zondag 24 februari 2008

En Büyük Türkiye in Berlin!

24/2/2008 : Hertha BSC Amateure - Türkiyemspor Berlin : 0-2
289 spectators
 
 
 
Berlin is sometimes nicknamed the "most Turkish city outside of Turkey". The number of Turkish immigrants in Berlin beats any other city in Europe. Almost half a million Turks live in Berlin. Turkish restaurants, shops and cafes are everywhere in the city. Especially the districts of Kreuzberg, Wedding and Neukölln are real Turkish bastions, although in other Berlin districts there are a fair number of Turks as well. While Berlin is multicultural in general with people from all over the world (something I, as a left-wing supporter of multicultural cities, strongly like), the Turks are dominant.
 
With all these Turkish people it was obvious Turkish clubs would be formed, including Turkish football clubs. At this moment there are lot of Turkish football clubs in Berlin. Names such as Hilalspor, SV Galatasaray Berlin, Trabzonspor Berlin, Yesilyurt Berlin, and more such names leave little to the imagination. All those clubs however are small amateur clubs in the very lowest leagues of German football.
 
One exception however became a success: Türkiyemspor Berlin. The club was founded in 1978 in Kreuzberg, the most Turkish of all districts of Berlin (some streets in this district have almost 80% Turkish citizens). The club was originally named Kreuzberg Gencler Birligi (similar to the popular Ankara-based club) however when it officially registered in the German Football Association it adopted the name Izmirspor as many founding members were immigrants from the Izmir region.
 
The club immediately appealed to a lot of people within the Turkish immigrant community and local merchants financially supported the club. To attract a wider audience, the name Izmirspor was dropped in 1987 and the new name was adopted: Türkiyemspor Berlin.
 
The club has been a success ever since, climbing the ladder to the semi-professional levels of the German league. In Europe, only 1 or 2 other immigrants teams have done better. Apart from that, Türkiyemspor has always been strongly multicultural with both Turkish immigrants and Germans in the team. The team has won several prices for their role in integrating immigrants into the local Berlin society, and they showed the outside world that multicultural teams could become a success. This inspired Turkish people in many other cities to set up their own local Turkiyemspor teams, which exist now in many German cities but also in Holland, USA, Australia and many more countries. So to say that Türkiyemspor Berlin has made a large impact, is an understatement.
 
The team won, only a few weeks ago, yet another trophy which rewarded them for their positive role when it comes to integrating immigrants and local people into an organisation. But as much as the club is proud of these achievements, they of course also aim for success on the pitch.
 
Türkiyemspor's biggest achievement was reaching the 3rd division of German football. They are currently in 4th division but are aiming to promote to the 3rd division again.
 
 
 
 
This season may very well be the perfect occasion for that promotion. Türkiyemspor has a good team and is currently in 2nd position. The only team ahead of them is the reserve (amateur) team of top division club Hertha Berlin. Hertha was 7 points ahead of Türkiyemspor and had not lost a game this season. This weekend was the big clash between the two top teams. If Hertha won this game, the gap was 10 points and the title was theirs. Türkiyemspor needed to win this game to come back to 4 points behind Hertha II and make the title race exciting again.
 
A very interesting game and I needed to be there. Who would I support? The answer is so easy to guess the question is unnecessary even. I lived in Turkey for a while and fell in a deep love with the country, I would even love to re-emigrate to Turkey. Plus, I love multicultural societies and clubs. So the answer was clear: I was hoping for a Türkiyemspor victory!
 
Note by the way that the teams play in an interesting league with also a few very traditional old clubs like Dynamo Berlin (the team from the former DDR police) and Tennis Borussia Berlin. A second Turkish team, SV Yesilyurt, was also supposed to play in this league, but they collapsed before the season started, leaving Türkiyemspor as the absolute nr 1 immigrants team in Germany.
 
 
 
The Hertha BSC Amateurs play their games in the (what a dull name...) Amateurstadion. This stadium is located within the quite impressive domain of Hertha BSC who have a lot of smaller training pitches next to the impressive Olympiastadion. The Amateurstadion is located next to the Olympiastadion, in the shadow of the big arena. From the stand of the Amateurstadion you see the impressive Olympiastadion right in front of you.
 
The Amateurstadion is decent, but that's all really. A small terrace behind the goal (terrace sounds more impressive than it really is) and a stand with seats. I think the capacity would be maximum 1000. Today, for a top game, there were only 289 spectators. If you realise that at least half of them were Turkiyemspor fans, you can imagine the Hertha fans don't really care about their amateur team. It is in my opinion not even justified that reserve teams are allowed to play in the regular leagues. But I of course liked the Turkish invasion of the stadium and had a nice time talking to the Türkiyemspor fans. Talking about how much we like Turkey, about Turkish football, ... You get the picture.
 
 
 
 
 
The game itself started slowly. Hertha had a bit more possession but Türkiyem had technically more gifted players. About 3 or 4 players were German and they also had 1 African player, the others were Turkish immigrants. The fans were 80 to 90% Turkish people, plus another few Germans who supported Türkiyemspor (and me of course :)).
 
The first chance was for Hertha: a high ball from the left side reached a player that stood totally isolated at the far post, he controlled the ball but then delivered a very weak shot right at the Türkiyemspor goalkeeper.
 
Türkiyemspor reacted with a long dribble but the shot went past the far post. Hertha got a free kick but the ball was kicked over the bar.
 
Some small chances, but nothing too special really. The game was, at that point, rather boring and luckily some conversations with the Turkish fans kept me awake...
 
Luckily Türkiyemspor realised they had to win this game to keep promotion within reach, and the technically gifted Turks started to attack. A few shots were blocked, the rebound was going straight at the Hertha goalkeeper.
 
Hertha woke up and also tried to react, with a long pass over the ground and a shot from the edge of the 11m line. The ball went straight into the upper corner of the goal, but the Türkiyemspor goalkeeper managed to catch without many problems. Another Hertha shot deflected on a Turkish leg, the ball bounced out of reach of the goalkeeper but Türkiyemspor was lucky to see the ball bounce just next to the post into corner.
 
Türkiyemspor reacted with one of the finest technical moments of the game, when a player dribbled past 4 or 5 defenders, only to be stopped by the Hertha goalkeeper diving into his feet to catch the ball. Great moment though.
 
A nice conclusion after a somewhat disappointing first half. One player however caught my eye: Türkiyemspor striker Fatih Yigitusagi, who was technically very gifted and was a constant threat to the Hertha defense. Remember that name, because he would play a decisive role later on in this game.
 
 
 
 
The second half was of a lot better level than the first half. Hertha immediately chose to attack with a shot from inside the box which however just missed the near corner and died in the wrong side of the net.
 
However, by this time Türkiyemspor really became the better side and the chances for the Turks came as well. First a very hard shot only narrowly missed the far post. Then another one of those beautiful dribbles came, but this time it was concluded with a shot right at the Hertha goalkeeper.
 
However, the pressure from Türkiyemspor was broken suddenly when a cross from the left from Hertha was headed in from close range. The ball hit the crossbar and bounced back into the field, the rebound from just outside the box aimed straight at the upper corner of the goal but the Türkiyem goalkeeper caught the ball with an excellent dive.
 
The big chances came and a goal was just a matter of a few more minutes. Rightfully deserved, it were the Turkish who scored the opening goal. A great pass over the ground from the left side of the pitch reached Fatih Yigitusagi in front of goal, who controlled the ball and perfectly shot it in the far low corner of the net. The Hertha keeper had no chance and the by far best player on the pitch had put Türkiyemspor in front.
 
Hertha just had to react but didn't manage to seriously bring any danger to the Türkiyemspor goalkeeper. On the contrary the opposite happened: once again Fatih Yigitusagi made a fantastic dribble (seems to be his trademark!) past several defenders, and this time (once again face to face with the goalkeeper) he shot the ball into the net.
 
0-2 and Türkiyem was in fact sure of victory at that moment. Hertha kept trying but never came close apart from one moment: a cross from the left was headed in from very close range at the first post, the ball bounced off the ground and into the arms of the Turkish goalkeeper.
 
 
 
That was it. 0-2 and Türkiyemspor is entirely back in the title race. 4 points behind Hertha II still, but this is a gap that can easily be closed. For the Hertha reserves, this was the first defeat of the season. With an away game versus the tricky Dynamo Berlin coming up, Hertha could be facing another very tough weekend.
 
While the Hertha players immediately went hiding in the dressing rooms the Türkiyemspor players danced and celebrated on the pitch, singing "Türkiyem Türkiyem Türkiyem" for minutes, then on to celebrate and hug the fans. I had a few more conversations with the Türkiyem fans before going home.
 
The first half was disappointing, but the second half was amusing and the best team won. The technically very gifted Fatih Yigitusagi was by far the best player on the field, and Türkiyemspor deserved this victory. Hopefully on to promotion now.
 
Also, the friendly Turkish fans and the very technically gifted players were a pleasure to deal with, and I am surely going to attend a home game of Türkiyem the coming weeks (their home is the Katzbachstadion not far from their native Kreuzberg district). Of course, as much as I like Berlin, I fell in love with Turkey and would love to emigrate to the Middle East again, but an afternoon like this, talking to the Turkish people (often with the subject how nice and beautiful Turkey is :)) was a nice moment while waiting and hoping to be back in the Middle East itself in the near future.
 
And I will finalise with a traditional chant of Turkish football fans and, given the Türkiyemspor victory tonight is very appropriate: "En büyük Türkiye !" (Turkey is the greatest!)
 

vrijdag 22 februari 2008

Dark Passion Play in Berlin : Nightwish

First of all, I wish all welcome to my new blog. After failed attempts to keep the blog going in the past, I decided to start from scratch and hopefully this time we will make it work long-term :)
 
 
 
Yesterday was my first local concert since I am in Berlin. Finnish "symphonic metal" band Nightwish are on tour to promote their album Dark Passion Play. I never was a huge fan of them, basically due to not really knowing a lot of their music. What did attract me though were their album covers. Oceanborn pictures a woman laying just under the surface of the sea with a full moon above, while a fan t-shirt (which I bought long ago purely for the picture and poem) pictured a woman staring at the full moon at night, with on the back a poem that was an ode to the sea. The words "to be one with the waves" somewhat moved me. Also, I remember a Nightwish article that featured the quote "Every dream is just a journey away". Clearly they showed poetic potential, but somehow I never took time to discover the music. Until I heard the beautiful ballad "Sleeping Sun", an ode to the night featuring the trademark operatic vocals by Tarja Turunen.
 
My first interest was raised, and then in late 2005 Tarja was sacked from the band because of personal differences between her and the rest of the band. Since then my curiosity grew, and when new vocalist Annette Olzon from Sweden was introduced I was curious to hear the "new" Nightwish. I feared that without the typical opera-esque vocals of Tarja it would not feel like Nightwish anymore, but on the contrary, the more rock-orientated vocals of Annette pleased me and "Amaranth" was both musically and lyrically a really interesting song.
 
So to call me a fan would be exagerated surely, but my interest in Nightwish was there and I started listening to some older work as well. Since then I started heavily sympathising with the Finnish band. Especially the song "Nemo" moved me, with its beautiful chorus: "Oh how I wish for soothing rain, all I wish is to dream again. My loving heart lost in the dark, for hope I'd give my everything."
 
When I noticed Nightwish were coming to Berlin, my current home town, to promote the new album, the curiosity and interest in the band was big enough to buy myself a ticket. I was keen on hearing the new songs live, and curious how the older songs would be with Annette on vocals.
 
 
 
 
So yesterday was the big night. A 45 minute tram and subway drive took me to the Treptow Arena, located in (obviously) the Treptow part of Berlin, in the former East Berlin. The arena is in a nice location, just next to the river Spree with a nice promenade next to it. In the river, a bassin was built for open air swimming in summer, and next to the arena their is the famous Badesschiff where you can have a sauna and hot water bath with view on the Spree river. One of the hippest places in Berlin for sure. The arena itself surprised me as well. No small intimate concert hall, but a huge hall with room for almost 10000 people. The arena was practically sold out so my guess was that 7000 or 8000 people were present for Nightwish's arrival in Berlin. Luckily there was a stand built for those who prefer to sit down for the concert. I usually prefer front-row standing, but not at metal gigs, as I am not into headbanging and jumping around a lot. So this time I was happy with a seat, which by the way proved to provide me excellent viewing and without being blocked by tall people jumping in front of me :)
 
Support act was a metal band called Pain. Quite heavy with some typical metal songs and screaming vocals. Not bad, though not enough variation to really keep me interested the whole time. But that is OK, as this meant time for a last drink before taking seats for Nightwish.
 
Approx 9:00 pm the time had come for the main act. A darkened stage with the Nightwish logo and name on the background was awaiting while some classical sounding music served as intro until the lights went on and the band members walked on stage. After a very short welcome message, the band chose to immediately keep the crowd going with one of the heaviest songs from the new album: Bye Bye Beautiful, a goodbye message to former vocalist Tarja Turunen.
 
To those who were anxious about the new vocalist, it was clear from the start that any fears were irrational. Annette, who looked quite cute with a short skirt by the way (how the heck did I notice that ? :)) immediately proved to be a quality singer. From the first song on she sang perfectly, and her voice suited extremely well with the music. Also, she immediately showed her charisma, walking around on stage and interacting with the audience as if she had been part of Nightwish since the early days of the band. You could clearly see an Annette full of confidence and who really enjoyed her new role, she clearly adapted into Nightwish really well and song after song she would prove that all bad comments appearing on some websites were not justified. Band leader Tuomas, who also does the keyboards and writes all lyrics, has made an excellent choice with Annette as new singer.
 
The band also took care for a bit of show elements, as from the first song on firecrackers and flames were used on stage, especially during the heaviest parts of the songs flames rose from several objects on stage. It made me think a bit of Rammstein, though a bit more modest. Still, a nice addition to the show.
 
The band chose for a setlist with the best songs from the new Dark Passion Play album (surprisingly leaving out Eva, the first song that was released from the album... though it was clear the band chose for rock and no ballads tonight, as also Sleeping Sun was not played) along with some more classic Nightwish songs. And yes, also here, Annette did het job perfectly. Songs such as Nemo were risky to be played because most people know the songs so well with Tarja's voice which is entirely different from Annette's voice. But Annette sang the song very well and it definitely sounded as good as it always did, she never tried to copy Tarja but just gave the song a new interpretation.
 
I really was pleasantly surprised, not just by her vocals but also by the stage personality of Annette. I saw an Annette who was well integrated in the band, who enjoyed every moment of the gig, appeared full of confidence, and was joking around with the audience in a really spontaneous way. Somewhat unexpected, she threw condoms into the audience, stating to that fans "have fun, but do it safe". I never expected condoms at a Nightwish gig, but it was somewhat a pleasant bizarrity. Also, since the last album guitarist Marco is doing vocals as well (though only in a few songs) and the combination of the male and female vocals worked out really well.
 
The crowd interacted really well with the songs, and responded really enthousiast to the band. The pyro-effects were a nice addition though not even necessary. With the music alone the band was convincing enough as it is. They finalised the concert and evening with a really great version of Wish I Had An Angel, yet another moment proving Annette's vocals were really suiting the music well and that no older songs sounded any less good than before. All concluded, a nice concert which somewhat makes me enthousiast to maybe travel to another German gig of them as the tour will visit Leipzig, Hannover and some other cities not too far from Berlin.
 
 
 
 
I finalised my evening two subway stations further down the road, enjoying a few coca-cola's in the famous gothic/wave club K17. Thursdays are usually the best days in K17, and I was not disappointed. The Broken Ones (Diva Destruction), Just Like Heaven (The Cure), Kiss (my request ; London After Midnight), Passion of Lovers (Bauhaus), Bruise Pristine (Placebo) and My Girlfriends Girlfriend (Type O Negative) were an excellent conclusion to a nice evening before I really got too tired to continue the night.
 
Let's just say: my first Nightwish experience was a very good one, and I will definitely try to see more of their shows.