SAMSTAG 15:30

Founded: 1975
Coach: Alper Kayabunar
Captain: Marco Holz

Website: www.turkgucu.de


Umlaut-loving Türkgücü München were originally founded in 1975 as 'SV Türk Gücü München' (Turkish Power Munich) by Turkish migrants working in the Bavarian capital. After spending their formative years knocking around in the lower amateur levels, a group of wealthy Turkish businessmen took over in 1983 and bankrolled a number of promotions which saw Türk Gücü rise to the (then) fourth-tier Landesliga Bayern-Sud following a play-off victory over VfR Neuburg in front of 3,000 fans.

The club then strengthened its team with non-Turkish players and, under coach Peter Grosser, subsequently won promotion to the Bayernliga in 1988 - at the time, the third tier of the German league pyramid. After a series of initially strong league performances gave rise to lofty ambitions of joining the professional ranks in Bundesliga.2, the club's fortunes on and off-the-field started to wane. Relegation in 1992 came at a time when their previously loyal fanbase was starting to drift away as the large number of non-Turkish players diluted the club's identity amongst Munich's sizeable Turkish community. Satellite TV coverage of European matches was also on the rise and many of Türk Gücü's support found themselves preferring to follow the likes of traditional Turkish giants Besiktas, Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe at weekends instead of a side struggling in the third or fourth tiers of German football. Despite an acknowledgement by the Bavarian FA for the important role Türk Gücü had played in Bavarian football (the club crest represents strong Bavarian roots and their motto reads "Preserving Traditions, Connecting Culture") the club's glory days were over and in 2001 they were declared bankrupt and wound up.

Players from Türk Gücü immediately formed a phoenix club called 'Türkischer SV 1975 München' which played as an uncompetitive side in the lower reaches of amateur football for the next eight years until the club merged with another of Munich's 'immigrant' clubs - 'ATA Spor München' in 2009. Now known as 'SV Türkgücü-Ataspor' and taking ATA Spor's place in the seventh-tier Bezirksliga Oberbayern-Nord, they began a gradual climb up the leagues before investor and former Türk Gücü player Hasan Kivran became club president in 2016. He reportedly spent €1 million of his own money as players with professional experience were brought in on comparatively high wages for the amateur leagues and, after shortening their name to 'Türkgücü München' a couple of years ago, promotion to 3.Liga was won in 2019-20 to become the first club founded by immigrants to reach professional football. Although Kivran's backing didn't break the parameters of the 50+1 Rule, his influence and big-spending attracted criticism. In fact, the issue of fan-forward ownership is not the only challenge facing Türkgücü as Germany's broader social issues have also made them a target for racial abuse. 

The views of an intolerant few weren't the only dark clouds gathering however as growing financial pressures saw Türkgücü München's brief stay in professional football come to a premature end in January 2022 when the club filed for insolvency before withdrawing from the 3.Liga altogether a couple of months later. As history has shown though, the eastern suburbs of Munich are a fertile breeding ground for football clubs and it wasn't long before Türkgücü had reformed under new club president Taskin Akkay. Following their reincarnation, the road to recovery begins in the fourth-tier Regionalliga Bayern but, perhaps more importantly, Türkgücü München will continue to be a source of pride and representation for a community that has long been an important part of German society.