Pre-WWII was modest. Despite some strong finishes in the Oberliga Berlin and the subsequent Gauliga Berlin-Brandenburg, TeBe was usually eliminated before reaching the German playoffs. The best result was probably making it to the quarterfinals in 1932.
After a strong run in the weak Berlin leagues, in 1974 TeBe finally made the breakthrough, winning the promotion playoffs and gaining top flight for the first time. Obviously they were too weak, and were relegated, but not finishing last was a success, and although a 10,500 average attendance was bad for the Bundesliga, it was close to the highest in club history. TeBe surprisingly bounced right back and wo the 2.Liga Nord, so in 1976, were back. Again, the club did well not to finish last, and the 17,000+ average attendance would shatter all club records. Also memorable were a 3-1 win over Bayern München and a 2-0 over Hertha BSC.
After several years in the 2.Liga, they then dropped down into regional Berlin play, which pretty much lasted until re-unification.
Tennis made themselves unpopular in the east by spending a ton of money and running away with the title in 97-98. Sponsored by the financial firm Goettinger Gruppe, TeBe emabarked upon an ambitious plan of buying it's way into the Champions League. High priced players were bought, including some that transferred by Bundesliga clubs (e.g. Macedonian international Toni Micevski from Hansa Rostock). The club dominated the league, and was promoted in the 2.Liga, and the writing was clearly on the wall that the Bundesliga jump was expected next.
The 1998-99 season fell slightly short. Despite being a "newcomer", the goal was clearly promotion, and money was spent to achieve that goal. Overall, a good season. However the next year turned out to be the disaster. Things started out well, and TeBe was challenging for a promotion spot at least half-way through the season. Then the overpaid players started to lose interest, and the club dropped like a rock. Only advantageous events on the last day prevented them from getting relegated. Finally, a few days later, the dam burst: the DFB denied TeBe a license for the 2.Liga, as the club and it's sponsor, the Goettinger Gruppe, failed to meet the financial requirements. As a result, TeBe was forcibly relegated.
Things merely went from bad to worse. The mercenaries left the club, no sponsors would jump in, and the remaining players (in many cases from the Youth team or illegal aliens) couldn't make the grade. The club sunk like a rock and serious doubts about it's very existence were raised. In the end, another relegation, with hope of stabilizing things.
At the end of 2010, things finally came to a head, and TeBe went into administration. The club was automatically relegated into the Oberliga, but at least was not wound up.
Fullname |
Berliner Tennis Club Borussia 1902 e.V.
City |
Berlin (Berlin). Pop: 3,405,342 (2007)
| Address |
Waldschulallee 34-42, 14055 Berlin | Phone: (030) 306 9610 Fax: (030) 302 8347 Colors |
Purple and white.
| Nickname |
TeBe
| Stadium |
Mommsenstadion. Capacity: 15,000 (1,800 seats) | Built in 1930, named after Nobel Prize winner Theodor Mommsen (1817-1903). At the time the main tenant was SC Charlottenburg, and the capacity was almost 38,000. TeBe seems to have moved in after WW-II. Floodlights were added in 1989. Stadium is a protected landmark. Tickets |
The crowds are small, so getting tickets is not a problem. In 2004, Seats
were 10.50 euros, standing 5.50 euros.
| Supporters |
Averaged 380 in 2004 (Oberliga). Small in number, but well behaved. TeBe
fans "are interested in soccer
rather than hooliganism." TeBe is struggling to gain support and respect
in
the east.
| Friends |
BFC Türkiyemspor Berlin, FC St.Pauli.
|
Foes |
TeBe doesn't wish any enemies. However, there have been problems with fans
from some ex-GDR teams, particularily Union Berlin.
| Heroes |
8 German internationals, all from the pre WW-II era. Swede Benny
Wendt scored 20 goals in the 1977 Bundesliga season.
| Zeroes |
| Beer |
Preussen-Pils was once a sponsor. Schulterheiss and
Berliner Kindl are popular among fans.
|
Pub Grub |
Due to past problems, the stadium Gastätte is often closed to
visiting fans. The usual array of Würste, beer, non-alcoholic
drinks are available. | The Net |
The old official site is
www.tennis-borussia.de once had an amusing opening page with a photo of
fans looking through the fences. (Note: Due to TeBe's financial trouble,
the ISP provider that hosted the web site shut it down in 2001!! It's
back, but only lists links to other TeBe pages. The
official soccer team site was then moved to
www.tebe.de
)
Olaf Siever's fan page at
www.ping-pong-veterans.de is quite well done.
| |
Recent History: -------------- 1963-64 (II) Regionalliga Berlin 2nd 1964-65 (II) Regionalliga Berlin 1st 1965-66 (II) Regionalliga Berlin 2nd 1966-67 (II) Regionalliga Berlin 2nd 1967-68 (II) Regionalliga Berlin 2nd 1968-69 (II) Regionalliga Berlin 3rd 1969-70 (II) Regionalliga Berlin 2nd 1970-71 (II) Regionalliga Berlin 4th 1971-72 (II) Regionalliga Berlin 4th 1972-73 (II) Regionalliga Berlin 3rd 1973-74 (II) Regionalliga Berlin 1st 1974-75 (I) Bundesliga 17th 1975-76 (II) 2.Bundesliga-Nord 1st 1976-77 (I) Bundesliga 17th 1977-78 (II) 2.Bundesliga-Nord 10th 1978-79 (II) 2.Bundesliga-Nord 11th 1979-80 (II) 2.Bundesliga-Nord 13th 1980-81 (II) 2.Bundesliga-Nord 17th 1981-82 (III) Am.Oberliga Berlin 1st 1982-83 (III) Am.Oberliga Berlin 3rd 1983-84 (III) Am.Oberliga Berlin 2nd 1984-85 (III) Am.Oberliga Berlin 1st 1985-86 (II) 2.Bundesliga 19th 1986-87 (III) Am.Oberliga Berlin 2nd 1987-88 (III) Am.Oberliga Berlin 2nd 1988-89 (III) Am.Oberliga Berlin 8th 1989-90 (III) Am.Oberliga Berlin 3rd 1990-91 (III) Am.Oberliga Berlin 1st 1991-92 (III) Am.Oberliga Nordost-N 4th 1992-93 (III) Am.Oberliga Nordost-N 1st 1993-94 (II) 2.Bundesliga 19th 1994-95 (III) Regionalliga Nordost 4th 1995-96 (III) Regionalliga Nordost 1st 1996-97 (III) Regionalliga Nordost 6th 1997-98 (III) Regionalliga Nordost 1st 1998-99 (II) 2.Bundesliga 6th 1999-00 (II) 2.Bundesliga 13th forcibly relegated 2000-01 (III) Regionalliga Nord 18th 2001-02 (IV) Oberliga Nordost-Nord 2nd 2002-03 (IV) Oberliga Nordost-Nord 4th 2003-04 (IV) Oberliga Nordost-Nord 5th 2004-05 (IV) Oberliga Nordost-Nord 4th 2005-06 (IV) Oberliga Nordost-Nord 5th 2006-07 (IV) Oberliga Nordost-Nord 3rd 2007-08 (IV) Oberliga Nordost-Nord 2009-10 (IV) Regionalliga Nord 15th administration 2010-11 (V) Oberliga NOFV-Nord
(c) Abseits Guide to Germany