Berliner FC Dynamo

Berliner FC Dynamo
Berliner Fussball Club Dynamo e. V., commonly abbreviated to BFC Dynamo or BFC, alternatively sometimes called Dynamo Berlin, is a German football club based in the locality of Alt-Hohenschönhausen of the borough of Lichtenberg of Berlin.
BFC Dynamo was founded in 1966 from the football department of SC Dynamo Berlin and became one of the most successful clubs in East German football, with numeours appearances in international football. The club is the record champion of East Germany with ten consecutive league championships from 1979 through 1988.
BFC Dynamo competes in the fourth tier Regionalliga Nordost. The club enjoys a cross-city rivalry with 1. FC Union Berlin and a historical rivalry with SG Dynamo Dresden. The rivalry with Union Berlin is part of the Berlin derby. The team plays its home matches in the Sportforum Hohenschönhausen.
History
Colours and crest
The colours of BFC Dynamo are claret and white. The colours were inherited from SC Dynamo Berlin and followed the claret colour scheme of SV Dynamo. BFC Dynamo has been playing in claret and white since the club's founding, with the exception of a period in the 1990s. The BFC Dynamo home kit has traditionally been a claret shirt, paired with claret or white shorts and socks. The team is occasionally nicknamed "die Weinroten", which means "the Clarets".
The BFC Dynamo away kit has traditionally been a white shirt, paired with claret or white shorts and socks. However, a variety of away kits have been used at different times. The team used green away shirts from the end of the 1960s until the mid-1970s. Green was the colour of the Volkspolizei, which was the official sponsor of BFC Dynamo during the East German era. The green away shirt was then exchanged for a white away shirt, paired with red or white shorts and socks. The team used entirely red away kits during the 1981–82 and 1982–83 seasons. The red away kit was then exchanged for an entirely claret away kit. The team again used white away shirts from the 1985–86 season. The 1985–86 season also saw the instruction of an alternative claret and white diagonally striped away shirt. The diagonally striped away shirt would be used for the rest of the 1980s.
The club was rebranded as FC Berlin on 19 February 1990. A pure white was set as the new match colour with immediate effect. FC Berlin then adopted a red and white colour scheme. In the eyes of the supporters, the red and white kit looked a lot like 1. FC Union Berlin. The club played in red and white home kits for most of the FC Berlin era, but wore a black and red striped home shirt, paired with black shorts and socks from the 1996–97 season through the 1998–99 season. The club returned to its original club name on 3 May 1999 and consequently also later returned to its traditional colour scheme.
The crest of BFC Dynamo during the East German era featured a stylized "D" for SV Dynamo and the lettering "BFC" in red and yellow on a white background, surrounded by a yellow wreath. BFC Dynamo abandoned its East German crest when the club was rebranded as FC Berlin on 19 February 1990. The club used two different crests during the FC Berlin era. The first crest featured a stylized image of the roof of the Brandenburg Gate with the lettering "FCB" underneath and the club name "Fussballclub Berlin" in capital letters at the bottom, in white on a red background. It was only briefly used at the beginning of the FC Berlin era in 1990. The second crest featured a stylized image of a football with the Brandenburg Gate in front, the lettering "FCB" at the top and the club name "FC Berlin" at the bottom, in red on a white background. This crest was used from the spring of 1990 until the end of the FC Berlin era.
BFC Dynamo reclaimed its East German crest when the club returned to its original club name on 3 May 1999. But the club was no longer in possession of the crest. The club had neglected to seek legal protection for its East German crest after German reunification. The neglect was likely due to managerial inexperience. Protection of trademarks was neither necessary nor common in East Germany. The crest was now owned by Peter Klaus-Dieter Mager, commonly known as "Pepe". Pepe Mager was a famous fan of Hertha BSC and a fan merchandise dealer. The club tried to recover the crest from Mager though court action, without success. The ownership of the crest was instead passed on to Rayk Bernt and his company RA-BE Immobilien- und Handelsgesellschaft mbH.
BFC Dynamo continued to use the disputed crest on its kits and webpage. But the club would have to ask the owner of the crest every time it wanted to have a pennant made and was unable to exploit the commercial value of the crest for its own benefit. The legal situation around the crest would also have caused problems in the event of an advance to the Regionalliga, as the German football Association (DFB) required clubs to own their crests. In order establish independence, the club finally decided to adopt a new crest in 2009.
The new crest abandoned the traditional stylized "D" and the lettering "BFC", as they would have met legal obstacles. The new crest featured a black Berlin bear on claret and white stripes, together with the club name and the founding year. The first version of the new crest sparked controversy. The word "fußball" in the club name had been written in lower case with a double "s" instead of the graphene "ß". This was contrary to German spelling rules, where it is only permissible to write "fußball" with a double "s" when the word is written in upper case. Club President Norbert Uhlig ensured that there was absolutely no ulterior motive behind the spelling and claimed that the word had always been spelled like that on club pennants and scarfs. The Chairman of the Economic Council Peter Meyer later claimed that the spelling was a deliberate marketing ploy, in order to have new crest immediately known across Germany. A second version of the crest was soon made public, where the club name was written in upper case. The new crest was used by BFC Dynamo from the 2009–10 season.
BFC Dynamo finally managed to win back the traditional crest in 2022, through the Chairman of the Economic Council Peter Meyer. Meyer had acquired the rights to the crest through one of his companies. From the 2023–24 season, BFC Dynamo is once again playing with its traditional crest. The traditional crest was displayed for the first time since its reintroduction in a friendly match against Hertha BSC in front of more than 10,000 spectators at the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark on 7 July 2023.
Ownership of the traditional crest
Many clubs in East Germany rushed to drop their East German names during the Peaceful revolution. BFC Dynamo was among the clubs to do so, in an attempt to distance the club from the Stasi. The club was rebranded as FC Berlin on 19 February 1990 and consequently abandoned its East German crest.
Pepe Mager was a famous fan of Hertha BSC and fan merchandise dealer. Mager had organized away trips for the fans Hertha in the early 1960s and was one of the founders of the notorious supporter group "Hertha-Frösche". He now sold his own fan merchandise from a mobile stand outside the Olympiastadion. Mager inquired with the register of associations in Charlottenburg in 1991 about all deleted names of East German clubs. He immediately found BFC Dynamo and saw business opportunities. Mager claimed that he first secured the former crest of BFC Dynamo for 80 D-Marks in 1992.
The name FC Berlin never became popular with the fans. Fans continued to identify themselves with the former name and crest. An overwhelming majority voted for the club to take back its original club name at the general meeting on 3 May 1999. Of the 135 present, 125 voted in favor, three against and seven abstained. BFC Dynamo thus reclaimed its East German crest, but the rights to the crest now belonged to Mager. Mager had registered the crest in his name at the German Patent and Trademark Office on 13 May 1997.
BFC Dynamo contacted Mager for a co-operation, but an agreement could not be reached. Mager held the opinion that the club should buy its merchandise from him, or simply buy the rights to the crest. He later informed the club that he had received interest from foreign buyers and offered the club to buy the rights. He claimed that the crest was worth 200,000 D-Marks. BFC Dynamo on the other hand claimed that the crest should legally belong to the club. The club sued Mager in court on 20 November 2000, but eventually lost the case. The club decided to suspend the legal dispute with Mager in the summer of 2001 and instead wanted to find a solution outside court. Mager was repeatedly exposed to minor threats from the environment around BFC Dynamo and eventually sold the crest to Rayk Bernt and his company RA-BE Immobilien- und Handelsgesellschaft mbH for a price of 50,000 D-Marks in June 2002.
Bernt was a close associate of André Sommer. Bernt and Sommer had assisted the club at the opening of the insolvency proceedings in 2001–2002. Both were long time fans of BFC Dynamo. But the duo was controversial for their connections to Hells Angels. Bernt and Sommer were almost as restrictive towards the club when it came to the crest as Mager had been. Bernt organized the production of fan merchandise in his own regime. The club would have to ask his company every time it wanted to have a pennant made. Bernt and Sommer usually agreed, manufactured the pennant and then sold it at their own fan merchandise stand at the stadium. BFC Dynamo continued to use the crest and would at times be given ten percent of the revenues from their sales. The club eventually offered 5,000 Euros for the crest, but was turned down. Sponsor Peter Meyer was also said to have offered 150,000 Euros for the buyback. Bernt demanded a seven-digit sum, according to former Club President Mario Weinkauf. The lawyer representing RA-BE Immobilien- und Handelsgesellschaft mbH allegedly claimed the crest was worth around 600,000 Euros at the time.
President Weinkauf planned to recover the rights to the former crest with the help of Thomas Thiel and the company Treasure AG before the general meeting on 23 June 2007. Thiel was a co-owner of Treasure AG, which was intended as a new major sponsor. Bernt sold parts of the rights to the former crest to Thiel. The price was allegedly a six-digit sum. According to the plan, the club would be given the rights of use to the crest. The profits would thus go to the club. The club would pay a symbolic sum of 1 Euro per month for the rights of use. BFC Dynamo would then have a right of first refusal after the ten-year contract had expired and thus have the opportunity to eventually acquire ownership of the crest. However, Weinkauf was ultimately rejected by club members in a vote of no-confidence at the general meeting on 23 June 2007. Weinkauf would then be contacted by the former president of Tennis Borussia Berlin Peter Antony. Treasure AG became a sponsor of Tennis Borussia Berlin instead and Weinkauf would later become president of the club.
Thiel sold his rights to the crest back to Bernt and his company BFC Dynamo Vermarktungsgesellschaft m.b.H in 2009. The rights to the old crest where subsequently controlled again by the company RA-BE Immobilien- und Handelsgesellschaft mbH. The company is controlled by Bernt, who sold occasional items with the former crest at his own webpage. However, RA-BE Immobilien- und Handelsgesellschaft mbH transferred its rights to company AXXON AG in 2022. In connection with the club's 57th anniversary in 2023, the Chairman of the Economic Council Peter Meyer revealed in an exclusive interview with Berliner Kurier that he had acquired the rights to the crest for the club through one of his companies. After more than 13 years, the traditional crest was finally back with the club. According to Berliner Kurier and Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR), a six-digit sum is said to have become due.
Championship star
The German Football League (DFL) introduced a system of championship stars in the 2004–05 season. The system was meant to honor the most successful teams in the Bundesliga by allowing teams to display stars on their shirts for the championships they have won. The system awarded one star for three titles, two stars for five titles, and three stars for ten titles. However, the system only counted titles won in the Bundesliga since the 1963–64 season.
BFC Dynamo submitted an application to the DFL and the DFB on 9 August 2004 to receive three stars for its ten titles in the DDR-Oberliga. The club asked for equal rights and argued that the German Football Association (DFB) had absorbed the German Football Association of the GDR (DFV) with all its statistics, international matches and goal scorers. BFC Dynamo received support from Dynamo Dresden and 1. FC Magdeburg in its attempts to achieve recognition for East German titles.
The DFL responded that it was not the responsible body, but the DFB remained silent for a long time. The DFB eventually declared itself responsible and recommended BFC Dynamo to submit a formal application for a new title symbol in accordance with a relevant paragraph. BFC Dynamo commissioned a law firm in Mitte in January 2005 and sent a new letter to the DFB. The DFB announced that the application from BFC Dynamo was going to be negotiated in a meeting with the DFB presidium. The meeting with the DFB presidium on 18 March 2005 agreed that all titles won in East Germany, as well all others titles won in Germany since the first recognized championship in 1903, should qualify for stars. However, the decision was subject to approval by the DFL. No final decision had yet been made by the DFB presidium.
However, BFC Dynamo took matters in its own hands and unilaterally emblazoned its shirts with three stars. The team displayed the three stars for first time in the match against FC Energie Cottbus II on 25 March 2005. The claim by BFC Dynamo was controversial because the club had been the favorite club of Erich Mielke and had had a connection to the Stasi during the East German era. Critics in the DFB environment pointed to politically influenced championships in East Germany. BFC Dynamo had been sponsored by the Stasi and had enjoyed advantages. The club had privileged access to talents and a permanent training camp at Uckley in Königs Wusterhausen. However, also other clubs in East Germany had enjoyed similar advantages, which put the DFB in a difficult situation. Also former East German referee and CDU parliamentarian Bernd Heynemann spoke out for recognition of all East German titles.
The DFL rejected the application from the DFB and recommended the DFB to only honor clubs that were champions in the Bundesliga. However, the DFB chose to not follow the recommendation. The DFB presidium instead decided on a compromise solution on 19 July 2005 and adopted a new regulation for the 2005–06 season which gave all clubs the right to wear one single star for the championships they have won in the former East Germany and in Germany since 1903. Clubs were also allowed to indicate the number of championships they have won in the center of the star. The regulation only applies to clubs playing in a league under the DFB umbrella. It does not apply to clubs playing in the 2. Bundesliga and Bundesliga, which are organized by the DFL.
The new regulation meant that BFC Dynamo was finally allowed to emblazon its shirts with a championship star. The regulation also affected other former East German teams including Dynamo Dresden with its eight titles, 1. FC Frankfurt with its six titles and Magdeburg with its three titles in the Oberliga. BFC Dynamo has since then used the championship star in accordance with DFB graphic standards, displaying a star inscribed with the number ten for its ten East German titles.
Stadiums
The long-time home and training facility of BFC Dynamo is the Sportforum Hohenschönhausen in Alt-Hohenschönhausen in Berlin. The sports complex is the location of the club offices and the clubhouse. It is also the base of the youth teams. More than 20 youth teams of BFC Dynamo regularly train at the facilities. The Sportforum Hohenschönhausen is considered the spiritual home of the club.
The Sportforum Hohenschönhausen was known as the Dynamo-Sportforum during the East German era. The sports complex was built as a training center for elite sport and was home to sports club SC Dynamo Berlin, with its many departments and squads. Development began in 1954 and expansion continued into the 1980s. The Sportforum is still unique as of today. The sports complex covers an area of 45 to 50 hectares and comprises 35 sports facilities as of 2020.
SC Dynamo Berlin played its first season at the large Walter-Ulbricht-Stadion in Mitte. The team moved its home matches to the football stadium in the Dynamo-Sportforum for the short transitional 1955 season. SC Dynamo Berlin returned to the Walter-Ulbricht-Stadion for the 1956 season. The team would play at the Walter-Ublricht-Stadion for the rest of the 1950s.
SC Dynamo Berlin eventually moved its home matches permanently to the Dynamo-Stadion im Sportforum after the construction of the Berlin wall began on 13 August 1961. The football stadium in the Dynamo-Sportforum held a capacity of 10,000 spectators at the beginning of the 1961–62 season. The team drew average attendances between 3,000 and 6,000 spectators in the DDR-Oberliga at the Dynamo-Stadion im Sportforum in the 1960s. The highlights were matches against local rival ASK Vorwärts Berlin and the various top teams during the period. The capacity of the football stadium in the Dynamo-Sportforum was gradually expanded during the 1960s.
BFC Dynamo began playing occasional matches that required floodlights at the larger Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark in Prenzlauer Berg from November 1968. The Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark was the home ground of FC Vorwärts Berlin at the time. However, the stadium became vacant when FC Vorwärts Berlin was relocated to Frankfurt an der Oder on 31 July 1971. BFC Dynamo played its home matches in the 1971-72 European Cup Winners' Cup at the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark. The matches against Åtvidabergs FF in the quarter-finals on 22 March 1972 and FC Dynamo Moscow in the semi-finals on 5 April 1972 were each attended by 30,000 spectators. The team also played two home matches in the 1971-72 DDR-Oberliga at the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark. However, more matches at the stadium were not possible after the summer of 1972, as the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark was then undergoing extensive renovation for the upcoming 10th World Festival of Youth and Students.
BFC Dynamo was qualified for the 1972-73 UEFA Cup. However, neither the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark nor the Walter-Ulbricht-Stadion were available for the upcoming UEFA Cup matches. Both were undergoing extensive renovation for the 10th World Festival of Youth and Students. Instead, the Dynamo-Stadion im Sportforum underwent a complete transformation in just five weeks between the end of July 1972 and September 1972. The capacity of the Dynamo-Stadion im Sportforum was now expanded to 20,000 spectators. BFC Dynamo played all home matches in the 1972-73 UEFA Cup at the Dynamo-Stadion im Sportforum. The attendance of 20,000 spectators during the match against Liverpool on 29 November 1972 is still a record attendance for the stadium. BFC Dynamo remained at the Dynamo-Stadion im Sportforum for a couple more seasons. The team saw rising attendance numbers at the Dynamo-Stadion im Sportforum during the 1970s. An average of 12,000 people attended the last six matches of BFC Dynamo at the Dynamo-Stadion im Sportforum in the second half of the 1973–74 season. The match between BFC Dynamo and 1. FC Magdeburg in the 1974-75 DDR-Oberliga at the Dynamo-Stadion im Sportforum on 8 March 1975 was attended by a whole 19,000 spectators.
BFC Dynamo eventually moved its home matches to the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark for the 1975–76 season, due to upcoming repair work at the Dynamo-Stadion im Sportforum. The move was meant to be temporary, but eventually became permanent. The Dynamo-Sportforum would primarily serve as a training facility from then and the football stadium would be used mostly by the reserve team BFC Dynamo II. The Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark held a capacity of 30,00 spectators in the 1975–76 season. The average home attendance of 16,538 spectators for BFC Dynamo at the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Stadion in the 1975-76 DDR-Oberliga is the highest average league attendance in club history. BFC Dynamo celebrated nine of its ten DDR-Oberliga titles in the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Stadium. The team also played most of its home matches in the UEFA competitions at the stadium. BFC Dynamo hosted teams such as Shakhtar Donetsk, Red Star Belgrade, Nottingham Forest, Hamburger SV, Aston Villa, AS Roma FC Aberdeen at the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Stadium in the 1970s and 1980. However, all matches in the derby against 1. FC Union Berlin were played at the neutral Stadion der Weltjugend from the 1976–77 season for security reasons.
A permanent training camp for BFC Dynamo was built in Uckley in the Zernsdorf district of Königs Wusterhausen in Bezirk Potsdam at the end of the 1960s. It was located in the woods and completely sealed off from the surroundings. The training camp covered an area of around 10 hectares. The complex was equipped with a boarding school, several football pitches, a sports hall, a swimming pool, a fitness area and a sauna. The team would gather in Uckley days before its European matches. The players would have access to catering facilities, a nearby lake, a bowling alley, a cinema and pinball machines, among other things.
BFC Dynamo moved its home matches temporary to the Dynamo-Sportforum for the 1986–87 season, as the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark was undrgoing redevelopment during the season for the upcoming 750th anniversary of Berlin. The team also played its home matches in the 1986-87 European Cup at the Dynamo-Stadion im Sportforum. The team then returned to the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark for the 1987–88 season. The Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark now had a new four storey grandstand and new floodlight masts. The current grandstand and the floodlights of the stadium dates from this time. The club was rebranded as FC Berlin after Die Wende. FC Berlin moved permanently to the Stadion im Sportforum at the beginning of the 1992–93 season. The team would remain in the Sportforum Hohenschönhausen for many seasons to come.
The capacity of the Stadion im Sportforum had been reduced to about 12,000 spectators by 1992. FC Berlin only drew an average of a couple of hundred spectators per match at the Stadion im Sportforum in the mid-1990s. The highlights were the matches against 1. FC Union Berlin. FC Berlin under Club President Volkmar Wanski announced plans in April 1998 to buy and modernize the stadium. However, the plans eventually failed due to lack of funds. The team saw rising attendance numbers at the Stadion im Sportforum at the end of the 1990s. Active supporters of BFC Dynamo were traditionally found at the northern curved end, popularly known as the Nordwall stand. 4,220 spectators watched the match between BFC Dynamo and Union Berlin at the Stadion im Sportforum on 23 November 1999.
Supporters of BFC Dynamo installed new bucket seats on the main stand and built a new clubhouse next to the main stand of the Stadion im Sportforum in 2002–2003. The Stadion im Sportforum was then equipped with a 25-metre player tunnel and plexiglass-clad coaching benches in November 2004. BFC Dynamo made new plans for a modern football stadium in the Sportforum Hohenschönhausen in 2006 under Club President Mario Weinkauf. The club now wanted to build a new modern stadium for 10,000–15,000 spectators. However, these plans did not materialize either. The Stadion im Sportforum was closed at the end of the 2005–06 season following the riots during the match between BFC Dynamo and Union Berlin on 13 May 2006. BFC Dynamo temporarily had to move to the Friedrich-Ludwg-Jahn-Sportpark. The stadium was then refurbished in 2006–2007 to increase safety and meet the requirements of the NOFV. The refurbishment included a new fence.
BFC Dynamo won promotion to the Regionalliga Nordost at the end of the 2013–14 season. The team moved permanently to the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark for the 2014–15 season, due to increased media and spectator interest following its promotion. The 2014-15 Regionalliga Nordost meant matches against well-known opponents such as 1. FC Magdeburg and FC Carl Zeiss Jena. The more central location of the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark was seen by the club as an opportunity to attract more spectators. The match between BFC Dynamo and 1. FC Magdeburg on 8 November 2014 was attended by 5,103 spectators. Active supporters of BFC Dynamo have traditionally been found on the main stand, and on the side opposite the main stand of the Friedrich Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark. The match between BFC Dynamo and FC Schalke 04 in the first round of the 2018-19 DFB-Pokal at the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark on 17 August 2017 was watched by 14,117 spectators. The attendance was the highest attendance for BFC Dynamo since the fall of the Berlin wall. The average league attendance of BFC Dynamo in the 2017-18 Regionalliga Nordost would also be the highest average league attendance of BFC Dynamo since the 1990-91 season.
BFC Dynamo had to play a number of matches at the Stadion im Sportforum at the end of the 2018–19 season due to safety issues relating to the dilapidated floodlights at the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark. The move was greeted by some supporters as a move to the true home of the club. The club was then set to return to the Sportforum in the 2020–21 season as the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark was planned to be demolished for a complete redevelopment. The team was allowed to continue play in the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark until 31 December 2020. BFC Dynamo then officially announced on 21 March 2021 that the club was going to move back to the Sportforum Hohenschönhausen for the next season.
The Stadion im Sportforum was equipped with a floodlight system in April 2021. The club organized a work effort in the summer of 2021 to get the stadium in shape for the upcoming Regionalliga season.
Supporters of BFC Dynamo gathered and cleared sections of the old stadium from weeds. Members of the interest group IG BFC'er also restored the iconic manual scoreboard above the curved end towards the Weißenseer Weg in time for the first home match of the 2021–22 season against Energie Cottbus on 28 July 2021. The attendance for BFC Dynamo at the Stadion im Sportforum in the 2021-22 Regionalliga Nordost was almost tripled compared to the last comparable league season before the COVID-19 pandemic. 3,219 people watched the match between BFC Dynamo and FC Carl Zeiss Jena on 10 April 2022.
Future stadium
The large stadium in the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark is planned to be demolished towards the end of 2023 for a complete redevelopment. The new stadium in the Fredrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark is designed as an inclusive sports facility. The stadium will hold 20,000 spectators and meet the requirements for play in the 3. Liga and 2. Bundesliga. BFC Dynamo will be able to play matches at the new stadium. The new stadium in the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark is planned to be opened in 2028.
Supporters and rivalries
History
BFC Dynamo initially had modest support, but with its growing successes in the 1970s, the club began to attract young fans, primarily from the central areas around the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark, such as Prenzlauer Berg and Mitte. Many came from working class families in Prenzlauer Berg. The supporter scene became a focal point for various subcultures in the late 1970s and beginning of the 1980s. There were punks, rockers, hippies and a few early skinheads. Some were left-leaning and others were right-leaning.
Young people were gradually attracted by the provocative image of the club. One supporter recalled that the 1980s "were my greatest years, as we always had glorious success in provoking other fans". The supporter scene of BFC Dynamo was acclaimed as creative and humorous. One fan of BFC Dynamo said: "Our goal is to always do something that nobody expects!" The West had a great influence and fashion played a big role in the supporter scene. Football supporters in East Berlin shared a sense of superiority over their counterparts in the regional districts. This was also the case with the supporters of 1. FC Union Berlin, but notably with the supporters of BFC Dynamo.
Football-related violence spread in East Germany in the 1970s. The hatred of opposing fans welded the supporters of BFC Dynamo together. The supporters of BFC Dynamo responded to the hostile environment and learned to compensate their smaller numbers by being more aggressive and better organized. They would eventually gain a reputation for being particularly organized and violent. The development in the supporter scene caught the attention of the authorities. The Stasi would try to control the supporter scene with a broad catalogue of repressive measures. Numerous supporters of BFC Dynamo were sentenced to long and short prison terms in the 1980s.
More and more supporters of BFC Dynamo adopted skinhead fashion in the early 1980s. Skinhead fashion was now considered the most provocative outfit. From the mid-1980s, the supporter scene had increasingly come to be associated with skinhead fashion and far-right tendencies. Right-wing slogans and fascist chants were regarded as particularly challenging forms of provocations, as anti-fascism was state doctrine and Nazism officially did not exist in East Germany. One supporter of BFC Dynamo said: "The scene wasn't right-wing, we did describe ourselves as right-wing, but that was more of a pure provocation, none of us really knew anything about politics. But to raise your arm in front of the cops was a real kick, for some Vopos's, their whole world collapsed".
The first East German hooligan group developed from the supporter scene of BFC Dynamo. The development was partly a response to the increasing state repression against the supporter scene, notably from the Stasi. An organized hooligan scene that was unique in East Germany would eventually develop at BFC Dynamo in the late 1980s. The 1987-88 FDGB-Pokal final between BFC Dynamo and FC Carl Zeiss Jena saw some of the most serious violence ever witnessed at a football match in East Germany. Riots broke out in the stadium shortly before the end of the match. Around 300 supporters of BFC Dynamo tried to invade the pitch at the victory ceremony, causing extensive damage. They were only stopped by forces from the Volkspolizei and the Stasi Guards Regiment "Felix E. Dzerzhinsky".
A wave of violence swept through the football stadiums of East Germany in 1990. One of the largest hooligan scenes in Germany was formed around FC Berlin. Expensive sportswear was now the new fashion in the supporter scene. Brands such as Adidas, Iceberg, Diesel and Ray Ban became poupular. 18-year-old FC Berlin supporter Mike Polley was shot dead by police during riots in connection with the away match against FC Sachsen Leipzig on 3 November 1990. The police had fired between 50 and 100 shots in about a minute. Supporters of FC Berlin organized a funeral march for Polley with 1,000 participants in Prenzlauer Berg on 10 November 1990. An investigation against ten police officers was opened after the shootings, but closed in April 1992. The exact circumstances around the death of Polley was never clarified.
Stadium attendance at FC Berlin collapsed in 1990. Ordinary supporters disappeared and only young supporters remained in the stadium in 1990 and 1991. The violent faction of FC Berlin came to shape the entire 1990-91 season. Serious riots broke out in Rostock in connection with the match between FC Hansa Rostock and FC Berlin on 16 March 1991. A group of 500–600 supporters of FC Berlin had travelled to the match with a special train. Supporters of FC Berlin devastated a shopping street in central Rostock and clashed with the police. 21 people, including nine police officers, were injured in the turmoil.
The hooligan scene of FC Berlin at the beginning of the 1990s was considered the most notorious for years in Germany. Hooligans of FC Berlin were subsequently involved in numerous fights in stadiums, woods and meadows. In the years after German reunification, the club's eternal outsider image attracted people from the underground. Playing for meager crowds in regional leagues, the club eventually became a meeting place for individuals from Berlin's far-right, hooligan and criminal underground.
The FC Berlin mob was still by far the largest in the New states of Germany in the mid-1990s. The hooligan scene around FC Berlin counted 500 people in 1996. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, there were several outbreaks of violent hooliganism among supporters of BFC Dynamo. The period also saw controversial police operations against BFC Dynamo supporters, including the raid on the Jeton discothèque in Friedrichshain after a football fan tournament in the Sportforum Hohenschönhausen in 2005, with 39 people injured, and the violent intervention against BFC Dynamo supporters during the away match against Tennis Borussia Berlin in 2008, with 58 persons injured, including seven police officers.
Contemporary supporter scene
The contemporary supporter scene of BFC Dynamo contains various categories of supporters, ranging from older supporters to younger ultras.
Older supporters constitute an essential part of the supporter scene. Many are active in the supporter group 79er. The supporter scene played an important part in saving the club from bankruptcy in 2001. Supporters threw parties and organized collections, made donations and travelled to countries such as Austria and Switzerland to convince creditors to accept smaller pay-offs in order to save the cub. The insolvency crisis remains a defining moment for older supporters. The supporter scene has traditionally arranged an annual Mike-Polley-Gedenkturnier, which is a football fan tournament in memory of Mike Polley. A march in memory of Polley in Leipzig in 2018 was attended by 850 supporters of BFC Dynamo.
New groups of younger ultra-oriented supporters have emerged since the 2000s. Supporter group Fraktion H was founded in 2006 by younger supporters who wanted to create more atmosphere in the stadium. A minor ultras scene then emerged with the founding of Ultras BFC in 2011. The ultras of BFC Dynamo have initiated campaigns such as "Brown is not Claret" and have also engaged in football tournaments for refugees. The club has encouraged the new groups of younger supporters and club management has taken a stand against racism and right-wing extremism.
BFC Dynamo engages in active fan work and has taken measures to control violent elements, to exclude known violators and to distance itself from radical supporters. Far-right symbols and slogans are not tolerated by the club. The Chairman of the Economic Council Peter Meyer stated publicly in connection with a friendly match against Hertha BSC in 2007 that the club did not want people who cannot follow the rules and that "anyone who shouts Nazi slogans will be thrown out of the stadium". A large number of stadium bans has been issued by the club since the 2000s. No riots has occurred since 2011.
BFC Dynamo is affiliated with Fanprojekt Berlin. The contemporary supporter scene of BFC Dynamo scene includes groups such as 79er, Mythos BFC, Fraktion H, Piefkes, Riot Sport, Black Boys Dynamo, Bärenbande, Gegengerade, Hipstercrew, Sektion Süddeutschland, Banda Invicta and Kollektiv Brandenburg. Gegengerade is a left wing-oriented supporter group. A number of supporters of FC Berlin were members of the "Anti-Fascist Football Fan Initiative" (AFFI) already back in 1993. Supporters of BFC Dynamo have occasionally displayed a banner in the stadium that reads "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out", with a reference to 1980s British cult band The Smiths.
One of the most well-known books in Germany about the supporter scene of BFC Dynamo is "Der BFC war schuld am Mauerbau" by author Andreas Gläser (de). The book was first published in 2002 and describes the supporter scene from the late 1970s and forward. The book "Stadionpartisanen - Fans und Hooligans in der DDR", by author Frank Willmann (de), first published in 2007, also contains extensive interviews with BFC Dynamo supporters from the late 1970s and forward. The book "Riot Boys!" by Jochen Schramm, published posthumously in 1995, depicts the supporter scene of BFC Dynamo in the early 1980s and contains stories of violent away trips.
German rap musician Joe Rilla has dedicated a song to BFC Dynamo. The song is called "Heb die Faust Hoch (BFC Dynamo Straßenhymne)" and was released in 2008. Joe Rilla comes from the locality of Marzahn and has a background in the BFC Dynamo hooligan scene.
Organization
Current board and management
Presidential history
Players
Current squad
Notable past players
Many players of BFC Dynamo of the 1970s and 1980s played for the East Germany national team. Some would later become players or coaches in the Bundesliga and play for Germany national team.
The list includes players with 100 appearances for SC Dynamo Berlin and BFC Dynamo at professional level and who have also played for their national team. The flag indicates the national team they last played for. The players are sorted chronologically by the date of their first appearance with the first team of SC Dynamo Berlin or BFC Dynamo in a competitive match.
Coaches
Current staff
Coach history
SC Dynamo Berlin had six different coaches until the founding of BFC Dynamo in 1966. The first coach was Helmut Petzold, who was delegated along with the team of Dynamo Dresden to Dynamo Berlin and took office on 21 November 1954. Other coaches of Dynamo Berlin were Istvan Orczifalvi, Fritz Bachmann, János Gyarmati and Fritz Gödicke. Fritz Bachmann served as coach of Dynamo Berlin during the successful 1959 season.
Honours
BFC Dynamo was the most successful club in the DDR-Oberliga. The club won ten consecutive championships, which is a feat no other team in East Germany has matched. The DDR-Oberliga was rebranded as the NOFV-Oberliga from the 1990–91 season. The league was then replaced by the Bundesliga as the highest competition from the 1991–92 season, as East Germany had joined West Germany to form the reunited Germany.
Domestic
East German Champions
Winners: (10) 1978–79, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88 (record)
Runners-up: (4) 1960, 1971–72, 1975–76, 1988–89
FDGB-Pokal
Winners: (3) 1959, 1987–88, 1988–89
Runners-up: (6) 1961–62, 1970–71, 1978–79, 1981–82, 1983–84, 1984–85
DFV-Supercup
Winners: 1989
Fuwo-Pokal (de)
Runners-up: 1972
DDR-Liga (II)
Winners: 1957,
DDR-Liga Nord (II)
Winners: 1967–68
DDR-Liga B (II)
Winners: 1971–72
Runners-up: 1974–75
DDR-Liga A (II)
Winners: 1984–85
International
European Cup
Quarter-finals: 1979–80, 1983–84
European Cup Winners' Cup
Semi-finals: 1971–72
Double
DDR-Oberliga and FDGB-Pokal
Winners: 1988
Regional
Bezirksliga Berlin (III)
Winners: 1966–67, 1983–84
Regionalliga Nordost (IV)
Winners: 2021–22
NOFV-Oberliga Nord (III-V)
Winners: 1991–92, 2000–01, 2013–14
Runners-up: 2008–09, 2009–10
Berlin-Liga (V)
Winners: 2003–04
Berlin Cup (III-VII)
Winners: (7) 1998–99, 2010–11, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2020–21
Runners-up: 1999–00, 2009–10
Seasons
European competitions
European record
Youth department
BFC Dynamo is known for a recognized youth work. The club had 23 youth teams in the 2021–22 season. There were 68 trainers and supervisors responsible for the youth teams in the club during the season. The youth teams range from U7 to U19 teams. The U17 team competes in the third tier B-Junior Verbandsliga Berlin and the U19 team competes in second tier A-Junior Regionalliga Nordost. The youth teams are based in the Sportforum Hohenschönhausen.
There were more than 800 children and youth players in the club as of 2019. Many children in the club comes from immigrant backgrounds or socially disadvantaged families. BFC Dynamo helped football club FC Berlin 23 from neighbouring Storkower Straße in September 2021 and saved more than 40 to 50 children from the club, which was about to be dissolved.
The club launched the so-called "Kita-projekt" in 2003. The Kita-projekt is a day care project that gives boys and girls aged 3 to 6 the opportunity to participate in sports on a regular basis. The Kita-projekt involved approximately 200 children from 16 day care centers in Berlin as of 2020. The majority of the children come from the localities or former boroughs of Lichtenberg, Hohenschönhausen, Karlshorst, Mitte, Weißensee and Pankow. The Kita-projekt was the first of its kind in Germany and has received several awards for its work with children. The former professional player of BFC Dynamo Jörn Lenz is the head of the Kita-projekt as of 2021.
The so-called "Jugendförderverein" was founded in 2004. It is a registered voluntary association that aims to promote youth sports at BFC Dynamo. The Jugendförderverein has supported youth teams with equipment, covered costs for trips to tournaments and helped youth trainers to be able to obtain their trainer license. The Jugendförderverein relies on donations and voluntary work. Former Club President Mario Weinkauf was one of the seven founding members of the Jugenförderverein and briefly served as chairman of the association before he became club president. Weinkauf had also been a youth trainer in the club for some time.
Youth academy during East German era
BFC Dynamo had a very successful youth academy during the East German era. The youth department had full-time trainers available for all youth classes and access to the best material conditions in the Dynamo-Sportforum. There were no less than 40 full-time trainers in the club. Youth coaches were highly qualified and training in the Children and Youth Sports School (KJS) was extensive. The youth work at BFC Dynamo during the East German era was described as "absolutely leading" by former coach Jürgen Bogs, who had a background as coach of the junior team. It was also described as "exquisite" by former German sports journalist Horst Friedemann, who worked for Deutsches Sportecho and Kicker.
The upper tier of elite clubs in East Germany had privileged access to talents within designated geographical and administrative areas. All designated football clubs were assigned one or two regional districts in East Germany as catchment areas at their founding in 1965–1966. BFC Dynamo was initially assigned Bezirk Cottbus and one third of the districts in East Berlin. The club was later allowed to take over the training centers (TZ) in East Berlin that had previously belonged to the catchment area of FC Vorwärts Berlin, when FC Vorwärts Berlin was relocated to Frankfurt an der Oder before the 1971-72 season. FC Vorwärts Frankfurt was in turn allowed to take over Bezirk Potsdam, which had previously belonged to the catchment area of 1. FC Union Berlin.
BFC Dynamo, as well as FC Vorwärts Berlin and SG Dynamo Dresden, also had another structural advantage when it came to recruiting talents. Most sports associations (SV) were dissolved at the founding of the DTSB in 1957. However, sports associations SV Dynamo and ASV Vorwärts were allowed to continue exist. A decision in the SED Politburo in 1962 then stipulated that the sports associations SV Dynamo and ASV Vorwärts were allowed to set up sports communities in each location where they operated offices. This meant that SV Dynamo and ASV Vorwärts would be able to run sports communities across the country. BFC Dynamo would eventually be able recruit talents from the youth departments of all sports communities (SG) of SV Dynamo in East Germany, except those in Bezirk Dresden and a number of other sports communities in the southern regional districts that belonged to the catchment area of SG Dynamo Dresden.
The basis of the East German selection and screening system in competitive sports would eventually be formed by special training centers (TZ). SV Dynamo would operate numerous training centers across the whole of East Germany. The training centers were either assigned to BFC Dynamo or SG Dynamo Dresden, depending on catchment area. Training in these training centers were better than elsewhere. The work in the training centers was supervised and directed by BFC Dynamo. The best talents from the individual training centers were then brought together and selected in a multi-day screening session. BFC Dynamo would come to benefit from a nationwide scouting network, which included the partnership with Bezirk Cottbus and 33 training centers (TZ) of SV Dynamo. In total, BFC Dynamo had access to 38 training centers (TZ) across East Germany for the recruitment of talents. As a comparison, Union Berlin had only access to six training centers (TZ), all of which were located in the Berlin area.
A number of football clubs became specially promoted focus clubs in the 1970 DFV Football Resolution. The focus clubs received additional financial support from the DTSB and other advantages. The DTSB would try to equip the focus clubs with more staff as well as better material and technical conditions. In the 1976 DFV Football Resolution, focus club were also allowed delegate youth players from other football clubs. Focus clubs were also given the right to delgate 12 students to their affiliated Children and Youth Sports Schools (KJS) every year. Non-focus football clubs only had the right to delegate six students to their affiliated Children and Youth Sports School (KJS) every year. BFC Dynamo eventually became the focus club in East Berlin. The elite Children and Youth Sports School (KJS) "Werner Seelenbinder" provided boarding and schooling for talented youth players in the Sportforum. The Children and Youth Sports School (KJS) "Werner Seelenbinder" was affiliated to sports club SC Dynamo Berlin.
The success of BFC Dynamo during the East German era was based on the club's extensive youth work. In 1975, there were as many as five national team players in the East Germany junior national football team among the club's youth players from the class of 1957. Only a fifth of the players who won the ten East German championships with BFC Dynamo were older than 18 years when they joined the club. The youth academy produced stars such as Lutz Eigendorf, Falko Götz and Andreas Thom. Most of the top performers of BFC Dynamo in the 1980s came through the club's own youth teams, including Frank Terletzki, Hans-Jürgen Riediger, Norbert Trieloff, Bodo Rudwaleit, Ralf Sträßer, Artur Ullrich, Rainer Ernst, Bernd Schulz, Christian Backs, Frank Rohde, Falko Götz, Jan Voß, Andreas Thom, Jörg Fügner, Hendrik Herzog and Marco Köller. Several former players of SC Dynamo Berlin and BFC Dynamo became youth trainers in the club after ending their playing careers, such as Herbert Schoen, Hermann Bley, Günter Schröter, Martin Skaba, Peter Rohde, Werner Voigt, Hartmut Pelka and Hans-Jürgen Riediger.
Numerous players from East Germany joined West German clubs at the end of East Germany. Many came from BFC Dynamo. More than 110 players who had been trained in East Germany, primarily in a Children and Youth Sports School (KJS), would go on to play for West German or West Berlin clubs in the Bundesliga after the end of East Germany. German author Michael Peter has created a database for all players who had been trained in East Germany and who played for West German or West Berlin football clubs after 1990. For players born before 1976, BFC Dynamo was the biggest contributor. 98 players, born before 1976, came from the ten designated football clubs and SG Dynamo Dresden. 18 of these, came from BFC Dynamo.
Honours
Next Generation Oberliga (de)
Winners: 1981, 1991
Runners-up (6): 1979, 1983
East German Junior Championship (de)
Winners: (5) 1960, 1978, 1979, 1987, 1991
Runners-up (6): 1967, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1988, 1989
East German Youth Championship (Youth FDJ-Pokal) (de)
Winners: (4) 1967, 1972, 1975, 1987
Runners-up: 1983, 1989
East German Junior Cup (Junge Welt-Pokal) (de)
Winners: (5) 1966, 1967, 1987, 1989, 1990 (record)
East German Youth Cup (Youth FDGB-Pokal)
Winners: (5) 1965, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1976 (record)
Explanatory notes
References
Further reading
Bertram, Marco (2015). BFC Dynamo Fußballfibel (in German), Berlin: CULTURCON medien. .
Gläser, Andreas (2003). Der BFC war schuld am Mauerbau: Ein stolzer Sohn des Proletariats erzählt (in German). Berlin: Aufbau Taschenbuch. .
Karas, Steffen (2020). 66 Jahre BFC Dynamo – Auswärts mit 'nem Bus (in German), Berlin: CULTURCON Medien. .
Leske, Hanns (2004). Erich Mielke, die Stasi und das runde Leder: Der Einfluß der SED und des Ministeriums für Staatssicherheit auf den Fußballsport in der DDR (in German). Göttingen: Verlag Die Werkstatt. .
Luther, Jörn; Willmann, Frank (2003). BFC Dynamo – Der Meisterclub (in German). Berlin: Das Neue Berlin. .
McDougall, Alan (2014). The People's Game: Football, State and Society in East Germany. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. .
Schramm, Jochen (1995). Riot Boys! (in German) Cologne: KRASH-Verlag. .
Willmann, Frank; Hahn, Anne (2007). Stadionpartisanen – Fans und Hooligans in der DDR (in German). Berlin: Neues Leben. .
Willmann, Frank; Hauswald, Harald (2008). Ultras Kutten Hooligans: Fußballfans in Ost-Berlin (in German). Berlin: Jaron Verlag. .
External links
BFC Online – Official fan site with news and fan forum
BFC-Fotos – Photos from the 2015–16 season by official club photographer Patrick Skrzipek
BFC Historie – Fan photos from 1965
Mythos Online Redaktion – Fan photos from 2016
Large collection of fan photos
Facts and Figures
1966 establishments in East Germany
Association football clubs established in 1966
Dynamo Berlin
Football clubs in East Germany
Football clubs in Germany
Police association football clubs in Germany
Football Club
SV Dynamo