Altonaer FC Hamburg
Encyclopedia
Altonaer FC von 1893 is a German association football club
based in the Altona district of the city of Hamburg
. The football team is a department of a larger sports club which also offers handball
, karate
, table tennis
and volleyball.
, rugby
, and football – were introduced to continental Europe where they enjoyed considerable popularity. The club was founded on 29 July 1893 as Altonaer Cricketclub by a group of students who also demonstrated an early interest in football. In 1894, the club was re-named Altonaer Fussball und Cricket Club and then Altonaer Fussball Club in quick succession.
Altona is one of Germany's oldest football clubs: they were part of the Altona-Hamburg football league formed in 1894, as well as one of the founding clubs
of the German Football Association
(Deutscher Fussball Bund or German Football Association) at Leipzig
in 1900. In 1903 they hosted at their home ground the first ever German national championship final played between VfB Leipzig and DFC Prague. The match was refereed by AFC player Franz Behr, who also served as the vice-chairman of the newly formed DFB until 1904. The club rescued the match by providing a new ball when the original one proved to be unsuitable for play. Ironically, the hosts of the country's first title match would never capture or even play in a national final, being able only to advance as far as the semi-finals in 1903 and 1909, and the quarter-finals in 1914.
In 1919, the club merged with Altonaer TS 1880 in a union that lasted until 1922, during which time they were known as VfL Altona. After the break-up the team played as Altonaer FC 1893 VfL. Another merger in 1938 with Borussia 03 Bahrenfeld created Altonaer FC 93 Borussia. Between the end of World War I and the end of World War II the team played continuously in the country's top-flight leagues. Under the Third Reich German football was re-organized into sixteen Gauliga
and AFC played first in the Gauliga Nordmark
, and later in the Gauliga Hamburg.
After the war the club picked up play in the Stadtliga Hamburg before earning promotion to the first tier Oberliga Nord. Their best results were a pair of third place finishes in 1954 and 1958, and semi-final appearances in the German Cup in 1955 and 1964. After the formation of the Bundesliga – Germany's new professional league – in 1963, Altona found itself in the second-tier Regionalliga Nord where they played until 1968. Between 1969 and 1981 Altona played third and fourth division ball before slipping to Landesliga Hamburg-Hammonia (V). They returned to using their old name, Altona FC, in 1979. The club has moved up and down between the third and fifth tiers since the mid-80s and presently plays in the Regionalliga Nord (IV). They were unable to sustain themselves financially in the Regionalliga Nord after a single season at the professional level in 1997 and voluntarily withdrew to lower league play.
-Kampfbahn (AJK) in 1944. Jäger was killed in an air-raid within weeks of the stadium-naming ceremony honouring him. The facility has a capacity of 8,000 spectators (1,500 seats). Germany's first national championship was played at the club's original grounds, Exerzierweide, in Altona's Bahrenfeld
quarter (known today as Schnackenburgallee) on 31 May 1903.
The stadium was featured as a stop during the German leg of The Amazing Race 16
, an American television program, in which participants had to kick soccer balls through targets.
Football in Germany
Association football is the most popular sport in Germany. The German Football Association is the sport's national governing body, with 6.6 million members organized in over 26,000 football clubs. There is a league system, with the 1. and 2. Bundesliga on top, and the winner of the first...
based in the Altona district of the city of Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
. The football team is a department of a larger sports club which also offers handball
Team handball
Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...
, karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
, table tennis
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
and volleyball.
History
Late in the 19th century a number of sports with their origins in England – including cricketCricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, rugby
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
, and football – were introduced to continental Europe where they enjoyed considerable popularity. The club was founded on 29 July 1893 as Altonaer Cricketclub by a group of students who also demonstrated an early interest in football. In 1894, the club was re-named Altonaer Fussball und Cricket Club and then Altonaer Fussball Club in quick succession.
Altona is one of Germany's oldest football clubs: they were part of the Altona-Hamburg football league formed in 1894, as well as one of the founding clubs
Founding Clubs of the DFB
The DFB was formed January 28, 1900 in Leipzig. The commonly accepted number of founding clubs represented at the inaugural meeting is 86, but this number is uncertain. The vote held to establish the association was 62:22 in favour . Some delegates present represented more than one club, but may...
of the German Football Association
German Football Association
The German Football Association is the governing body of football in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB organises the German football leagues, including the national league, the Bundesliga, and the men's and women's national teams. The DFB is based in Frankfurt and is...
(Deutscher Fussball Bund or German Football Association) at Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
in 1900. In 1903 they hosted at their home ground the first ever German national championship final played between VfB Leipzig and DFC Prague. The match was refereed by AFC player Franz Behr, who also served as the vice-chairman of the newly formed DFB until 1904. The club rescued the match by providing a new ball when the original one proved to be unsuitable for play. Ironically, the hosts of the country's first title match would never capture or even play in a national final, being able only to advance as far as the semi-finals in 1903 and 1909, and the quarter-finals in 1914.
In 1919, the club merged with Altonaer TS 1880 in a union that lasted until 1922, during which time they were known as VfL Altona. After the break-up the team played as Altonaer FC 1893 VfL. Another merger in 1938 with Borussia 03 Bahrenfeld created Altonaer FC 93 Borussia. Between the end of World War I and the end of World War II the team played continuously in the country's top-flight leagues. Under the Third Reich German football was re-organized into sixteen Gauliga
Gauliga
A Gauliga was the highest level of play in German football from 1934-45. The leagues were introduced in 1933, after the Nazi takeover of power by the Sports office of the Third Reich.-Name:...
and AFC played first in the Gauliga Nordmark
Gauliga Nordmark
The Gauliga Nordmark was the highest football league in the Prussian Province of Schleswig-Holstein and the German states of Hamburg, Lübeck, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Strelitz and parts of Oldenburg from 1933 to 1945...
, and later in the Gauliga Hamburg.
After the war the club picked up play in the Stadtliga Hamburg before earning promotion to the first tier Oberliga Nord. Their best results were a pair of third place finishes in 1954 and 1958, and semi-final appearances in the German Cup in 1955 and 1964. After the formation of the Bundesliga – Germany's new professional league – in 1963, Altona found itself in the second-tier Regionalliga Nord where they played until 1968. Between 1969 and 1981 Altona played third and fourth division ball before slipping to Landesliga Hamburg-Hammonia (V). They returned to using their old name, Altona FC, in 1979. The club has moved up and down between the third and fifth tiers since the mid-80s and presently plays in the Regionalliga Nord (IV). They were unable to sustain themselves financially in the Regionalliga Nord after a single season at the professional level in 1997 and voluntarily withdrew to lower league play.
Recent seasons
| Year | Division | Position |
| 1999–2000 | Verbandsliga Hamburg (VI) | 2nd |
| 2000–01 | Verbandsliga Hamburg | 3rd |
| 2001–02 | Verbandsliga Hamburg | 2nd (promoted) |
| 2002–03 | Oberliga Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein Oberliga Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein The Oberliga Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein was the fourth tier of the German football league system in the north of Germany, existing from 1994 to 2004. It covered the states of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein... (V) |
8th |
| 2003–04 | Oberliga Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein | 2nd (promoted) |
| 2004–05 | Oberliga Nord Oberliga Nord The Oberliga Nord was the fourth tier of the German football league system in the north of Germany. It covered the states of Niedersachsen, Bremen, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein... (IV) |
12th |
| 2005–06 | Oberliga Nord | 7th |
| 2006–07 | Oberliga Nord | 5th |
| 2007–08 | Oberliga Nord | 2nd |
| 2008–09 | Regionalliga Nord Regionalliga Nord The Regionalliga Nord is currently the fourth tier of the German football league system. Until the introduction of the 3rd Liga in 2008 it was the third tier. It currently is the highest regional league for the northern and eastern part of Germany. It covers ten of the sixteen states of Germany... (IV) |
Current squad
Honours
- Northern German championsNorthern German football championshipThe Northern German football championship , operated by Norddeutscher Fußball-Verband , was the highest association football competition in Northern Germany, in the Prussian provinces of Schleswig-Holstein and Hanover and the German states of Hamburg, Lübeck, Mecklenburg-Schwerin,...
: 1909, 1914 - Oberliga Hamburg/Schleswig-HolsteinOberliga Hamburg/Schleswig-HolsteinThe Oberliga Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein was the fourth tier of the German football league system in the north of Germany, existing from 1994 to 2004. It covered the states of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein...
(IV) champions: 1996 - Verbandsliga Hamburg (II) champions: 1948, 1950
- Landesliga Hamburg-HansaLandesliga Hamburg-HansaThe Landesliga Hamburg-Hansa is the sixth tier of the German football league system and the second-highest league in the German state of Hamburg, together with the Landesliga Hamburg-Hammonia...
(IV) champions: 1972 - Landesliga Hamburg-HammoniaLandesliga Hamburg-HammoniaThe Landesliga Hamburg-Hammonia is the sixth tier of the German football league system and the second-highest league in the German state of Hamburg, together with the Landesliga Hamburg-Hansa...
(V) champions: 1983
Notable players
- Adolf Jäger, capped 18 times (1908–1924)
- Dieter Seeler, upper league player (1952–1955)
- Heinz Spundflasche, upper league player (1952–1958) and coach (1957–1960)
- Haris TahirovićHaris TahirovicHaris Tahirović is a Bosnian football player who currently plays for SC West Bosnia.-References:...
, former Bosnia and Herzegovina youth international - Boriša Đorđević, former Yugoslavia international player. European Cup winner, Bundesliga champion and UEFA cup finalist with Hamburger SV. He spend 2 seasons in FC Altona (1984–1986)
Stadium
Since 1909 the team has played in the AFC-Kampfbahn, re-named the Adolf-JägerAdolf Jäger
Adolf Jäger was a German amateur football player who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics. Jäger played with Altona 93 and would have scored over 2000 goals in over 700 amateur matches...
-Kampfbahn (AJK) in 1944. Jäger was killed in an air-raid within weeks of the stadium-naming ceremony honouring him. The facility has a capacity of 8,000 spectators (1,500 seats). Germany's first national championship was played at the club's original grounds, Exerzierweide, in Altona's Bahrenfeld
Bahrenfeld
Bahrenfeld is a western quarter of the city of Hamburg in Germany, it is subject to the district/borough Bezirk Altona and was an independent settlement until 1890. It is home to DESY and the Color Line Arena. In 2006 the population was 26,434.-History:...
quarter (known today as Schnackenburgallee) on 31 May 1903.
The stadium was featured as a stop during the German leg of The Amazing Race 16
The Amazing Race 16
The Amazing Race 16 is the sixteenth installment of the reality television show The Amazing Race. The Amazing Race 16 features eleven teams of two, each with a pre-existing relationship, in a race around the world....
, an American television program, in which participants had to kick soccer balls through targets.