Big stages for small clubs. The DFB Cup throws Germany’s amateur clubs into the spotlight. Village teams can face German champions; ambitious Regionalliga sides can go head-to-head with Champions League participants. There have been plenty of cup upsets and shocks in the over 70-year history of the competitions. The cup has its own rules and its own history. Over the next two weeks, DFB.de will preview all 18 amateur clubs who are featuring in the first round of the 73rd DFB Cup. Today it’s Bahlinger SC from the Regionalliga Südwest.
A lot of work for the Bahlinger officials
For the last few years Dieter Bühler has always travelled for a season meeting in the summer. The theme of the meetings is always the upcoming season. And that was the same this time. The only difference now is that they’re called management meetings. Bühler is the chairman of Bahlinger SC – and from this season he is no longer in charge of an Oberliga club, but of a team that’s just been promoted to the Regionalliga Südwest. The club from the town of 4000 inhabitants in South Baden-Württemberg on the edge of the Kaiserstuhl has never played at such a high level.
The management meeting was only one small part of the Bahlinger officials full calendar since the beginning of June. They have been planning for their first season in the Regionalliga, which starts on the first weekend in August, for the traditional pre-season tournament on the second weekend in July, the Kaiserstuhl Cup, and for the first round of the DFB Cup against SV Sandhausen from the 2. Bundesliga on 9th August. “First and foremost, the challenge for us was the plethora of events,” says Bühler. Still on the agenda is to find folders for the Cup and the home league games. Instead of two or three like in the Oberliga, 15-50 are now necessary for each opponent.
Big names, big histories and often still big dreams are all part of the Regionalliga Südwest. Some examples are former Bundesliga sides Kickers Offenbach, Waldhof Mannheim, 1. FC Saarbrücken and FC Homburg. For Bahlinger, everything is a bit smaller. The budget is being increased to €300,000, but that is still one eight of Offenbach’s. Many strands of the club converge in Bühler’s engineering office. The 58-year-old has been involved at the club for half a century, and has been at the head of it for almost 30 years. His wife Elvira and his secretary are also involved in club work, “in addition there is a throng of helpers”. This summer, there was no thought of going on holiday for the Bühlers.
"Trusted core audience and continuity in the board"
On the homepage of the Bahlingen municipality, under ‘events’, there is an art exhibition, the home games of the roller hockey team RSC Bulls and the summer holidays in the upcoming weeks. Until now, Bahlinger’s Kaiserstuhlstadion did not have seats. Thanks to special dispensation from the DFB, the club has until winter to install seats. For that there is a “trusted core audience, a proper and reliable budget and continuity in the board”, as was summarised a while ago by the Badische Zeitung, still in reference to the Oberliga.
Few of these traits will be changed. Only the average attendance should increase from around 850 to over 1000. In the promotion match against TSV Lehnerz there were a good 400 fans there, and 600 travelled with the team to the decisive game at SC Hauenstein. Manager Milorad Pilipovic’s team, who played just short of 150 games in the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga for Freiburg and Karlsruher, won that game 3-0.
SV Sandhausen – not exactly a dream tie
Bahlinger SC was an Oberliga for almost 20 years in a row, except for a short interruption due to relegation, and has long since established itself as the number one in amateur football in the region. “People regularly come from over the Swiss border or from Alsace to watch us,” says Bühler with pride. They don’t have outrageous goals 20 kilometres north from Freiburg. Any new additions to the squad will predominantly be players from the region. Bühler sees a “real chance” to stay there: “We’ve been promoted. What should our goal be other than to stay in the division?”
The topic of the DFB Cup is also unexcitedly realistic for the club which has now qualified three times and in 2002 beat second-division side Alemannia Aachen 1-0 in the first round. Naturally, the desire was “to get one of the four or five top Bundesliga clubs,” says Bühler. But drawing Sandhausen also has its advantages. An old friend from times in the Oberliga will probably be bringing a few hundred fans along thanks to the relatively short distance (less than two hours by car). In the best case scenario, a Cup upset is definitely possible, according to Bühler. How? “When we give 120 percent and the opponent only 70.”
Club’s home "Ponderosa" is known everywhere
In any case, BSC is saving both money and hassle by not playing the game at the larger stadium in Freiburg. The game will be played at the Kaiserstuhlstadion, or as it’s known around Bahlingen, “The Ponde”. This is actually an abbreviation of “Ponderosa”, the name of the wood from which the club’s home is built. Several decades ago, someone said that the building (since then modernised) reminded him of the Ponderosa Ranch from the TV series “Bonanza”.
The stadium is now known by many as “Ponde”. On the BSC website you can see: “whether in Durlach, Mannheim, Villingen, Nöttingen or Gmünd, people everywhere know the Ponderosa. The home of Bahlinger SC is one of the best known and loved in the whole Oberliga”. And Bühler believes it will soon become one of the favourites of the Regionalliga too because of “the probably longest bar in southern Baden”.
created by mmc/clm
Big stages for small clubs. The DFB Cup throws Germany’s amateur clubs into the spotlight. Village teams can face German champions; ambitious Regionalliga sides can go head-to-head with Champions League participants. There have been plenty of cup upsets and shocks in the over 70-year history of the competitions. The cup has its own rules and its own history. Over the next two weeks, DFB.de will preview all 18 amateur clubs who are featuring in the first round of the 73rd DFB Cup. Today it’s Bahlinger SC from the Regionalliga Südwest.
A lot of work for the Bahlinger officials
For the last few years Dieter Bühler has always travelled for a season meeting in the summer. The theme of the meetings is always the upcoming season. And that was the same this time. The only difference now is that they’re called management meetings. Bühler is the chairman of Bahlinger SC – and from this season he is no longer in charge of an Oberliga club, but of a team that’s just been promoted to the Regionalliga Südwest. The club from the town of 4000 inhabitants in South Baden-Württemberg on the edge of the Kaiserstuhl has never played at such a high level.
The management meeting was only one small part of the Bahlinger officials full calendar since the beginning of June. They have been planning for their first season in the Regionalliga, which starts on the first weekend in August, for the traditional pre-season tournament on the second weekend in July, the Kaiserstuhl Cup, and for the first round of the DFB Cup against SV Sandhausen from the 2. Bundesliga on 9th August. “First and foremost, the challenge for us was the plethora of events,” says Bühler. Still on the agenda is to find folders for the Cup and the home league games. Instead of two or three like in the Oberliga, 15-50 are now necessary for each opponent.
Big names, big histories and often still big dreams are all part of the Regionalliga Südwest. Some examples are former Bundesliga sides Kickers Offenbach, Waldhof Mannheim, 1. FC Saarbrücken and FC Homburg. For Bahlinger, everything is a bit smaller. The budget is being increased to €300,000, but that is still one eight of Offenbach’s. Many strands of the club converge in Bühler’s engineering office. The 58-year-old has been involved at the club for half a century, and has been at the head of it for almost 30 years. His wife Elvira and his secretary are also involved in club work, “in addition there is a throng of helpers”. This summer, there was no thought of going on holiday for the Bühlers.
"Trusted core audience and continuity in the board"
On the homepage of the Bahlingen municipality, under ‘events’, there is an art exhibition, the home games of the roller hockey team RSC Bulls and the summer holidays in the upcoming weeks. Until now, Bahlinger’s Kaiserstuhlstadion did not have seats. Thanks to special dispensation from the DFB, the club has until winter to install seats. For that there is a “trusted core audience, a proper and reliable budget and continuity in the board”, as was summarised a while ago by the Badische Zeitung, still in reference to the Oberliga.
Few of these traits will be changed. Only the average attendance should increase from around 850 to over 1000. In the promotion match against TSV Lehnerz there were a good 400 fans there, and 600 travelled with the team to the decisive game at SC Hauenstein. Manager Milorad Pilipovic’s team, who played just short of 150 games in the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga for Freiburg and Karlsruher, won that game 3-0.
SV Sandhausen – not exactly a dream tie
Bahlinger SC was an Oberliga for almost 20 years in a row, except for a short interruption due to relegation, and has long since established itself as the number one in amateur football in the region. “People regularly come from over the Swiss border or from Alsace to watch us,” says Bühler with pride. They don’t have outrageous goals 20 kilometres north from Freiburg. Any new additions to the squad will predominantly be players from the region. Bühler sees a “real chance” to stay there: “We’ve been promoted. What should our goal be other than to stay in the division?”
The topic of the DFB Cup is also unexcitedly realistic for the club which has now qualified three times and in 2002 beat second-division side Alemannia Aachen 1-0 in the first round. Naturally, the desire was “to get one of the four or five top Bundesliga clubs,” says Bühler. But drawing Sandhausen also has its advantages. An old friend from times in the Oberliga will probably be bringing a few hundred fans along thanks to the relatively short distance (less than two hours by car). In the best case scenario, a Cup upset is definitely possible, according to Bühler. How? “When we give 120 percent and the opponent only 70.”
Club’s home "Ponderosa" is known everywhere
In any case, BSC is saving both money and hassle by not playing the game at the larger stadium in Freiburg. The game will be played at the Kaiserstuhlstadion, or as it’s known around Bahlingen, “The Ponde”. This is actually an abbreviation of “Ponderosa”, the name of the wood from which the club’s home is built. Several decades ago, someone said that the building (since then modernised) reminded him of the Ponderosa Ranch from the TV series “Bonanza”.
The stadium is now known by many as “Ponde”. On the BSC website you can see: “whether in Durlach, Mannheim, Villingen, Nöttingen or Gmünd, people everywhere know the Ponderosa. The home of Bahlinger SC is one of the best known and loved in the whole Oberliga”. And Bühler believes it will soon become one of the favourites of the Regionalliga too because of “the probably longest bar in southern Baden”.
