By Michael Lachman
Once a week, BZ employee Michael Lachmann writes about his experiences at soccer games in Berlin’s lower leagues.
A few days ago, a report from amateur football in Berlin made me sit up and take notice. Although, startled is probably more appropriate.
Be that as it may, the two Neukölln clubs 1. FC Novi Pazar Neukölln 95 and NSC Marathon 02 announced their intention to join forces in the summer.
The story is not new, several years ago both clubs were driven by similar thoughts. Back then, Novi Pazar was still called 1. FC Neukölln 1895. In 1974, the club tentatively knocked on the door of the 2nd Bundesliga, but ultimately failed to qualify.
In June 2017, the Neuköllners ended under their original name. The Serbian contractor Ismet Bajevac took over the club and the name was changed. In addition, a cooperation with the Serbian first division club FK Novi Pazar was concluded.
However, the cooperation for the ex-Neuköllners did not pay off at all. In terms of sport, after this season you are relegated to the state league as the last team.
Marathon 02 looks just as dreary. In the district league A, the team from Hertzbergplatz received several harsh clap (including 0:25 against SpVgg Tiergarten) before they withdrew in the spring. To start afresh thanks to the merger with Novi. And then most likely even two leagues higher. However, it is to be feared that this will come at a high price and the club name will be wiped out.
However, like 1. FC Neukölln 1895, Marathon would not be alone in this. This was also the case five years ago for Hellas Nordwest after the merger with Türkspor in 1965. Hellas was removed from the name on the grounds that there would no longer be any German club members anyway.
And another big Berlin club didn’t survive a merger. Former second division club SC Wacker 04 merged with rivals BFC Alemannia 90 in 1998. Both sports fields are only a few hundred meters apart.
As BFC Alemannia 90/Wacker, the forced marriage only lasted 15 years. Until 2013 the name Wacker was secretly deleted. And another flagship of Berlin football disappeared. By simply Sad …
