Borussia Neunkirchen
Encyclopedia
Borussia VfB Neunkirchen is a German association football club
based in Neunkirchen, Saarland
. The club SC Borussia Neunkirchen was founded out of the 1907 merger of FC 1905 Borussia and SC Neunkirchen.
, Bezirksliga Rhein-Saar
and selection to the Gauliga
, formed in 1933 through the reorganization of German football under the Third Reich. Borussia remained at this level, in the Gauliga Südwest/Mainhessen
, throughout the league's history, with good results but not winning a league championship. Like other organizations in the country, including sports and football associations, Borussia was dissolved by the Allied occupation authorities after World War II, but was quickly reformed under its current name.
The club played in the French-occupied Saarland
and the French made various efforts to see the state become independent of Germany or join France. In sport this was manifested as separate 1952 Olympic and 1954 World Cup teams for Saarland
, the establishment of a short-lived football league for the state, and the German club 1. FC Saarbrücken
playing in the French second division. Neunkirchen played in the Saarland Ehrenliga from 1949 to 1951, winning the title in the first year and finishing as runner-up the next. They were able to re-join the DFB
(Deutscher Fußball-Bund or German Football Association) after the 1950–51 season in the Oberliga Südwest
.
Despite their record of continuous play at the top flight, Neunkirchen was not one of the sixteen sides selected for play in the Bundesliga
– Germany's new professional football league – at its formation. Along with FK Pirmasens
and Wormatia Worms
, they were bypassed in favour of 1. FC Saarbrücken, even though they all had better records than the chosen side. More than a few protests were lodged as 1. FC appeared to have gained entry based simply on their affiliation with a member of the league selection committee. Their entry was delayed by only a year as they were able to play their way into the upper league through the promotion rounds after winning the Regionalliga Südwest
.
Their stay in the Bundesliga was short-lived. After a mid-table result in 1965, they would be relegated the following season after a 17th place finish. They won the Regionalliga Südwest again after being sent down and returned to the Bundesliga to another 17th place finish and relegation.
Neunkirchen spent another seven years playing tier II football before slipping to the Amateurliga Saarland
(III). Through the mid-1970s and into the early 1980s the club bounced up and down between these levels of play, before settling in for a decade and a half at tier III. The team slipped again in 1996 to the Oberliga Südwest
(IV) where they play today. They won their division in 2005 but declined the opportunity to apply for a license and promotion to the third division because of financial problems that have plagued the club since 2003.
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 Neunkirchen, Saarland
Neunkirchen, Saarland
Neunkirchen is a town and a municipality in Saarland, Germany. It is the largest town in, and the seat of the district of Neunkirchen. It is situated on the river Blies, approx. 20 km northeast of Saarbrücken. With about 50,000 inhabitants, Neunkirchen is Saarland's 2nd largest city...
. The club SC Borussia Neunkirchen was founded out of the 1907 merger of FC 1905 Borussia and SC Neunkirchen.
History
From 1912 through to 1963 the club had an uninterrupted record of first division play including the Kreisliga SaarKreisliga Saar
The Kreisliga Saar was the highest association football league in the German state of Saarland and parts of the Bavarian region of Palatinate and the Prussian Rhine Province from 1919 to 1923...
, Bezirksliga Rhein-Saar
Bezirksliga Rhein-Saar
The Bezirksliga Rhein-Saar was the highest association football league in the German state of Saarland, the Bavarian region of Palatinate and the northern-most part of Baden from 1927 to 1933...
and selection to the 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:...
, formed in 1933 through the reorganization of German football under the Third Reich. Borussia remained at this level, in the Gauliga Südwest/Mainhessen
Gauliga Südwest/Mainhessen
The Gauliga Südwest/Mainhessen was the highest football league in the German state of Hesse,the Bavarian province of Palatinate, the Saarland and some parts of the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau from 1933 to 1941. From 1941, it also included parts of the occupied French region of Lorraine...
, throughout the league's history, with good results but not winning a league championship. Like other organizations in the country, including sports and football associations, Borussia was dissolved by the Allied occupation authorities after World War II, but was quickly reformed under its current name.
The club played in the French-occupied Saarland
Saarland
Saarland is one of the sixteen states of Germany. The capital is Saarbrücken. It has an area of 2570 km² and 1,045,000 inhabitants. In both area and population, it is the smallest state in Germany other than the city-states...
and the French made various efforts to see the state become independent of Germany or join France. In sport this was manifested as separate 1952 Olympic and 1954 World Cup teams for Saarland
Saarland national football team
The Saarland national football team was the association football team representing Saarland from 1950 to 1956 during the French occupation following World War II...
, the establishment of a short-lived football league for the state, and the German club 1. FC Saarbrücken
1. FC Saarbrücken
1. FC Saarbrücken is a German association football club based in the city of Saarbrücken, Saarland. The club began its existence as the football department of Turnverein Malstatt formed in 1903...
playing in the French second division. Neunkirchen played in the Saarland Ehrenliga from 1949 to 1951, winning the title in the first year and finishing as runner-up the next. They were able to re-join the DFB
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) after the 1950–51 season in the Oberliga Südwest
Oberliga Südwest (1945-63)
The Oberliga Südwest was the highest level of the German football league system in the southwest of Germany from 1945 until the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963. It covered the two states of Rheinland-Pfalz and Saarland.-Overview:...
.
Despite their record of continuous play at the top flight, Neunkirchen was not one of the sixteen sides selected for play in the Bundesliga
Fußball-Bundesliga
The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
– Germany's new professional football league – at its formation. Along with FK Pirmasens
FK Pirmasens
FK Pirmasens is a German association football club in Pirmasens, Rhineland-Palatinate. The team was formed as the football section of the gymnastics and sports club TV Pirminia Pirmasens in 1903 and became independent in 1914. They took on their current name in 1925...
and Wormatia Worms
Wormatia Worms
VfR Wormatia 08 Worms is a German association football club that plays in Worms, Rhineland-Palatinate. The club and its historical predecessors were regular participants in regional first division football competition right up until the formation of the national top-flight Bundesliga in 1963...
, they were bypassed in favour of 1. FC Saarbrücken, even though they all had better records than the chosen side. More than a few protests were lodged as 1. FC appeared to have gained entry based simply on their affiliation with a member of the league selection committee. Their entry was delayed by only a year as they were able to play their way into the upper league through the promotion rounds after winning the Regionalliga Südwest
Regionalliga Südwest (1963-74)
The Regionalliga Südwest was the second-highest level of the German football league system in the southwest of Germany from 1963 until the formation of the 2nd Bundesliga in 1974...
.
Their stay in the Bundesliga was short-lived. After a mid-table result in 1965, they would be relegated the following season after a 17th place finish. They won the Regionalliga Südwest again after being sent down and returned to the Bundesliga to another 17th place finish and relegation.
Neunkirchen spent another seven years playing tier II football before slipping to the Amateurliga Saarland
Amateurliga Saarland
The Amateurliga Saarland was the highest football league in the state of Saarland and the third tier of the German football league system from 1951, when the clubs from the Saar returned to Germany, till the formation of the Oberliga Südwest and the Verbandsliga Saarland below it in 1978.- Overview...
(III). Through the mid-1970s and into the early 1980s the club bounced up and down between these levels of play, before settling in for a decade and a half at tier III. The team slipped again in 1996 to the Oberliga Südwest
Oberliga Südwest
The Oberliga Südwest is the highest regional football league for the Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland state of Germany. It is the fifth tier of the German football league system. It is one of eleven Oberligas in German Football, the 5th tier of the German football league system...
(IV) where they play today. They won their division in 2005 but declined the opportunity to apply for a license and promotion to the third division because of financial problems that have plagued the club since 2003.
Honours
Borussia Neunkirchen is a seven time winner of the Saarland Cup, a regional championship tournament established in 1974.- Southern German Cup winner: 1921
- Oberliga SüdwestOberliga Südwest (1945-63)The Oberliga Südwest was the highest level of the German football league system in the southwest of Germany from 1945 until the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963. It covered the two states of Rheinland-Pfalz and Saarland.-Overview:...
(I) champions: 1962 - Oberliga Südwest (I) runners-up: 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963
- Bezirksliga Rheinhessen-SaarBezirksliga Rheinhessen-SaarThe Bezirksliga Rheinhessen-Saar was the highest association football league in the German state of Saarland, the Rheinhessen part of the state of Hesse and parts of the Bavarian region of Palatinate and the Prussian Rhine Province from 1923 to 1927, when the league was replaced by the Bezirksliga...
(I) champions: 1924 - Bezirksliga Rhein-SaarBezirksliga Rhein-SaarThe Bezirksliga Rhein-Saar was the highest association football league in the German state of Saarland, the Bavarian region of Palatinate and the northern-most part of Baden from 1927 to 1933...
(Saar division) (I) champions: 1929 - Kreisliga SaarKreisliga SaarThe Kreisliga Saar was the highest association football league in the German state of Saarland and parts of the Bavarian region of Palatinate and the Prussian Rhine Province from 1919 to 1923...
(I) champions: 1921, 1922, 1923 - Regionalliga SüdwestRegionalliga Südwest (1963-74)The Regionalliga Südwest was the second-highest level of the German football league system in the southwest of Germany from 1963 until the formation of the 2nd Bundesliga in 1974...
(II) champions: 1964, 1967, 1971, 1972, 1974 - Oberliga SüdwestOberliga SüdwestThe Oberliga Südwest is the highest regional football league for the Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland state of Germany. It is the fifth tier of the German football league system. It is one of eleven Oberligas in German Football, the 5th tier of the German football league system...
(III) champions: 1980, 1991 - Oberliga Südwest (IV) champions: 2000, 2002, 2005
- Amateurliga SaarlandAmateurliga SaarlandThe Amateurliga Saarland was the highest football league in the state of Saarland and the third tier of the German football league system from 1951, when the clubs from the Saar returned to Germany, till the formation of the Oberliga Südwest and the Verbandsliga Saarland below it in 1978.- Overview...
(III) champions: 1976, 1977, 1978 - Ehrenliga champions: 1949
- Ehrenliga finalists: 1950
- Saarland CupSaarland CupThe Saarland Cup is one of the 21 regional cup competitions of German football. The winner of the competition gains entry to the first round of the German Cup...
winners: 1978, 1985, 1986, 1990, 1992, 1996, 2003
Recent seasons
| Year | Division | Position |
| 1999–2000 | Oberliga Südwest Oberliga Südwest The Oberliga Südwest is the highest regional football league for the Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland state of Germany. It is the fifth tier of the German football league system. It is one of eleven Oberligas in German Football, the 5th tier of the German football league system... (IV) |
1st |
| 2000–01 | Oberliga Südwest | 3rd |
| 2001–02 | Oberliga Südwest | 1st ↑ |
| 2002–03 | Regionalliga Süd Regionalliga Süd The Regionalliga Süd 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 southern part of Germany... (III) |
19th ↓ |
| 2003–04 | Oberliga Südwest (IV) | 10th |
| 2004–05 | Oberliga Südwest | 1st |
| 2005–06 | Oberliga Südwest | 9th |
| 2006–07 | Oberliga Südwest | 10th |
| 2007–08 | Oberliga Südwest | 6th |
| 2008–09 | Oberliga Südwest (V) | 4th |
| 2009–10 | Oberliga Südwest |