TÜRKGÜCÜ MÜNCHEN
SEPTEMBER 2023
Founded: 1975
Coach: Alper Kayabunar
Captain: Onal Tosun
Landespokal Bavaria Winner: 1
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 the region's 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', 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.
GROUND DETAILS
Ground Name: Grünwalder Stadion
Year Opened: 1911
Renovations: 1925 - 1926, 1938, 1951, 1959, 1978 - 1979, 2012 - 2013
Capacity: 15,000 (9,059 standing)
Record Attendance: 60,000 (1948)
Executive Boxes: 1
Undersoil Heating: Yes
Running Track: No
Floodlights: 1,200 lux
Playing Surface: Natural Grass
Grounds:
Dantestadion (1975 - 2006)
Krehlebogen (2006 - 2020)
Grünwalder Stadion (2020 - )
Olympiastadion (2020 - 2022)
Stadion im ATS-Sportpark (2022 - )
Ironically for a club formed by Turkish immigrants, Türkgücü are currently without a stadium to call their own and split their 'home' Regionalliga Bayern fixtures between the Grünwalder Stadion and Stadion im ATS-Sportpark in nearby Heimstetten.
The Grünwalder Stadion is also home to fellow Munich clubs TSV 1860 München and Bayern München II; and concerns about potential fixture clashes saw Türkgücu play several 3.Liga matches at the cob-webbed roofed 69,000-seater Olympiastadion. Following Türkgücü's insolvency and reincarnation in 2022, a similar arrangement was demanded by the BFV (Bavarian FA) but the high cost of renting the iconic Olympiastadion saw the Stadion im ATS-Sportpark deemed a more suitable venue. In the words of club president Taskin Akkay however, "all the risk games " will still be played at the Grünwalder Stadion.
We haven't visited the Stadion im ATS-Sportpark at the time of writing but for general information regarding Ground Details, Getting There & Away and Food & Drink Options at the Grünwalder Stadion, please visit our TSV 1860 München guide here.
BUYING TICKETS
Ticket Office:
Email: ticket@turkgucu.de
Average Attendance:
2022-2023: 271 (Regionalliga Bayern)
2021-2022: 1,376 (3.Liga) *
2020-2021: N/A *
2019-2020: N/A *
2018-2019: 206 (Bayernliga Süd)
* Season affected by COVID pandemic
Expected Ticket Availability
Unable to step out of the shadow cast by the other Munich clubs, Türkgücü have historically been a club with a very small fanbase and having to re-establish themselves in the Regionalliga after insolvency in 2022 means that getting hold of a ticket will be about as easy as it can be. Just turn up at the stadium box office about an hour before kick-off and ask for a ticket of your choosing. Note that there are no online sales.
For Türkgücü's matches at the Grünwalder, only the main grandstand is in use and tickets cost full-payers €12. Fans aged 13-18 years old and senior citizens will pay €10; and children (0-12 years) are allowed in free of charge.
Also, check if the match is being played at the Grünwalder Stadion or Stadion im ATS-Sportpark - we're sure people will get caught out by this over the course of the season.
OTHER CLUBS IN THE AREA
BBUNDESLIGA: FC Augsburg, FC Bayern München
BUNDESLIGA 2: 1.FC Nürnberg, SpVgg Greuther Fürth
3.LIGA: FC Ingolstadt 04, SSV Jahn Regensburg, SpVgg Unterhaching, TSV 1860 München