Status: 09:43 a.m
They are already champions, now they still want to get promoted: coach Christian Benbennek and the players of the BFC Dynamo
Source: dpa/Matthias Koch
Almost 33 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, BFC Dynamo is about to make it into professional football for the first time. The former favorite club of Stasi boss Erich Mielke is still struggling with the image of the past. Not the only problem for Berliners.
Zynikers would probably call this title BFC Dynamo’s first real championship. The winner of the Regionalliga Nordost was once the serial champion of the East German football league – which, in the eyes of many fans, was mainly possible thanks to orders from above. After all, the BFC was the favorite club of Stasi boss Erich Mielke – and thus a hate object in the rest of the republic.
More than 30 years after reunification, the BFC can rise to paid football for the first time. On Saturday (2 p.m./MagentaSport) the relegation first leg of the Berliners to the 3rd division against VfB Oldenburg will take place.
“The BFC is a bit like a Gallic village because many people from the past don’t like the club,” said coach Christian Benbennek, a native of Lower Saxony. In view of the past, it is quite understandable that the BFC is in the lower range of the popularity scale.
Relic of the GDR: Stasi chief Erich Mielke’s SV Dynamo membership card
Source: dpa/Sebastian Kahnert
The turning point in East German football was announced personally by Mielke at the Dynamo Dresden championship celebrations in 1977. The BFC had already won the FDGB Cup and was in the semi-finals of the European Cup Winners’ Cup. But the biggest title was still missing. “You’ve been champions enough now, it’s the BFC’s turn and I’ll do everything I can for that,” said Mielke. Dresden won the title again, followed by ten BFC championships in a row from 1979 to 1988.
Criticism of Ascension Mode
With the reunification, the success of the BFC was done. With the Stasi, the People’s Police and GDR customs, the club’s sponsors were gone. Stars like Andreas Thom (Leverkusen) or Thomas Doll (HSV) left. The club’s political past and the image of the rioters in the 1990s and early 2000s has given the Hohenschönhauser the reputation of the unloved sleazeball in German football.
Now the BFC wants to write sporting headlines, the 3rd league is within reach. Jörn Lenz, today’s team manager, experienced all the highs and lows at BFC from 1985 until today as a player, coach and official. “I would put promotion to the third division at the top,” said the 52-year-old.
However, the Northeast Championship is only half the promotion rent. Benbennek doesn’t like the fact that the BFC has to make its way into the 3rd division on the way to relegation. “As long as there is a master who cannot be promoted directly, something is wrong with the system,” said the coach. In an annual rotation, the three associations Northeast, North and Bavaria, this year Bayreuth, only have one direct climber alongside the West and Southwest. The fourth promoted team will be determined in a first and second leg.
Was one of the stars at BFC Dynamo until the turnaround: Andreas Thom
Source: dpa/Thomas Lehmann
In addition, the DFB put an additional hurdle in the way of the East Berliners with a license requirement in the amount of a guarantee of 900,000 euros. This must be deposited by June 1st. With the help of sponsors and fans, the BFC has already been able to raise around 720,000 euros.
At this point, the signal is for promotion, and the first sporting step towards league three should follow at the weekend.
