This past Saturday I took in a Regionalliga Nordost (4th tier) match between SV Babelsberg 03 and Union Berlin II. The game was held at Karl-Liebknecht-Stadion, which lies in Babelsberg, the largest district of Potsdam.
I only knew a little about Babelsberg before the match, but what I had heard intrigued me. When I was at the TeBe friendly this past summer, I asked a couple of their supporters what other lower league clubs in the region would be worth seeing. One replied Babelsberg could prove an interesting groundhop, to which another chimed in, “only go to Babelsberg if you care more about politics than football.” Well, it just so happens I care about politics and football. The complex relationship between the football and politics has been of great interest to me, and is a topic I have wrote several papers on for my courses in James Madison College at Michigan State University.
Matchday:
I arrived in Babelsberg (by car) quite early, around 9 A.M. to be exact. I wanted to get some sightseeing in before the 1:30 kick-off, as Potsdam is a city full of rich history. Potsdam has some beautiful palaces, castles, monuments, and parks. It was the seat of many of the Prussian rulers.
However, before taking in the city’s history, I decided to check out the ground. The stadium was not hard to find. I found it almost right away thanks to some well-placed street signs. When I arrived, I found a gate open and walked right in. The groundskeeper was busy at work preparing the pitch for that afternoon’s match. He paid me little acknowledgement as I climbed the terraces and got a feel for the stadium. Karl-Liebknecht-Stadion has an official capacity of 10,500. 1,500 of those are seats, the rest is standing, larger than I would have guessed after having seen it. Yet, the stadium had a very intimate feel about it, tucked into a forested, residential area of Babelsberg.
The ground
Something unique about Babelsberg is that their standing support is situated on the long side of the field, opposite the main stand and dugouts. At stadiums I have visited in Germany, the home support stand is almost always behind one of the goals, with the away support located in one of the opposite corners of the stadium.
Another thing I noticed while wandering the empty, albeit for the groundskeeper mowing away, stadium were the stickers plastered to nearly every surface. The stickers contained phrases, slogans, and logos illustrating the club’s socially liberal stance and friendship with St. Pauli.
Babelsberg is among one of the most left-leaning clubs in Germany. Perhaps the only club more so, is Saint Pauli, of Hamburg.
After getting a feel for the ground and getting acquainted with the area, I crossed the Havel river and got my sightseeing out of the way.
I returned to Babelsberg around 12:30. I found a parking spot and headed toward the ground. I followed a crowd of Babelsberg faithful to their local watering hole, not 200 meters from the ground. Had it not been match-day, I would have walked right by it. It looked like normal house.
It was a crisp fall day, the kind where it’s too cold to wear just a sweatshirt or sweater, but too warm for a coat. The majority of the Babelsberg supporters were outside the house, beer in hand, enjoying the afternoon. I walked through the crowd into the house.
Inside was not as crowded as outside. I headed for the corner of the room, where a bar stood. Behind the bar stood a guy, late 20’s, and a girl no older than 10 years old. The guy asked me what I wanted and went to the fridge to grab my beer while the young girl took my 1 euro and 50 cents. If any 30 second encounter could sum up the nonchalant and relaxed attitude of Germans toward beer and alcohol, that would be it.
The room I stood in drinking my beer was plastered with stickers, just like the ones I had seen earlier. There were couches, tables, a foosball table, cans of paint (presumably for painting tifos), flags, a trophy shelf, and other staples of a lower-league fan hangout.
I told the guy working the bar I was a groundhopper and asked him if he’d mind answering a few questions about the club. He was more than happy to answer all of my questions, explaining to me that their season had been up and down so far. Not great, not terrible. He told me they were an extremely tough side to beat at home (which I would later see). According to him, Babelsberg hoped to win the Brandenburg Cup, which would give them a spot in next year’s DFB-Pokal. However, he didn’t seem too optimistic about their chances against Energie Cottbus, who is also playing in the cup after having been relegated to the third tier last year.
After a while another guy joined our conversation. He turned out to be a Saint Pauli supporter. I knew the two clubs had a friendship by that point so I wasn’t too surprised. I asked if he was from the area (Saint Pauli is one of those clubs that has fans from all over the country), he told me he was not, and that he was in fact from Hamburg. He went on to tell me there was a small contingent of supporters that had made the trek from Hamburg for a special cause.
The special cause was the two matches to be played after Babelsberg vs. Union II. The first match was between two refugee teams, Welcome United 03 and FC LAMPEDUSA Hamburg. The second match was between the supporter teams of Babelsberg and St. Pauli.
Click here for more info on the refugee match, including photos.
” Refugees Welcome”, an awesome TIFO and pyro display by Babelsberg earlier this year.
Ad for the refugee match in the window of a local business.
When I asked the St Pauli fan from Hamburg if he was playing he said he was “more of a coach” for the supporter team. I couldn’t get over what a cool idea both of those matches were. The three of us talked football over beers for while, swapping stories.
It was approaching 1:30 and I asked the friendly bartender if it was possible to buy a ticket in the Babelsberg standing section. I usually try and stand with the home support on my groundhops if possible. He said, “of course” and handed me a ticket. I pulled out my wallet to pay him back for it, but he brushed me off, insisting it was his pleasure. I shook his hand and thanked him for his kindness. The St. Pauli fan handed me a business card, and told me to contact him if I was ever in Hamburg and he would try and fix a ticket for me. I’ve met some awesome people through groundhopping, but those two guys were two nicest I’ve come across.
I walked the 200 meters or so from the fan “pub” toward the ground. I found a good spot on the terrace with the Babelsberg support.
“Filmstadt Inferno” is the name of the Babelsberg ultra group. The name pays homage to Babelsberg’s historical, and contemporary, significance as film city.
The Babelsberg supporters were loud and passionate. They had a large repertoire of songs and chants, which was fun. Their drummer was extremely talented, and I got a kick out of listening to him play. The players on the field fed off the terrific support and jumped out to a 3-0 lead. Union Berlin would eventually get back 2 goals to make it respectable, making the final score 3-2 for Babelsberg.
To my surprise Babelsberg played really aesthetically pleasing football. A lot of the Babelsberg players had what you might call, “old man game”, especially compared to their competition, Union II, many of whom are teenagers or in their early 20’s. After watching this match, there is little doubt in my mind that a team like Babelsberg would run away with the NPSL, the fourth tier of American soccer.
One of the highlights of the match was my halftime meal. I had heard through the grapevine that some of the best curry (yes, curry), can be found in a tiny shack on the concourse of Karl-Liebknecht-Stadion. A mother and daughter run it together. Best might be a stretch, but for 3 euro 50 cents I had a bowl full of some damn good authentic Indian food.
Not your typical terrace grub
Some members of “Filmstadt Inferno” held up a small TIFO several times throughout the match. I wasn’t able to read it, as I was standing behind the guys holding it up, it was not until after the match that I found out what it said.
The home stand. Can you find me?
A wonderful day on the terraces. Babelsberg embodies some of the best things about football: grassroots supporter culture, acceptance and tolerance, beautiful play, and an intimate, supporter friendly ground. It is a breath of fresh air from many of the clubs in Eastern Germany that have problems with racist, hateful, far-right supporters.
Groundhopping Yank 