić.

In a few months, the two clubs could go their separate ways again, Hertha's recent appearances give little reason to believe that the rescue will succeed again.

The 0: 5 during the week against Wolfsburg was like a sporting oath of disclosure.

"We don't even need to talk about the fact that the preliminary round isn't good in terms of points.

That's the way it is," says sporting director Fredi Bobic.

Hertha had seven points more at the same time last season, but in the end it was only enough to stay in the class via relegation.

Measured by the dramatic difference, things are still pretty quiet around Hertha BSC in notoriously agitated Berlin, and yet it sounds more and more like perseverance slogans when Bobic says: "Despite everything, a lot wasn't bad either."

In addition to the sporting situation, the poor financial situation of Hertha BSC cannot be denied.

The coffers are empty, and the forthcoming sale of investor Lars Windhorst's shares to the American company 777 Partners is unlikely to change anything.

Company founder Josh Wander was in Berlin during the disastrous performance against Wolfsburg.

Before the game, they "exchanged ideas for a long time," said Bobic.

Transfer window closes

The allegedly promised capital increase of 100 million euros should probably not result in any investments in the team.

But Hertha urgently needs reinforcements, as the two games at the start of the new calendar year showed.

Clubs can still sign players up to and including January 31.

"Of course we'll think about whether anything is still possible until the last day of the transfer period.

We will react with the possibilities that we have.

We have to do a bit of magic there,” said Bobic.

The access that Union Berlin presented during the week is very real.

Josip Juranović came from Celtic Glasgow, purchase price 8.5 million euros.

So far, Union had only spent that much on Nigerian Taiwo Awoniyi.

Despite the record fee, Juranović could turn out to be a bargain.

Without any time to arrive, the 27-year-old winger made a promising debut in Bremen (2-1).

At the World Cup, he also impressed with strong performances for Croatia.

In terms of profile, Juranović is the type of professional footballer that Hertha has claimed to be in the recent past.

National player, experienced, at the height of his sporting creativity.

1. FC Union has now overtaken Hertha BSC as the most attractive contact point in Berlin.