SV Tasmania Berlin -- SV Babelsberg 03 (26-06-2022)

 

As I rest a bit in Berlin, hoping to have passed COVID-19 without too much troubles this time, I see on Sunday morning that there is a friendly game in Berlin at 1 PM. So, I jump into the shower and head out. To isolate as much as possible I drive my car, even though public transport is easier, and find a parking spot just 300 meters from the park in which the football stadium (as well as a hockey stadium) is located.

 

The Werner-Seelenbinder-Stadion is in a beautiful park in the Berlin district of Neukölln. SV Tasmania Berlin has a big building with behind it a couple of artificial pitches and one grass pitch with a stadium with brick stands on two sides and some colorful plastic chairs on one end. Tasmania is a relatively new club in Berlin, founded in 1973, and plays in the Oberliga Nordost, the fifth tier of German football.

 

I am here for a pre-season friendly against SV Babelsberg 03, which plays one tier higher. There are some 200 people, more than half are away supporters, who have made the 30-minute trip from Potsdam. As Babelsberg 03 is known as one of the most outspoken progressive clubs in the former East, there are a lot of black clad, “alternative” away fans. The crowd is very male and very white, particularly for Berlin.

 

The first chance of the game is for Tasmania, in the 4^th minutes, but the striker who goes alone at the goalie shoots well over. Two minutes later, after a wild challenge in the box, Babelsberg gets a penalty, which is shot calmly in the corner, 0-1. 

 

Almost a minute later, as I’m still typing the info about the penalty into my phone, the visitors score their second, clinically: 0-2. And five minutes later, a Babelsberg striker goes alone at the goal and finishes easily in the far corner: 0-3. The celebrations of all goals are fairly muted.

 

After about 35 minute the game becomes a big pedestrian, although there are still some fairly rough fouls. This is not just because it is an early pre-season friendly but also because it is very hot.

 

Although the visitors get several more good chances, it is the hosts who score in the last minute of the first half, when a through pass is deflected and lands well for the Tasmania striker, who calmly finishes in the corner: 1-3. This is also the half time score. Time for more refreshments.

 

After a slow first 10 min of the second half, a Tasmania defender misses the ball completely and a Babelsberg striker can go alone at the goal and score hard through the inside of the post: 1-4. Not much happens afterward. There are too many player changes. It is too hot. And it is too clear who is the better side.

 

Of course, this was not really a close game, and there were few people, but it was still a very nice afternoon and SV Tasmania Berlin is definitely a club to visit for groundhoppers who want to go off the beaten track in Berlin.