Anyone who had predicted a one-sided match between the fourth-place Regionalliga team from Lichterfelde and the Landesliga division champions from Stern—given the two-division gap—was proven wrong. Although Viktoria Berlin’s U15 team controlled the game for much of the 70 minutes, the match remained exciting right up until the final whistle.

Steglitzer FC made the first big statement of the final, taking a 1-0 lead in the 9th minute on a free kick by their No. 17. The well-attended Stern fan section celebrated loudly, but was silenced just three minutes later: Viktoria’s No. 9 curled the ball precisely onto the underside of the crossbar, tying the score early on (12th minute). After that, the Sky Blues controlled the flow of the game without creating many clear scoring chances, but SFC remained dangerous with quick counterattacks. During one of these counterattacks in the 21st minute, Stern’s No. 19 found himself alone in front of the Viki goal but was denied by the goalkeeper, who came off his line alertly. In stoppage time of the first half, danger arose at the other end when Viktoria’s No. 17 got a header from a good position but placed it too centrally.

In the second half, Viktoria Berlin turned up the pressure and created scoring chances at a higher rate. The best opportunity finally came after a penalty kick was called in the 40th minute. The No. 17 stepped up to take it, but Stern’s goalkeeper made a strong save—the score remained 1-1. Ten minutes later, Viktoria’s number 5 also came close to scoring on a double chance: First, the SFC goalkeeper tipped his direct free kick over the crossbar with his fingertips; then, following the resulting corner, the captain’s header hit the outside post.

In the 53rd minute, Stern’s goalkeeper prevented his team from falling behind with another strong save against number 24. Shortly afterward, however, he was powerless to stop it: Viktoria Berlin was awarded another penalty kick; number 6 stepped up and calmly converted it to give his team a 2-1 lead (59th minute). Even though the SFC tried everything to equalize right up until the final whistle, the sky-blue defense held firm, and FC Viktoria 1889 Berlin was crowned the new champion of the Nike Youth Cup for C-Juniors.

The Berlin Football Association extends its heartfelt congratulations to the Viki youth team on this success. Congratulations on a strong cup season also go to SFC Stern 1900. In addition, we would like to thank the referees, all staff members—both full-time and volunteers—and the host club, SV Tasmania Berlin, whose dedication contributed to the event’s success. 

For data protection reasons, the young players are listed anonymously.