If two games and the finances decide about a whole season – this is the situation that regional football club BFC Dynamo is currently in before the first relegation game (Saturday, May 28, 2 p.m. in the live stream on sportschau.de) against VfB Oldenburg.
The club is under a lot of pressure. Sporty, because for the traditional club from Berlin-Hohenschönhausen it is about nothing less than a return to national professional football. And financially, because without a high six-digit guarantee there will be no license for the third division.
Steinborn: “Everyone is working towards this goal”
“I’ve played here since I was little and I think it would be a dream for everyone to get promoted with all the sick fans here. That’s why everyone is working towards this goal,” says winger Matthias Steinborn. The celebration of the championship in the Jahn-Sportpark, including the storming of the pitch after the 4-2 win against Altglienicke on the last day of the game, gave a foretaste of what could come if BFC Dynamo actually managed to get promoted to the third division. A goal that the club has been working towards for decades.
The fact that the representative of the Regionalliga Nordost did not rise directly to the third division this year caused displeasure at the BFC, but it is a fact that the club cannot change. Because the rules of the DFB stipulate that the champions from the regional league squadrons North, Northeast and Bavaria are promoted directly according to an annually rotating system, the fourth starting place for the third division is played by the other two champions in promotion play-offs. This year, Bayern (champions Bayreuth) are promoted.
Dynamo’s fundraiser is gaining momentum
So the BFC Dynamo has to fight for promotion against the North champions VfB Oldenburg in the first and second leg on May 28th and June 4th. An entire season may or may not be refined in these two games. And there would be not only the sporting but also the financial construction site for the dynamos. Because even if the BFC prevails in these games and thus qualifies for the third division, it is still unclear whether the club will actually play there – because the Berliners do not have the money for the necessary license.
According to the BFC, they have to collect a total of 900,000 euros by June 1 (5 p.m.) in order to be able to compete in the third division. That’s why the club has one Fundraiser launched, which has gone up significantly in the last few days. According to information from Berlin courier more than 718,000 euros had already been collected by last Tuesday, also thanks to the three main sponsors.
Nevertheless: If the BFC does not manage to raise the shortfall in the low six-digit range, the second promotion game would probably be invalid, because opponent Oldenburg has information from the Northwest Newspaper (payment barrier) together the money for the license.
BFC striker Beck is rested as a precaution
At the moment, those in charge don’t want to let the people in charge know that they feel the respect they deserve in Hohenschönhausen for the sporting and financial worst-case scenario of not being promoted. Rather, one emphasizes the positive, sporting pressure situation for the team. “We don’t approach the games as if we had something to lose. We haven’t done that all year. We have something to win,” said coach Christian Benbenne. Striker Mathias Steinborn takes the same line: “The games are to be seen as a bonus. Of course it’s annoying that we’re still going into relegation as champions, but the atmosphere in Oldenburg is definitely the same.”
BFC striker Christian Beck is one who has been rested in the last training sessions because he is indispensable as a top performer on the offensive. The 34-year-old came on a free transfer from third-division club 1. FC Magdeburg before the season and scored 23 goals this season. The high-flyer in Dynamo’s squad should now also provide the goals in the final sprint for promotion. “He’s a center forward of such great quality. There are things about him that you can’t teach a striker because he simply has a nose for situations,” says his coach Christian Benbennek, enthusing about his center forward.
Club expects sold-out sports forum
Beck himself is very aware of the responsibility and the importance of these two finals: “We are highly concentrated and focused. We want to make these two games positive, because otherwise this season would just suck.” That means: pinch your buttocks and put the finishing touches on in the last few days before the home game against VfB – and collect the necessary money for the license.
In the league game against Carl-Zeiss Jena, BFC Dynamo was able to report a record number of 3,291 visitors in their home stadium. This will probably be topped against Oldenburg. The club is expecting a sold-out Sportforum with 5,000 spectators.
Broadcast: rbb24, May 26, 2022, 9:45 p.m
Source: rbb