Türkiyemspor’s history is marked by its successes in the Berlin
Cup. The blue and whites won the cup three times over in the past – just not in
this millennium. That may be about to change now though as the team has
advanced to the round of 16, to be played on February 14. Türkiyemspor will be
up against the winner of last year’s cup, BFC Dynamo, in the game at
Kreuzberger Blücherplatz.
The Berlin Cup without Türkiyemspor is hard to imagine for many.
From 1988 to 1991 there was no cup final without them. Three times the Cup was
brought to Kreuzberg and Türkiyemspor represented the city of Berlin three
times at the national level, competing for the DFB Cup. 2001 was the last time
the blue and whites made it to the finals in the Berlin Cup, losing out to
local opponent SV Yesilyurt, a club that today no longer exists.
Although they survived, Türkiyemspor was unable to replicate the
success of the 80s and 90s. In the most recent years they were eliminated in
the first rounds. The last time they survived the preliminaries to make it to
the semifinals was in the 2010/2011 season, where, in East Berlin’s
Hohenschönhausen district, they were beat by the very same BFC Dynamo they will
face off against in two week's time.
Back then, BFC Dynamo was still in the Oberliga – ranking under
Türkiyemspor, then a league higher in the Regionalliga. Nevertheless, BFC
managed a clear 3-0 home win.
On February 14th, Türkiyemspor will match off against
the currently 4th league Dynamo as the underdog, reaching up from
the 7th league. Can the underdog win again?
