Post by Bayern Gull on Apr 7, 2011 12:57:01 GMT
I was in Berlin for most of the last week and during that time managed to get to 3 games and 4 very interesting stadiums. Although all the stadiums were within the same city there was a tremendous contrast between the stadiums, the history and the spectators at each of the venues. This was so apparent that it called to mind China Miéville's book The City & The City.
The first of the stadiums I visited was the Mommsenstadion (Mommse to the locals) to see the Friday night fixture between Tennis Borussia Berlin (commonly known as TeBe) and Berlin AK 07. TeBe were formed in 1902 and as the name suggests were originally part of a tennis and ping-pong club. By the 1950s they had grown to be (West) Berlin's top club but did not manage to make the Bundesliga when it was formed in 1963. After years of playing in the 2nd and 3rd tier of German football they did manage a couple of separate seasons years in the top flight 1974-75 and 1976-77. During this time attendances reached an average high of over 17,000 with games being played at the Olympiastadion.
As with so many similar German clubs that briefly get to the highest level a severe downturn, albeit with a couple of seasons back in the second tier, finds the club now down in the 5th tier. It's important to remember that after the first 3 national divisions there are then 3 regional leagues at the 4th level and no fewer than 11 regional leagues at the level TeBe currently play at.
TeBe's opponents are also an interesting team. Berliner Athletik Klub 07 or the alternative Berlin Ankaraspor Kulübü 07 are a German-Turkish outfit with a co-operative relationship with Ankaraspor focused on player development in Germany. I suppose the approach is a little bit like the Torquay Hungarians of the South Devon League but at a much higher level. Looking at the squad, over half have Turkish nationality and most of the Germans (but not all) have Turkish names. Around half of the Tebe squad also have Turkish citizenship. I have to be honest and say that based on what I have seen of Turkish football on the TV I thought there could be some disciplinary issues on the pitch but I have to say the match was played in a very good spirit. There were 5 yellow cards but one of those was received by an unused substitute for celebrating a goal by running on the on the pitch!
The Mommenstadion is named after famed classicist and Nobel prize winner Theodor Mommsen who came from the area. The capacity for football is these days limited to 11,500 which includes around 1,800 covered seats (actually benches). What makes the stadium particularly interesting though is that it hosted several games during the 1936 Olympics and was the training ground for the Germany squad during the 2006 World Cup. The record attendance at the stadium was one of 36,000 for an athletics meeting in 1930 - hard to believe how that many crammed in.
The attendance on Friday night was only 362 although it looked more than that to me. Certainly the atmosphere was very good for such a small crowd. Although it's another 'running track' ground, the side where the Ultras (TeBe Party Army - I think that's a great name) stand is relatively close to the pitch as the last lane of the running track is right up against the fence. Around half the crowd join in with the singing and some of the songs were done very well indeed.
One thing I've never seen at a football match before but saw at this ground were a number of gay banners and flags and you can see some of them in the photos below. There were very few away fans at this game so I don't know how that goes down with other fans but I suspect it's a non-issue for most people. I think you can safely say that TeBe have a predominantly left-wing following and the program included some political adverts but nothing so overt as to put off people of other political persuasions following the club as well.
Before the game I met several other ground-hoppers and it seems that Berlin is a favorite place for this since it's nearly always possible to do 3 games in 3 days at very reasonable prices. It was 7 € to get in with beer and food also priced very cheaply.
As for the game itself. It proved a very entertaining 4-2 win for the away side with one fantastic 25m wonder-goal by Zemlin for TeBe. I didn't think I'd see a better one over the weekend and I was right.
The first of the stadiums I visited was the Mommsenstadion (Mommse to the locals) to see the Friday night fixture between Tennis Borussia Berlin (commonly known as TeBe) and Berlin AK 07. TeBe were formed in 1902 and as the name suggests were originally part of a tennis and ping-pong club. By the 1950s they had grown to be (West) Berlin's top club but did not manage to make the Bundesliga when it was formed in 1963. After years of playing in the 2nd and 3rd tier of German football they did manage a couple of separate seasons years in the top flight 1974-75 and 1976-77. During this time attendances reached an average high of over 17,000 with games being played at the Olympiastadion.
As with so many similar German clubs that briefly get to the highest level a severe downturn, albeit with a couple of seasons back in the second tier, finds the club now down in the 5th tier. It's important to remember that after the first 3 national divisions there are then 3 regional leagues at the 4th level and no fewer than 11 regional leagues at the level TeBe currently play at.
TeBe's opponents are also an interesting team. Berliner Athletik Klub 07 or the alternative Berlin Ankaraspor Kulübü 07 are a German-Turkish outfit with a co-operative relationship with Ankaraspor focused on player development in Germany. I suppose the approach is a little bit like the Torquay Hungarians of the South Devon League but at a much higher level. Looking at the squad, over half have Turkish nationality and most of the Germans (but not all) have Turkish names. Around half of the Tebe squad also have Turkish citizenship. I have to be honest and say that based on what I have seen of Turkish football on the TV I thought there could be some disciplinary issues on the pitch but I have to say the match was played in a very good spirit. There were 5 yellow cards but one of those was received by an unused substitute for celebrating a goal by running on the on the pitch!
The Mommenstadion is named after famed classicist and Nobel prize winner Theodor Mommsen who came from the area. The capacity for football is these days limited to 11,500 which includes around 1,800 covered seats (actually benches). What makes the stadium particularly interesting though is that it hosted several games during the 1936 Olympics and was the training ground for the Germany squad during the 2006 World Cup. The record attendance at the stadium was one of 36,000 for an athletics meeting in 1930 - hard to believe how that many crammed in.
The attendance on Friday night was only 362 although it looked more than that to me. Certainly the atmosphere was very good for such a small crowd. Although it's another 'running track' ground, the side where the Ultras (TeBe Party Army - I think that's a great name) stand is relatively close to the pitch as the last lane of the running track is right up against the fence. Around half the crowd join in with the singing and some of the songs were done very well indeed.
One thing I've never seen at a football match before but saw at this ground were a number of gay banners and flags and you can see some of them in the photos below. There were very few away fans at this game so I don't know how that goes down with other fans but I suspect it's a non-issue for most people. I think you can safely say that TeBe have a predominantly left-wing following and the program included some political adverts but nothing so overt as to put off people of other political persuasions following the club as well.
Before the game I met several other ground-hoppers and it seems that Berlin is a favorite place for this since it's nearly always possible to do 3 games in 3 days at very reasonable prices. It was 7 € to get in with beer and food also priced very cheaply.
As for the game itself. It proved a very entertaining 4-2 win for the away side with one fantastic 25m wonder-goal by Zemlin for TeBe. I didn't think I'd see a better one over the weekend and I was right.