The extraordinary soccer clubs of Berlin

The 2024 European Championship is in full swing and soccer fans from all over the world are flocking to Germany, especially Berlin, to watch the spectacle live. But away from the big stadiums and household names, there are some soccer clubs in Berlin that are fascinating and remarkable in their own way. Let's take a look at three of these unique clubs and their unusual stories.

1. BFC Dynamo - Ten years, ten championships, and the Stasi behind them
2. SC Tasmania Berlin - From vacation to the Olympic Stadium and straight into the history books
3. BFC Germania 1888 - The oldest soccer club in Germany

1st BFC Dynamo - Ten years, ten championships and the Stasi behind them

When you think of record champions, FC Bayern Munich immediately springs to mind. But BFC Dynamo has also had an impressive run: From 1979 to 1988, the club from Hohenschönhausen became GDR champions ten times in a row. The recipe for success? A powerful honorary chairman named Erich Mielke, head of the Stasi.

Mielke was not only the top fan but also made sure that his favorite club always had the best conditions. Stasi employees were forced to join the club and critical media reports were taboo. Particularly piquant: the referees who most often refereed Dynamo matches were often Stasi officers or informal collaborators - and were happy to turn a blind eye.

Thanks to these connections, BFC also had access to the latest technology, such as video analysis, which other clubs were denied. No wonder many GDR citizens did not begrudge the club its success. Today, BFC Dynamo plays in the Regionalliga Nordost, but the championship star with the proud 10 on the jersey is still a reminder of the glory days.

Photo: Stocksnap, Pixabay

2. SC Tasmania Berlin - From vacation to the Olympic Stadium and straight into the history books

SC Tasmania Berlin has one of the most curious histories in German soccer. Founded in 1900 as Rixdorfer TuFC Tasmania, the club was initially successful and played in the first and second leagues. But a turbulent chapter was to begin in 1965: Hertha BSC was expelled from the Bundesliga due to irregularities in their accounts, and because a West Berlin team was to be represented, SC Tasmania moved up - completely unprepared.

The players were brought back from vacation, new players were hastily signed, and the first game against Karlsruher SC was played with minimal preparation. Surprisingly, Tasmania won 2:0, but that was just the beginning of an unprecedented losing streak: 31 games in a row were lost, and at the end of the season Tasmania was bottom of the Bundesliga table with 15:108 goals.

To this day, SC Tasmania Berlin holds various negative records: the worst season record, the most defeats in a season, the longest streak without a win, the highest home defeat with 0 to 9, and the game with the fewest spectators - only 827 fans came to the match against Borussia Mönchengladbach in Berlin's Olympiastadion. Today, the successor club, SV Tasmania Berlin, plays in the Regionalliga Nordost.

Photo: Blumensabrina, Pixabay

3. BFC Germania 1888 - The oldest soccer club in Germany

England is considered the motherland of soccer, but the sport also took root in Germany early on, thanks to English merchants. One of the first clubs to be founded was BFC Germania in 1888, founded by the brothers Paul, Max, Fritz and Walter Jestram.

BFC Germania won the first championship of the newly founded Association of German Footballers and thus won the very first (unofficial) German championship title. In the following years, the club dominated Berlin soccer.

After 1904, things went downhill. But the club still exists today: BFC Germania 1888 plays on the sports field on Götzstraße in Tempelhof in Berlin's Kreisliga B - making it the oldest soccer club still in existence in Germany.

Photo: Mludwig2, Pixabay

This article was created in cooperation with our EasyCityPass Berlin partner Private Tours of Berlin with Matti.