Aylin Yaren, footballer for Viktoria Berlin, wrote down her thoughts in the build up to the colossal top of table clash against bitter rivals Union Berlin.

Our Need

It's an incredibly important game because we're top of the table and Union is trailing right behind us in second. Unfortunately, we lost the opening game of the first half of the season against them, even though I thought we were the better side.

We have a score to settle. So, how do I prepare for tomorrow's game so that I can be at my very best?  The very first thing is making sure I get enough sleep.

So I'll definitely go to sleep early. I'll get up at seven and start the day by taking my usual vitamins. Followed by a light breakfast such as porridge, nothing special, pretty standard stuff but nutritious.

The Prematch

I follow it up with a 20 minute walk around the block playing some motivational music to begin mentally preparing. Incorporating breathing exercises is also something I’ve found to be beneficial to help control my emotions before a match with as much weight as this.

Paying attention to my breathing helps me control my nerves, well, to a degree. My brother was the one who recommended me focus on breathing to prepare for a match.

I'll do it once again tomorrow throughout the morning and as we get closer to kick off. I'll go into tomorrow's game as if it were my last because it's an absolutely critical match. Potentially the most decisive of the second round. That's why we will approach tomorrow’s match as if it were a final.

I feel great, I feel fit, and I'm so looking forward to the game tomorrow. Union was the only team we lost to all season. We have to make up for that. We know we are so much better than how our first match up ended.

I’m also just thrilled that the routine of being in season is back. This Rückrunde (second half of the season) should be the most exciting of my career and we’ll see what happens in the end.

My Goal

I'm focused on my goals, personal and team ones. Which are to be as successful as possible with the team and to deliver 100% every time I step on the pitch to the point where I know I couldn’t have given more this season.

Another personal goal of mine is to directly contribute to a goal or two to earn all three points and extend the point gap at the top for my team. Achieving my goals and influencing the trajectory of the season all begins tomorrow.

These are go-to boots for matches. The green ones are for when the weather is bad and the whites are for when the weather is beautiful. For this game, I’m going to go for the adidas Speed Portal, but I like to have both brands at my disposal to select from depending on the match.

Pure Relief

The derby ended up being a 4-3 thriller with Aylin’s Viktoria Berlin triumphing over their rivals. Aylin shared her post match thoughts on her biggest win of the season.

The three points were critical to increase the distance between us and Union. If we win our game in hand we’ll further increase that gap to ten points which will give us some breathing room. Winning this game alleviates some of the pressure because we have some pretty relaxed games coming up that we feel good about.

But for now we celebrated this victory for so long in locker room right after. It was just an incredible feeling. We had lost the first leg but bounced back and beat them this time around. We even keep on celebrating at one player's home. On top of that I also assisted two goals. What a beautiful day.

Aylin Diaries: The Battle of Berlin

In Focus: Mati Fondato