From European glory to relegation: the decline of Turbine Potsdam

A t around 3pm on Saturday 13 May, a quiet descended around the Karl-Liebknecht-Stadion. Set in the quaint, leafy Potsdam suburb of Babelsberg, a stadium that has witnessed so many of its residents’ highest moments was now playing host to their worst. As the whistle blew on Turbine Potsdam’s 5-1 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen, the curtain finally came down on their 26-year period in the top flight of German football. The home fans watching on were well aware they were witnessing a moment in history; one they would all probably rather forget. The end of an era, as one of the Frauen-Bundesliga’s last independent teams dropped out of the division.

It was a result that sent shockwaves through women’s football far beyond German shores. While Potsdam’s decline has been on the cards for some time, it is still gut-wrenching to see one of the historic trailblazers finally fall. For Potsdam’s remarkable story is one that is wrapped so intrinsically with its country’s history – a small team in the east defying the odds to become one of its most successful.

Potsdam were founded in 1971 on the factory floor of an energy company in East Germany. A notice was pinned to the board reading: “Establishing women’s football team. Please get in contact. March 3, 1971”. Bernd Schröder took on the role as coach with the aim of playing competitively – needless to say that, in the 1970s, this was considered a pipe dream. Schröder persisted, recruiting players and teaching them how to play.

Battling against restrictions and acceptance, his team would go on to win the East Germany women’s title six times. With the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany, testing times followed as players departed. Potsdam eventually won promotion to