Staaken – a place you will not come across in any of the Berlin guides. And to be honest, most Berliners have never set foot in the tiny district in the very west of Spandau. Founded in 1273, the place got its name from the middle low German word “staken“ … Continue Reading ››
Bottom of the Landesliga with zero points and a goal difference of -101 after fifteen games is a long way from the Oberliga. Yet for BSV Hürtürkel, that represents only two seasons of football. If last season in the Berlin Liga wasn't … Continue Reading ››
This past Saturday I was in Potsdam to visit Babelsberg-BFC Dynamo in a Regionalliga Nordost clash. It was the kind of day that made you realize winter is right around the corner, or, as the conditions worsened as the match wore on, perhaps already even on the doorstep. A steady, … Continue Reading ››
Lichtenberg 47 (7:6, penalties) FC Viktoria 1889 Berlin
If 120 minutes of mud-slogged soccer had made him weary, Ümit Ergirdi showed little sign of it as he spritely jogged to the spot and prepared to take his team’s fifth penalty. He’d have to hit the back of the net … Continue Reading ››
On Sunday I checked out one of my local neighborhood clubs, 1.FC Wilmersdorf. A short jaunt from my place, I decided it would be the perfect way to ease the literal and figurative hangover from watching Union Berlin score a 92nd minute winner … Continue Reading ››
Berlin is by no means a particularly religious city, but Sunday’s holy designation as a day of rest is taken seriously here. For the denizens responsible enough to be up at the crack of noon, quiet routines of relaxation tend … Continue Reading ››
Calling it a derby might be a stretch, even by the broadest definition of the term. The clubs are separated by over 130 kilometers. Their respective cities, and fan scenes, could not be more different (more on this later). Yet, in recent years … Continue Reading ››
Cup matches can be hard to predict. The weight of expectations is often too heavy for bigger teams to bear, and they slump into the role of the defeated giant, just another chapter in a plucky little team’s unfolding fairytale. But magic cup … Continue Reading ››
Watching the ball ping around the pitch, rarely straying far from the foot of a player in a yellow jersey, it would be tough to guess that the dominating side was playing its first ever match … Continue Reading ››
When the cheer rang out from the Staaken bench at the final whistle I was suddenly reminded I was at a competitive football match.I had arrived at the Werner-Seelenbinder-Sportpark expecting so much more; too much. With SC Staaken … Continue Reading ››
