1. FFC Turbine Potsdam
Encyclopedia
1. FFC Turbine Potsdam is a women's football (soccer)
club team in Potsdam
, Germany
. The full name is 1. Frauen-Fußball-Club Turbine Potsdam 71 e. V. (FFC meaning "Women's Football Club" in German). They are one of the most successful teams in Germany. The team plays in the Karl-Liebknecht-Stadion in the Babelsberg
district of Potsdam.
Before the reunification of Germany
, the team was one of the predominant teams in East German women's football. The team currently plays in the German women's Bundesliga
and it is the only team from the former East to win the unified title. The team also won the UEFA Women's Champions League competition in the 2004–05 season, beating the Swedish
team of Djurgården/Älvsjö
5–1 overall in the final. Their biggest rivals are Western FFC Frankfurt
.
Turbine Potsdam was founded. The club was supported by the local energy supplier. The men’s football team played with mediocre success on lower levels.
On New Year’s Eve 1970, Bernd Schröder
, an employee of the energy supplier, discovers a strange piece of paper on the company’s blackboard. It says that a women’s football team will be established on March 3, 1971. The identify of the person responsible for this paper was never established.
The women’s team was founded on March 3, 1971 and Bernd Schröder became the first coach. The first match was played on May 25, 1971 at Empor Tangermünde and ended with a 3–0 win for Turbine. The first district championship was played a year later and was won by Turbine.
Schröder was always looking for new players. He concentrated on former track and field
athletes who were dropped by their clubs. Schröder became a senior employee in his company, so he could offer jobs and flats for the new players.
. Turbine was the favourite but missed the final tournament. They also missed the final tournament in 1980. The final tournament in 1981 was held in Potsdam and Schröder was under pressure. He held a training camp by the Baltic Sea
. However, the team struggled during the qualification. The team was unbeaten in the final tournament and won their first championship. Each player received 50 East German mark
and Schröder was awarded the title "Activist of socialist work".
Turbine also won the championships of 1982 and 1983. Their success was recognized in the rest of Europe and Turbine was invited for tournaments in the Netherlands and Italy. However, Turbine didn't receive any of these invitations. The GDR forbade the team to travel into capitalist countries. The club wasn't even allowed to travel to tournaments in other communist countries in case some teams from western Europe participated. Schröder once asked a Hungarian
club to alter the list of teams. They replaced teams from Austria
and Yugoslavia
by teams from Bulgaria
and Czechoslovakia
.
The team went to Hungary and was accompanied by a member of the SED
party. He realized that there was something wrong. Turbine played in the tournament and Schröder was banned internationally for a year. After the ban, Turbine was invited to a tournament in Poland
. This time, Schröder himself altered the list of the teams. Once again the team was accompanied by an SED member who wanted to force the Polish club to send the Western European teams home. As a compromise, Turbine played a friendly match against the home team. The club was now banned from travelling outside the GDR until further notice.
In 1989, Turbine won their sixth and final GDR championship. Many players retired, and after the fall of the Berlin wall
, the company who supported the club ran into financial difficulties. On January 1, 1990, the BSG Turbine Potsdam became the SSV Turbine Potsdam. A few days later, Turbine played their first match against a team from Western Germany at an indoor tournament. While many male football players from the GDR were transferred to clubs from West Germany, most of the female players remained in the East. In 1991, Turbine finished the season as third and missed the qualification for the Bundesliga
.
The first Bundesliga match ended in disaster, after Turbine lost 0–11 at home to FC Rumeln-Kaldenhausen. The team lost more and more matches and were knocked out in the cup. In the end of 1994, Turbine had to play at VfB Rheine. Schröder told Rheine’s manager Alfred Werner that Lange would be fired if Turbine lost the match. Turbine lost the match but nothing happened at the press conference. Schröder wanted to discuss the situation in private with Lange, but the two were surrounded by journalists and players. Schröder couldn't escape and told Lange that he was fired.
Former player Sabine Seidel coached the team for the rest of the season. and Turbine got three Russia
n players in the winter break. The team struggled to avoid relegation and finished sixth in the northern group. Lothar Müller became the new coach. He was from Western Berlin and now Turbine became an option for players from Western Berlin. Strengthened by players from Tennis Borussia Berlin
, the defense was much better but the team again finished in sixth.
The 1996/97 season was the last season where the Bundesliga was played in two groups. To qualify for the single-tier Bundesliga it was necessary to finish the season among the first four teams. Turbine finished fifth after a rollercoaster season but managed to qualify after a playoff. The team reached the cup semifinal for the first time, but lost 2–3 against Eintracht Rheine. The club presented Eckart Düwiger as their new coach for the new season. Düwiger was Turbine’s first full-time coach.
from Hertha Zehlendorf
. Her integration into the team was not easy as Hingst kept a certain distance to her teammates. She did not want to go into the "east" of Germany. The situation changed when the club’s main sponsor went bankrupt and the club couldn't pay Düwiger’s salary. He resigned and Bernd Schröder became the head coach again. Striker Conny Pohlers
returned from TuS Niederkirchen during the season and Turbine finished the 1997/98 season in sixth place.
On March 12, 1999, the women’s section of the SSV Turbine Potsdam decided to establish a separate club. The 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam was founded on April 1, 1999. The team finished the season on fourth place. The season saw a legendary 4–4 draw at 1. FFC Frankfurt
. Frankfurt led 4–0 at half time before Potsdam came back to draw the game. This was the beginning of the rivalry between the two clubs. Turbine reached the cup semi final for the second time. However, the FCR Duisburg won 2–0.
The last season in the 20th century was finished on fourth place again. For the first time, Turbine had a positive record and was unbeaten at home. Ariane Hingst became the team captain and remained on this position until her departure in 2007. Schröder took a certain risk with this decision as he wanted Hingst to take more responsibility. This decision would pay off in the following years. In the same year, the first ever German Juniors Championship was held. Turbine’s girl’s team won this title with a 7–1 win over Bayern Munich
. Viola Odebrecht became a regular starter in the first team next season.
In 2001, Turbine finished in second place. For the third time, the team reached the cup semi final but failed in the penalty shootout against FFC Flaesheim-Hillen. The team remained in second place in the 2001/02 season. They acquired goalkeeper Nadine Angerer before the season. Conny Pohlers became Turbine’s first league top scorer with 27 goals. However, even their fourth cup semi-final was not successful. This time, the team lost 2–3 against the Hamburger SV
. They acquired striker Petra Wimbersky
from Munich, young international Navina Omilade
from Brauweiler and the highly talented Anja Mittag
from Aue.
The season started with a shock first cup round exit to second division side Hamburger SV. The Bundesliga season was much better. On the last day of the season, title holder Frankfurt went to Potsdam’s Karl Liebknecht Stadion for the final showdown. Frankfurt were two points clear at the top so Potsdam had to win the match to clinch the title. This Endspiel went into the record books of German women’s football,with an attendance of 7,900, the league’s record. The match was also shown live on TV. In the 89th minute, Petra Wimbersky scored a goal and the crowds began to celebrate. However, she was offside according to the lineswomen and Frankfurt became champions.
Four Turbine players travelled along with the German national team to the 2003 World Cup
in the USA. Nadine Angerer, Ariane Hingst, Viola Odebrecht and Conny Pohlers went on to become world champions. In the third round of the German cup, Potsdam faced the Hamburger SV again. Hamburg led 1–0 until the dying minutes of the game until Viola Odebrecht equalised with a desperate shot. Jennifer Zietz scored the game winner in overtime. Turbine reached the final for the first time where they faced their arch rivals 1. FFC Frankfurt. Turbine dominated the match, won 3–0 and clinched their first German cup. During the winter break, Turbine won the Indoor Championship. This was their first post-reunification trophy.
In the league, Turbine went from victory to victory. After a 3–1 win over Duisburg, Turbine had a one point lead over Frankfurt before the last match. Turbine went to Frankfurt for the deciding match. A crowd of 4,800 saw Turbine’s 7–2 win. Potsdam finally won their first post-reunification championship. The title qualified the team for the UEFA Women's Cup
.
Turbine was unbeaten in Europe and reached the final where they faced Djurgårdens IF/Älvsjö from Sweden
. The first match in Stockholm
saw a 2–0 win for Turbine. In the second leg, early goals by Conny Pohlers and Petra Wimbersky secured a 3–1 win and Turbine’s biggest triumph to date. The match in Potsdam was attended by 8,700, the largest crowd ever at a Turbine home match. Turbine could also defend the German cup and Indoor Championship, both with wins over Frankfurt. However, the 2004/05 Bundesliga season wasn’t a success and Turbine finished in third place.
After the season closed, Wimbersky left the club to Frankfurt. Young Finnish international Essi Sainio was the only prominent new player in Turbine’s line-up. After a poor start into the season and an early cup exit to Duisburg, Turbine was far from defending their title. In March 2007, Ariane Hingst announced her departure to Djurgårdens. This was followed by the announcements of Conny Pohlers and Navina Omilade that they were leaving the club after the season. Coach Bernd Schröder had to face significant criticism by the fans. However, Schröder put his departing players on the reserve bench and put some young players such as 18 year old defender Babett Peter
or the 16 year old striker Bianca Schmidt
into the starting line-up. This decision would pay off: Turbine were unbeaten in their last 13 matches and clinched the third place.
At the beginning of 2008, Turbine signed the Norway international Leni Larsen Kaurin
, the only Norwegian woman footballer playing in Germany. In summer 2008 Viola Odebrecht
returned to Turbine. At the end of the 2008/09 season, Turbine won a bit surprised the hard and close contest to the championship against Bayern Munich and Duisburg.
knock-out stage.
The outer side of the badge is a dark blue circle with the club name written on the top and the bottom. There are three stars each on the left and the right side. The stars don't have a certain meaning. The left part of the inner side shows an eagle. It is taken from the badge of state of Brandenburg
. The upper right part shows a football. The lower right side shows the letters TP which stand for Turbine Potsdam.
The club plays their home games at Karl Liebknecht Stadion
in Potsdam-Babelsberg
. They share this ground with the men’s Regionalliga
side SV Babelsberg 03
. The stadium has a capacity of 9,254 places. The main stand has 1,482 mostly covered seats
.
The Turbine fans are known for their support on away matches. No other Bundesliga club is accompanied by more fans on the road.
Britta Carlson
Cristiane Sonja Fuss
Ariane Hingst
Navina Omilade
Conny Pohlers
Petra Wimbersky
Women's football (soccer)
Women's association football has been played for many decades, but was associated with charity games and physical exercise in the past before the breakthrough of organized women's association football came in the 1970s. Before the 1970s, football was basically seen as a men's game...
club team in Potsdam
Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. The full name is 1. Frauen-Fußball-Club Turbine Potsdam 71 e. V. (FFC meaning "Women's Football Club" in German). They are one of the most successful teams in Germany. The team plays in the Karl-Liebknecht-Stadion in the Babelsberg
Potsdam-Babelsberg
Babelsberg is the largest district of the Brandenburg capital Potsdam in Germany. The affluent neighbourhood named after a small hill on the Havel river is famous for Babelsberg Palace and Park, part of the Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as for Studio...
district of Potsdam.
Before the reunification of Germany
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
, the team was one of the predominant teams in East German women's football. The team currently plays in the German women's Bundesliga
Fußball-Bundesliga (women)
The Women's Football Bundesliga is the main league competition for women's football in Germany. In 1990 the German Football Association created the German Women's Bundesliga, based on the model of the men's Bundesliga. It was first played with north and south divisions, but in 1997 the groups...
and it is the only team from the former East to win the unified title. The team also won the UEFA Women's Champions League competition in the 2004–05 season, beating the Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
team of Djurgården/Älvsjö
Djurgården/Älvsjö
Djurgårdens IF is a football club from Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. The club was established when the women's divisions of Djurgårdens IF and Älvsjö AIK merged in 2003, forming a new club owned to 51 % by Djurgården and to 49 % by Älvsjö...
5–1 overall in the final. Their biggest rivals are Western FFC Frankfurt
1. FFC Frankfurt
1. FFC Frankfurt is a German women's association football club based in Frankfurt, Hesse and has a membership of about 430. The team currently plays in the German first division women's Bundesliga.- History :...
.
The early years
In 1955, the BetriebssportgemeinschaftBetriebssportgemeinschaft (GDR)
A Betriebssportgemeinschaft was an organizational form of sports clubs in East Germany.After World War II, the Allied Control Commission had dissolved all existing sports structures, including the dissolution of all existing sports clubs on the basis of directive 23, dated 17 December 1945. This...
Turbine Potsdam was founded. The club was supported by the local energy supplier. The men’s football team played with mediocre success on lower levels.
On New Year’s Eve 1970, Bernd Schröder
Bernd Schröder
Bernd Schröder is a German football manager. He is the current manager of the women’s Bundesliga side 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam.- Career :...
, an employee of the energy supplier, discovers a strange piece of paper on the company’s blackboard. It says that a women’s football team will be established on March 3, 1971. The identify of the person responsible for this paper was never established.
The women’s team was founded on March 3, 1971 and Bernd Schröder became the first coach. The first match was played on May 25, 1971 at Empor Tangermünde and ended with a 3–0 win for Turbine. The first district championship was played a year later and was won by Turbine.
Schröder was always looking for new players. He concentrated on former track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
athletes who were dropped by their clubs. Schröder became a senior employee in his company, so he could offer jobs and flats for the new players.
1979–1990: Championships and cheated letters
In 1979, the first unofficial women’s football championship of the GDR was held - unofficial as women’s football was far from being recognised by the Olympic GamesOlympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
. Turbine was the favourite but missed the final tournament. They also missed the final tournament in 1980. The final tournament in 1981 was held in Potsdam and Schröder was under pressure. He held a training camp by the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
. However, the team struggled during the qualification. The team was unbeaten in the final tournament and won their first championship. Each player received 50 East German mark
East German mark
The East German mark commonly called the eastern mark , in East Germany only Mark, was the currency of the German Democratic Republic . Its ISO 4217 currency code was DDM...
and Schröder was awarded the title "Activist of socialist work".
Turbine also won the championships of 1982 and 1983. Their success was recognized in the rest of Europe and Turbine was invited for tournaments in the Netherlands and Italy. However, Turbine didn't receive any of these invitations. The GDR forbade the team to travel into capitalist countries. The club wasn't even allowed to travel to tournaments in other communist countries in case some teams from western Europe participated. Schröder once asked a Hungarian
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
club to alter the list of teams. They replaced teams from Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
by teams from Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
and Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
.
The team went to Hungary and was accompanied by a member of the SED
Socialist Unity Party of Germany
The Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the governing party of the German Democratic Republic from its formation on 7 October 1949 until the elections of March 1990. The SED was a communist political party with a Marxist-Leninist ideology...
party. He realized that there was something wrong. Turbine played in the tournament and Schröder was banned internationally for a year. After the ban, Turbine was invited to a tournament in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. This time, Schröder himself altered the list of the teams. Once again the team was accompanied by an SED member who wanted to force the Polish club to send the Western European teams home. As a compromise, Turbine played a friendly match against the home team. The club was now banned from travelling outside the GDR until further notice.
In 1989, Turbine won their sixth and final GDR championship. Many players retired, and after the fall of the Berlin wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
, the company who supported the club ran into financial difficulties. On January 1, 1990, the BSG Turbine Potsdam became the SSV Turbine Potsdam. A few days later, Turbine played their first match against a team from Western Germany at an indoor tournament. While many male football players from the GDR were transferred to clubs from West Germany, most of the female players remained in the East. In 1991, Turbine finished the season as third and missed the qualification for the Bundesliga
Fußball-Bundesliga (women)
The Women's Football Bundesliga is the main league competition for women's football in Germany. In 1990 the German Football Association created the German Women's Bundesliga, based on the model of the men's Bundesliga. It was first played with north and south divisions, but in 1997 the groups...
.
1990–1997: Crisis and promotion
Turbine became champions of the Oberliga Nordost (second division) but failed in the promotion playoffs. Schröder stepped down from being the head coach after 21 years and became the manager. The club was suffering from financial problems and sometimes the officials were not sure if they could afford the travel to away matches. Many players also lost their jobs. Peter Raupach became the new coach, but he was not successful. Frank Lange took over for the 1993/94 season. He led his team to the championship. After a 3–2 win over Wattenscheid 09, Turbine won promotion to the Bundesliga.The first Bundesliga match ended in disaster, after Turbine lost 0–11 at home to FC Rumeln-Kaldenhausen. The team lost more and more matches and were knocked out in the cup. In the end of 1994, Turbine had to play at VfB Rheine. Schröder told Rheine’s manager Alfred Werner that Lange would be fired if Turbine lost the match. Turbine lost the match but nothing happened at the press conference. Schröder wanted to discuss the situation in private with Lange, but the two were surrounded by journalists and players. Schröder couldn't escape and told Lange that he was fired.
Former player Sabine Seidel coached the team for the rest of the season. and Turbine got three Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n players in the winter break. The team struggled to avoid relegation and finished sixth in the northern group. Lothar Müller became the new coach. He was from Western Berlin and now Turbine became an option for players from Western Berlin. Strengthened by players from Tennis Borussia Berlin
Tennis Borussia Berlin
Tennis Borussia Berlin is a German football club based in Berlin-Westend.- History :The team was founded in 1902 and takes its name from its origins as a tennis and ping-pong club. "Borussia" is a Latinised version of Prussia. In 1903 the club took up football and quickly developed a rivalry with...
, the defense was much better but the team again finished in sixth.
The 1996/97 season was the last season where the Bundesliga was played in two groups. To qualify for the single-tier Bundesliga it was necessary to finish the season among the first four teams. Turbine finished fifth after a rollercoaster season but managed to qualify after a playoff. The team reached the cup semifinal for the first time, but lost 2–3 against Eintracht Rheine. The club presented Eckart Düwiger as their new coach for the new season. Düwiger was Turbine’s first full-time coach.
1997–2005: The long way to the top
Turbine acquired the German international Ariane HingstAriane Hingst
Ariane Hingst is a German footballer. Primarily utilized as a defender or a defensive holding, midfielder Hingst announced this summer that she would be retiring from international football with the German national team. In addition it was announced by 1...
from Hertha Zehlendorf
Hertha Zehlendorf
The Hertha Zehlendorf is a German association football club from the suburb of Zehlendorf, Berlin.The club, one of the largest football clubs in the country, has a strong youth department which has developed a number of international players, not just for Germany and having won two national youth...
. Her integration into the team was not easy as Hingst kept a certain distance to her teammates. She did not want to go into the "east" of Germany. The situation changed when the club’s main sponsor went bankrupt and the club couldn't pay Düwiger’s salary. He resigned and Bernd Schröder became the head coach again. Striker Conny Pohlers
Conny Pohlers
Conny Pohlers is a successful German football player. Since 1998 she has played in the Women's Bundesliga and since 2001 in the Germany women's national football team.-Domestic Football:...
returned from TuS Niederkirchen during the season and Turbine finished the 1997/98 season in sixth place.
On March 12, 1999, the women’s section of the SSV Turbine Potsdam decided to establish a separate club. The 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam was founded on April 1, 1999. The team finished the season on fourth place. The season saw a legendary 4–4 draw at 1. FFC Frankfurt
1. FFC Frankfurt
1. FFC Frankfurt is a German women's association football club based in Frankfurt, Hesse and has a membership of about 430. The team currently plays in the German first division women's Bundesliga.- History :...
. Frankfurt led 4–0 at half time before Potsdam came back to draw the game. This was the beginning of the rivalry between the two clubs. Turbine reached the cup semi final for the second time. However, the FCR Duisburg won 2–0.
The last season in the 20th century was finished on fourth place again. For the first time, Turbine had a positive record and was unbeaten at home. Ariane Hingst became the team captain and remained on this position until her departure in 2007. Schröder took a certain risk with this decision as he wanted Hingst to take more responsibility. This decision would pay off in the following years. In the same year, the first ever German Juniors Championship was held. Turbine’s girl’s team won this title with a 7–1 win over Bayern Munich
FC Bayern Munich
FC Bayern Munich , is a German sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional football team, which is the most successful football club in Germany, having won 22 national titles and 15 cups....
. Viola Odebrecht became a regular starter in the first team next season.
In 2001, Turbine finished in second place. For the third time, the team reached the cup semi final but failed in the penalty shootout against FFC Flaesheim-Hillen. The team remained in second place in the 2001/02 season. They acquired goalkeeper Nadine Angerer before the season. Conny Pohlers became Turbine’s first league top scorer with 27 goals. However, even their fourth cup semi-final was not successful. This time, the team lost 2–3 against the Hamburger SV
Hamburger SV
Hamburger Sport-Verein, usually referred to as HSV in Germany and Hamburg in international parlance, is a German multi-sport club based in Hamburg, its largest branch being its football department...
. They acquired striker Petra Wimbersky
Petra Wimbersky
Petra Wimbersky is a German football striker. After four years at FFC Frankfurt she returned to her former club Bayern Munich. She also plays for the German national team.-External links:*...
from Munich, young international Navina Omilade
Navina Omilade
Navina Omilade is a German football midfielder who currently plays for VfL Wolfsburg. She has also been capped for the German national team.-External links:*...
from Brauweiler and the highly talented Anja Mittag
Anja Mittag
Anja Mittag is a German international footballer. She currently plays for 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam.- External links :*...
from Aue.
The season started with a shock first cup round exit to second division side Hamburger SV. The Bundesliga season was much better. On the last day of the season, title holder Frankfurt went to Potsdam’s Karl Liebknecht Stadion for the final showdown. Frankfurt were two points clear at the top so Potsdam had to win the match to clinch the title. This Endspiel went into the record books of German women’s football,with an attendance of 7,900, the league’s record. The match was also shown live on TV. In the 89th minute, Petra Wimbersky scored a goal and the crowds began to celebrate. However, she was offside according to the lineswomen and Frankfurt became champions.
Four Turbine players travelled along with the German national team to the 2003 World Cup
2003 World Cup
2003 World Cup can refer to:* 2003 Cricket World Cup* 2003 Rugby World Cup* 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup* 2003 Speedway World Cup* 2003 FIVB Women's World Cup* 2003 Alpine Skiing World Cup-See also:* 2003 Continental Championships...
in the USA. Nadine Angerer, Ariane Hingst, Viola Odebrecht and Conny Pohlers went on to become world champions. In the third round of the German cup, Potsdam faced the Hamburger SV again. Hamburg led 1–0 until the dying minutes of the game until Viola Odebrecht equalised with a desperate shot. Jennifer Zietz scored the game winner in overtime. Turbine reached the final for the first time where they faced their arch rivals 1. FFC Frankfurt. Turbine dominated the match, won 3–0 and clinched their first German cup. During the winter break, Turbine won the Indoor Championship. This was their first post-reunification trophy.
In the league, Turbine went from victory to victory. After a 3–1 win over Duisburg, Turbine had a one point lead over Frankfurt before the last match. Turbine went to Frankfurt for the deciding match. A crowd of 4,800 saw Turbine’s 7–2 win. Potsdam finally won their first post-reunification championship. The title qualified the team for the UEFA Women's Cup
UEFA Women's Cup
The UEFA Women's Champions League is the first international women's association football club competition for teams that play in UEFA nations. Initially known as the UEFA Women's Cup, the competition has been re-branded since the 2009-2010 edition as the UEFA Women's Champions League...
.
Turbine was unbeaten in Europe and reached the final where they faced Djurgårdens IF/Älvsjö from Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. The first match in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
saw a 2–0 win for Turbine. In the second leg, early goals by Conny Pohlers and Petra Wimbersky secured a 3–1 win and Turbine’s biggest triumph to date. The match in Potsdam was attended by 8,700, the largest crowd ever at a Turbine home match. Turbine could also defend the German cup and Indoor Championship, both with wins over Frankfurt. However, the 2004/05 Bundesliga season wasn’t a success and Turbine finished in third place.
2005–2008 : Rebuilding
Frankfurt led the Bundesliga for a long time during the 2005/06 season. Then they lost 2–1 at Freiburg and Potsdam came from behind to take the lead. Turbine then won 6–2 at Frankfurt (with four goals scored by Conny Pohlers) and a comfortable 2–0 win over Duisburg. After a 3–1 at Hamburg, Turbine clinched their second post-reunification championship. Conny Pohlers scored 36 goals and was the league’s top scorer for the second time. In the cup final, Potsdam won 2–0 against Frankfurt thanks to two late goals by Isabel Kerschowski and Petra Wimbersky. However, Frankfurt won the UEFA Women's cup by two wins over Potsdam.After the season closed, Wimbersky left the club to Frankfurt. Young Finnish international Essi Sainio was the only prominent new player in Turbine’s line-up. After a poor start into the season and an early cup exit to Duisburg, Turbine was far from defending their title. In March 2007, Ariane Hingst announced her departure to Djurgårdens. This was followed by the announcements of Conny Pohlers and Navina Omilade that they were leaving the club after the season. Coach Bernd Schröder had to face significant criticism by the fans. However, Schröder put his departing players on the reserve bench and put some young players such as 18 year old defender Babett Peter
Babett Peter
Babett Peter is a German footballer. She plays as a defender for 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam and the German national team.- Club :...
or the 16 year old striker Bianca Schmidt
Bianca Schmidt
Bianca Schmidt is a German footballer. She plays as a wing back for Turbine Potsdam and the German national team- Club :...
into the starting line-up. This decision would pay off: Turbine were unbeaten in their last 13 matches and clinched the third place.
At the beginning of 2008, Turbine signed the Norway international Leni Larsen Kaurin
Leni Larsen Kaurin
Leni Larsen Kaurin is a Norwegian footballer, who currently plays for VfL Wolfsburg.-Career:She joined 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam from Asker, at the end of 2007. She was then the only Norwegian woman footballer playing in Germany. On 2 February 2010 she announced that she would transfer to 1...
, the only Norwegian woman footballer playing in Germany. In summer 2008 Viola Odebrecht
Viola Odebrecht
Viola Odebrecht is a German football midfielder.In 2003 she was a member of the World Cup winning team who went on to take the bronze medal at the Athens Olympics 2004...
returned to Turbine. At the end of the 2008/09 season, Turbine won a bit surprised the hard and close contest to the championship against Bayern Munich and Duisburg.
2008–today : Rise to European top
Turbine won the German Bundesliga in three consecutive year from 2009 to 2011, won the Champions League in 2010 and reached the 2011 final. In this time the also finished runners-up in the German cup 2009 and 2011. They are again participating in the 2011–12 UEFA Women's Champions League2011–12 UEFA Women's Champions League
The 2011−12 UEFA Women's Champions League is the eleventh edition of the European women's championship for football clubs. The final will be held in Munich, Germany on 17 May 2012....
knock-out stage.
Colours and badge
The club colours are blue and white. The team plays their home games in an all-blue kit while they use an all-white kit on away matches. Sometimes the players wear a combination of the home and away kit. The third kit is all-red.The outer side of the badge is a dark blue circle with the club name written on the top and the bottom. There are three stars each on the left and the right side. The stars don't have a certain meaning. The left part of the inner side shows an eagle. It is taken from the badge of state of Brandenburg
Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
. The upper right part shows a football. The lower right side shows the letters TP which stand for Turbine Potsdam.
Stadium
The club plays their home games at Karl Liebknecht Stadion
Karl Liebknecht Stadion
The Karl-Liebknecht-Stadion is a football stadium in Potsdam-Babelsberg, Germany. It is the home stadium of 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam and SV Babelsberg 03. The stadium has a capacity of 10,499 for 9,027 standing and 1,472 seated guests.-History:...
in Potsdam-Babelsberg
Potsdam-Babelsberg
Babelsberg is the largest district of the Brandenburg capital Potsdam in Germany. The affluent neighbourhood named after a small hill on the Havel river is famous for Babelsberg Palace and Park, part of the Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as for Studio...
. They share this ground with the men’s Regionalliga
Regionalliga
Regionalliga is a designation in Germany for sports leagues, which are led by one or more regional federations. Regionalligen often fall below the Bundesliga and 2nd Bundesliga of a given sport...
side SV Babelsberg 03
SV Babelsberg 03
SV Babelsberg 03 is a German association football club based in Potsdam-Babelsberg, on the outskirts of Berlin. The team was founded as Sport-Club Jugendkraft 1903 and again as SG Karl-Marx Babelsberg in 1948 as successor to the pre-war side SpVgg Potsdam 03.-History:Playing as SV Nowawes the team...
. The stadium has a capacity of 9,254 places. The main stand has 1,482 mostly covered seats
Supporters
The club has two fan clubs. The Turbine-Adler (Turbine Eagles) were founded on December 4, 2004. The other fan club Turbine-Fans BaWü is a regional organization by fans from the state of Baden-WürttembergBaden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
.
The Turbine fans are known for their support on away matches. No other Bundesliga club is accompanied by more fans on the road.
Current squad
As of 15 September 2011, according to official website.Notable former players
Nadine Angerer Fatmire BajramajFatmire Bajramaj
Fatmire "Lira" Bajramaj is a German footballer with Albanian etnicity. She plays as an attacking midfielder for 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam and the German national team. She placed 3rd in 2010 FIFA Ballon d'Or competition, an annual award given to the world's best player.-Club:Bajramaj began her...
Britta Carlson
Britta Carlson
Britta Carlson is a German football midfielder who currently plays for VfL Wolfsburg. She has also been capped for the German national team.-External links:*...
Cristiane Sonja Fuss
Sonja Fuss
Sonja Fuss is a German football defender. She currently plays for FC Zürich Frauen and the German national team. She played in the German Bundesliga since 1992. In 2011 together with Inka Grings she joined Swiss side FC Zürich Frauen.-External links:*...
Ariane Hingst
Ariane Hingst
Ariane Hingst is a German footballer. Primarily utilized as a defender or a defensive holding, midfielder Hingst announced this summer that she would be retiring from international football with the German national team. In addition it was announced by 1...
Navina Omilade
Navina Omilade
Navina Omilade is a German football midfielder who currently plays for VfL Wolfsburg. She has also been capped for the German national team.-External links:*...
Conny Pohlers
Conny Pohlers
Conny Pohlers is a successful German football player. Since 1998 she has played in the Women's Bundesliga and since 2001 in the Germany women's national football team.-Domestic Football:...
Petra Wimbersky
Petra Wimbersky
Petra Wimbersky is a German football striker. After four years at FFC Frankfurt she returned to her former club Bayern Munich. She also plays for the German national team.-External links:*...
Honours
- UEFA Women's Cup/UEFA Women's Champions League:
- Winners (2): 2005UEFA Women's Cup 2004-05The UEFA Women's Cup 2004–05 was the fourth edition of the UEFA Women's Cup football club tournament. It was won by Germany's FFC Turbine Potsdam against Djurgården/Älvsjö of Sweden in the final for their first title in the competition...
, 20102009–10 UEFA Women's Champions LeagueThe UEFA Women's Champions League 2009–10 was the first edition of the newly branded tournament, and the ninth edition of a UEFA tournament for women's champion football clubs.... - Runners-up (2): 2006UEFA Women's Cup 2005-06The UEFA Women's Cup 2005–06 was the fifth edition of the UEFA Women's Cup football club tournament. It was won by 1. FFC Frankfurt in an all-German final against defending champions FFC Turbine Potsdam for their second title in the competition.-Group 1:...
, 20112010–11 UEFA Women's Champions LeagueThe 2010–11 UEFA Women's Champions League was the tenth edition of the European women's championship for football clubs. The final was held in London, England on 26 May 2011 at Craven Cottage....
- Winners (2): 2005
- Fußball-Bundesliga (women)Fußball-Bundesliga (women)The Women's Football Bundesliga is the main league competition for women's football in Germany. In 1990 the German Football Association created the German Women's Bundesliga, based on the model of the men's Bundesliga. It was first played with north and south divisions, but in 1997 the groups...
:- Winners (5): 2004, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011
- Runners-up (3): 2001, 2002, 2003
- Champions of the German Democratic RepublicGerman Democratic RepublicThe German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
:- Winners (6): 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1989
- Runners-up (2): 1984, 1988
- Women's German CupWomen's German CupThe Frauen DFB-Pokal is the main national women's football cup competition in Germany, thus the female counterpart to the DFB-Pokal. It was created in 1980, and since 1991 includes Eastern teams as well. The most recent champions are Turbine Potsdam. FFC Frankfurt has won the most titles with seven...
:- Winners (3): 2004, 2005, 2006
- Runners-up (2): 2009, 2011
- German Indoor Cup:
- Winners (3): 2004, 2005, 2009
- German Juniors Champions:
- Winners (7): 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009