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VSG ALTGLIENICKE

NEW GUIDE - MARCH 2024

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Founded: Jan 1, 1946
Club Members: 1,010
Coach: Isyan Demir
Captain: Tolcay Cigerci

Landespokal Berlin Winner: 1
Oberliga Nordost: 1


Website: www.vsg-altglienike.de

 

The latest challenger in the race to become the capital's third footballing power behind Hertha and Union; VSG Altglienicke's tangled roots go back to a time when fervent patriots like Friedrich Ludwig Jahn were organising gymnastic events to counter 'the physical decline of humanity' following Prussia's defeat in the Napoleonic War. They soon became national events that inspired many gymnasts to form their own associations - including a group from the East Berlin district of Altglienicke who formed 'MTV Spieß Altglienicke' on 25th July 1883.

Sport was becoming a highly politicised issue with strong nationalist overtones and participants in any sport other than gymnastics were branded unpatriotic and "Traitors to the Fatherland ". As interest in football gained traction around the turn of the century, a class division developed in German society with gymnasts using their influence to persuade the authorities to drive away anyone who wanted to kick a leather ball about instead. In response, the 'Arbeiter Turn und Sportbund ' (ATSB) was formed in 1893 as a Workers' Sports association that actively promoted interest in sports other than just gymnastics as well as leftist political views based around class struggle and nationalism.

By 1906, the first workers' sports clubs were being set up in Berlin including BSC Freiheit 06 before Altglienicke Ballspielclub 09 was established as a football-only club and a member of the DFB (German FA) in 1909. In 1914, BSC Freiheit 06 merged with other workers' sports clubs to form TuSV Altglienicke 06 and from 1919 they played in the local Märkische Spielvereinigung league before being forced to disband in 1933 when the Nazis ordered the ATSB and any other workers' sports associations with left-leaning or faith-based affiliations, to be banned, dissolved and deleted from official records.

Allied tanks on the streets of Germany's capital brought Hitler's 'Thousand Year Reich' to an end in 1945 and in an attempt to stamp out fascism, a policy of de-Nazification forced all sports associations and football clubs across the country to disband - including MTV Spieß Altglienicke and Altglienicke Ballspielclub 09. Amidst simmering tension between the western allies and the Soviets, a new club - Altglienicke Sportverein (ASV) - rose from the ashes on 1st January 1946 and brought the membership of all the old parent clubs back together under one association.


When two ideological opposites partitioned and the new East German regime took direct control of the state’s footballing activities, pressure was put on ASV to conform to socialist ideology by becoming a workers' sports club or Betriebssportgemeinschaften (BSG) - a complete mirroring of the approach the Nazis had taken just a few years before. Every club was to be linked to a specific factory or organisation, where players became employees and excused for training and matches. ASV were ordered to merge with BSG Chemie Adlershof in October 1951 and threatened with repercussions if they didn't comply. Football fans in state socialist East Germany however weren't, then at least, passive recipients of party orders and the proposal was rejected out of hand by the ASV board as the club vowed to remain a private association free of state-backed sponsors. The stand made by the club forced the politburo into a compromise that would see ASV escape punishment if they switched to a more ideologically palatable identity - Volkssport Gemeinschaft Altglienicke (VSG Altglienicke).

Like many other clubs struggling with the economic and social divisions caused by the Berliner Mauer (Berlin Wall), VSG began a slide into the complicated lower league system of German football and it was only after rejecting the chance to reclaim their Altglienicke Sportverein identity post-reunification (the abbreviation ASV was also reminiscent of the name of the former army sports clubs of the GDR) that VSG began a gradual rise up the pyramid. After starting off the post-Wende era in the ninth-tier (and very local) Kreisliga, by a process of 'one step forward, two back' they eventually worked their way through the leagues before winning promotion to the fifth-tier Oberliga Nordost in 2016. Having recruited former pros Björn Brunnemann and Torsten Mattuschka, they then outpaced FSV Optik Rathenow to become Oberliga champions in 2016-17 and secure a berth in the fourth-tier Regionalliga Nordost where VSG have played ever since.

The club's high-water mark was still to come however and on 22nd August 2020 they comprehensively dismantled FC Viktoria 1899 Berlin 6-0 to win their maiden Landespokal Berlin and qualify for the following season's DFB-Pokal. U
nfortunately for VSG however, Bundesliga heavyweights 1.FC Köln were waiting for them and, after switching the tie, the adventure ended in the Cathedral city at the first hurdle. 

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 GROUND DETAILS 

Ground Name: Friedrich Ludwig Jahn Sportpark
Architect: Rudolf Ortner

Year Opened: 1951
Renovations: 1964, 1970, 1986-1987, 1998, 2015

Capacity: 19,708 (all seating)
Record Attendance: 30
,000 (1974)
Construction Costs: DM 15m

Undersoil Heating: Yes

Running Track: Yes

Playing Surface: Natural Grass
Pitch Size: 110m x 72m

Grounds:

Köpenicker Straße/An der Mühle (1946 - 1951)

Volksstadion Altglienicke (1951 - 2004)
Stadion Altglienicke (2004 - 2023) *

Friedrich Ludwig Jahn Sportpark (2023 - )
*
Stadium Renamed

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Backing up against what was the inner wall in the east and just a short walk from where thousands flowed through the Bornholmer Straße checkpoint on 9th November 1989, the Friedrich Ludwig Jahn Sportpark is one of those places in Berlin where, in the words of Italian songwriter Francesco Guccini … "pieces of the past are mixed with shreds of the present ". Tainted by its association with East Germany's failed experiment in dictatorship, the stadium was home to 'Stasi club' BFC Dynamo and became a meeting place for Berlin’s right-wing, neo-Nazi, hooligan and criminal underground. Even its name has caused controversy amid claims of anti-Semitism and Nazi ideology. Few European grounds have struggled with the specters of the past as much but that only adds to the Jahn Sportpark's gritty allure.

Long before Stasi  leaders haunted the stands, the land was used by the Prussian Army and it became known as Exer  -  a nickname derived from the German word Exerzierplatz  meaning 'parade ground'. Locals also referred to it as Platz an der Einsamen Pappel  (Place by the Lonely Poplar) after a tree on the site where 20,000 rebellious Berlin workers gathered on 26th March 1848 to demand regulated working hours, minimum wages and the introduction of compulsory schooling from the Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm IV.

By the end of the 19th century, the army had moved on and the vacant square was being used by local residents who lived in crowded tenement blocks and had no other access to open areas.
 Interest in football was also gaining traction in Germany at the time and an exhibition match between teams from Berlin and Dresden was played here on 18 April 1892 which the Berliners lost 0-3. Hertha BSC then made the Exer  their first home later that summer after 'The Old Lady ' was founded in a pub around the corner. Meanwhile, attempts to stop locals using the ground for their own matches were stopped in their tracks when nobody wanted to stump up the cost of building a wall (this is Berlin after all) around it. In 1910 however, with lawsuits demanding recreational use of the ground being filed against them, the War Ministry finally agreed to sell up and in June 1912 the city of Berlin paid DM 6.5 million for the site before converting it into a sports facility a year later.

After being used as a military base during World War 2, architect Rudolf Ortner was appointed to build a multi sport complex on the 22-hectare site from the rubble of Berlin's ruins with a showpiece stadium at its heart. Opened in time to host the World Festival of Youth and Students in 1951, the new venue had a capacity of 30,000 and was called Berliner Sportpark before being renamed a year later in honour of a fervent patriot called Friedrich Ludwig Jahn on the 100th anniversary of his birth. Jahn is a divisive figure in Germany. To his admirers, he is the father of Gymnastics and a hero who organised
 gymnastic festivals across the country to counter "the physical decline of humanity" following Prussia's defeat in the Napoleonic Wars. For others though; his xenophobic, anti-Semitic views draw parallels with the National Socialist aim to create the ultimate German citizen through the body perfection and the debate about whether or not to rename the stadium has rumbled on for years.

In 1953, army club Vorwärts Berlin became tenants and after a first league title arrived in 1958, five more followed during the 1960s as a lively battle for Oberliga supremacy was fought - and generally won - with FC Carl Zeiss Jena. However, despite being the state's most successful club, the infamous head of the Stasi - Erich Mielke began reshaping East Berlin's football scene to the benefit of his favoured club BFC Dynamo and in 1971, in a move bearing all the hallmarks that had become de rigeur  in state socialist East Germany, Vorwärts were forced to relocate 65 miles east to the footballing backwater of Frankfurt an der Oder. Their departure from the capital cleared the way for Mielke to move BFC Dynamo into the FLJ and 'his boys' went on to tower over the rest of East German football amidst widespread rumours of doping, bribes and corruption. Dubbed by rival fans as Schiebemeister  (cheating champions), they won ten titles on the trot between 1979-1988 and also established themselves as a force in Europe with the likes of Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, AS Roma and Aberdeen all visiting the Jahn Sportpark.

By the time the Berlin Wall came down however, the blatant favouritism shown towards them by the state had rendered the once great Oberliga a moribund irrelevance and 
East Germany's top clubs all struggled to adapt to the free-market Bundesliga as association with communism, a general demographic exodus and lack of success on the field led to falling attendances. Having profited most from the state-controlled football of the GDR, it was BFC Dynamo who suffered the most when that backing disappeared. As the club sold its stars to the West and began a descent towards the lower reaches of the German game, a brutal hooligan scene soon had the stadium firmly under control and with crowds staying away and money becoming tight, Die Weinroten moved out of the Friedrich Ludwig Jahn Sportpark in 1992 leaving the stadium to fall into disrepair.

Despite numerous renovations over the years, including a €2 million refit to bring it up to scratch ahead of the 2015 UEFA Women's Champions League final, Berlin's third largest stadium remains a decaying relic of the Cold War era. Merging early and late phase East German modernism, it's a typical continental bowl with a lower tier ringing the pitch in a continuous sweep of signature multi-coloured seats - save for the double-tiered main stand which dominates the eastern side of the ground. Opened in 1987 when the stadium underwent a revamp, the grandstand's coral red panels contrast sharply with cold brutalist architecture and it's where you'll find the matchday offices, players tunnel and dug-outs. Its façade is also notable for the so-called 'Mielke Ramp' which allowed the Stasi Minister and his flunkeys to get out of their Volvos and Volgas right outside the VIP lounge on the upper floor.

The main stand's dilapidated condition means that its upper tier is closed and because the lower tier is reserved for media and VIPs, most fans tend to congregate instead under the roof of the 
Gegengerade (Blocks H-O) along the western side of the ground. Immediately behind this stand is a section of the Berlin Wall covered in chunky lettering and coded messages by graffiti artists. Beyond that is the
Mauerpark  (Wall Park) which stands on land that was known as the 'Death Strip' on account of the hundreds of observation towers, attack dogs, trip-wire machine guns and armed guards primed to shoot anyone trying to escape to the West.

The remaining sides of the oval shaped ground are open to the elements and away fans are normally welcomed into the southern Kurve (Blocks F-G) - although it was closed on our visit (21.11.21) and the Gäste Block was moved instead to Blocks H-J on the Gegengerade. A well maintained synthetic athletics track installed in 1970 sets the ends behind the goal a fair distance from the action and four iconic trapezoidal floodlights are as much a part of the stadium's look as the distinctive red, yellow and green seating added in 1998.

Although plans to completely renovate the historic (albeit decaying) FLJ were drawn up in 2019, these have continually been put back by the Berlin authorities who have set aside a whopping €160 million to convert it into an 'inclusion sports park'. The latest delay has come following a legal challenge by lawyers who state that the development plans were not "legally compliant and highly vulnerable to legal action" and have ordered new plans to be drawn up that take into consideration the environmental impact of the development on the surrounding area including the proposed felling of trees. As part of the planning process, an architectural competition to design the new stadium complex is also due to take place and was expected to be completed by mid-2022. At the time of writing, funding for the whole project still hasn't been secured and the whole schedule has been pushed back. Not that this should come as any great surprise to anyone - this is Berlin after all !

Meanwhile, whilst the Friedrich Ludwig Jahn Sportpark's long-term future remains uncertain, Regionalliga Nordost side VSG Altglienicke have moved in and will play their home fixtures here for the next two seasons on account of the fact that their Stadion Altglienicke home (and in particular, its artificial pitch) doesn't meet Regionalliga Nordost regulations.

 BUYING TICKETS 

Ticket Office:
Website: www.etix.com

Telephone: +49 (0) 351 30708010
Email: hilfe@etix.com

Average Attendance:
2022-2023: 380 (Regionalliga Nordost)
2021-2022: 288 (Regionalliga Nordost) *
2020-2021: 328 (Regionalliga Nordost) *

2019-2020: 406 (Regionalliga Nordost) *
2018-2019: 293 (Regionalliga Nordost)
* Season affected by COVID pandemic

Expected Ticket Availability

The club website is German only but Google Translate makes short work of being able to navigate your way around.

Even with a capacity limit of 10,000 on matchdays, the 'FLJ' comes nowhere close to being packed to the rafters and only the main stand (blocks A & B) is likely to be in use. Tickets are sold in Print@Home or Mobile formats through the online shop the club run with ticketing partners Etix with full-payers charged €10 and seniors, disabled people, students and children (aged 6-12) relieved of €8. All tickets bought online however are subject to an additional €1 surcharge. 

 GETTING THERE & AWAY 

Stadium Address:

Cantianstraße 24
10437 Berlin

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BY CAR:
If you're in the car, there are a number of different directions you can come and the simplest advice is to put the stadium address in your Sat-Nav and follow its guidance. Be warned though, there are no official car parks available for fans at the ground and only limited parking in the surrounding area. If you can, park up somewhere near a U-Bahn station and take public transport from there.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT:

The Friedrich Ludwig Jahn Sportpark is very well connected to the dense public transport network in Berlin, although your match ticket does NOT include travel to and from the stadium on a matchday. Getting there from the centre of Berlin will be covered by an 'AB' ticket which costs €3.20 each way - but don't forget to validate it by stamping your ticket at the yellow or red boxes on platforms, buses or trams. It's called 'Entwerten ' in German and anyone caught travelling without a stamped ticket escapes only with a red face and a €60 on-the-spot fine.

You have a number of options available to you. On the U-Bahn, U2 (Direction: Pankow) crosses the city centre with convenient stops at the transport hubs of Zoologischer Garten, Potsdamer Platz and Alexanderplatz before making its way to Eberswalder Straße, a five minute walk from the ground. Alternatively, jump on U8 (Direction: Wittenau) and get off at Bernauer Straße from where it's a 15 minute stroll to the turnstiles. On the S-Bahn, take either of the S41 or S42 lines which circle around the Ringbahn  and hop off at Schönhauser Allee for the short walk to the FLJ.

You can also get to the match aboard one of the 'Bombardier Flexity Berlins' - the name given to trams on one of the oldest and largest networks in the world. Jump on Tram M10 (Direction: S+U Warschauer Straße) at Berlin Hauptbahnhof for the 10 minute ride to the Friedrich Ludwig Jahn Sportpark stop.

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WALKING DIRECTIONS:
Berlin is BIG and the city has gone to a lot of trouble to ensure people don't have to walk to the match. If you do want to burn off some Currywurst  however, use Google Maps to help plan the route - but give yourself about an hour from Alexanderplatz or the Hauptbahnhof to avoid missing kick-off.

 FAN SHOP, MUSEUM & STADIUM TOURS 

FAN SHOP:
Bad news for collectors of matchday memorabilia. Highlighting the straitened economic realities of being a modest club used to operating in the amateur ranks, it looks like VSG are yet to justify the cost of opening a fan shop.

They might operate a mobile shop at the stadium on matchdays but otherwise, all your blue and white souvenirs will have to be sourced through the club's online shop 
here

 FOOD & DRINK OPTIONS 

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There's no shortage of pre-match bars and restaurants in the hip Prenzlauer Berg neighbourhood around the stadium. 

Prater on Kastanienallee is the city's oldest beer garden (open since 1837) and a good place for classic Berlin dishes or to guzzle a cold one before making your way to the match. Brave the queues outside Konnopke's Imbiss (Schönhauser Allee 44a; 10am-8pm, Mon-Fri; 12pm-8pm, Sat ) for legendary Currywurst  from one of Berlin's cult sausage kitchens. Gugelhof made headlines in 2000 when feeding former US President Bill Clinton and instead of 'dining out' on its fame ever since, continues to serve up robust German meals and inventive daily specials. 

There are plenty of cafes in the streets surrounding the Eberswalder Straße U-Bahn station and the line between cafe and bar often blurs as the hands move around the clock - much to the disapproval of noise-sensitive neighbours.

The options inside the FLJ won't make the culinary big-time but you can still fill up on Bratwurst and watch the match with a few pints of Berliner Kindl - and you'll be pleased to know that you can pay for everything with cash.

OTHER CLUBS IN THE AREA

BUNDESLIGA: 1.FC Union Berlin, RB Leipzig

BUNDESLIGA 2: FC Hansa Rostock, Hertha BSC

3.LIGA: FC Erzgebirge Aue, Hallescher FC, SG Dynamo Dresden

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