VfR Mannheim
Encyclopedia
VfR Mannheim is a German association football club
based in Mannheim
, Baden-Württemberg
formed in 1911 out of the fusion of Mannheimer FG 1896, Mannheimer FG 1897 Union, and FC Viktoria 1897 Mannheim. The team has played out most of its recent history as an unheralded local amateur side but has historically been quite a force in local football, with the highlight of winning the German championship in 1949 against Borussia Dortmund
.
of the German Football Association
in 1900. These various Mannheim teams were members of the VSFV (Verband Süddeutscher Fussball Vereine or Federation of South German Football Clubs) and after their merger in 1911 played as VfR through the 10s and 20s in the Westkreis-Liga
. The club emerged as the league champions of the Kreisliga Odenwald
in 1922 and the Bezirksliga Rhein
in 1925, but went out in the preliminary round of national championship play. The club finished in mid-table throughout the late 1920s and early 30's in the Bezirksliga Rhein-Saar
.
. The club performed well in the years leading up to World War II and the throughout the conflict taking division titles in 1935, 1938, 1939, 1943 and 1944. However they could not translate this success in league play into success in the national playoffs with their best result being an advance to the 1943 quarterfinals where they were put out 2:3 by eventual vice-champions FV Saarbrücken.
Mannheim repeated as division champions in 1944. Wartime conditions made playing football increasingly difficult in the country, so much so that the national playoffs were initially abandoned and VfR declared champions by the sport's governing authority. However, this decision was revoked after protests from other clubs and the playoff competition reinstated. Mannheim advanced only as far as the eighth-final before being eliminated by 1. FC Nuremberg.
where they earned unremarkable results until a surprising breakthrough in 1949 that saw the team transform a distant second place finish in their division into a national championship. After thrashing Hamburger SV
5:0 in the opening round, they upset Kickers Offenbach
, who had finished eleven points ahead of them in their Oberliga division that season, by a score of 2:1. VfR then earned a come from behind 3:2 overtime victory over Borussia Dortmund
in front of 90,000 fans in the final. Between 1903 and 1944 German national champions were awarded the Viktoria trophy. The 1944 final between Dresdner SC
and Luftwaffen-SV Hamburg
was the last Viktoria match ever played as the trophy disappeared at war's end. The missing prize was replaced by the Meisterschale in 1949 and was first awarded to Mannheim despite 1. FC Nuremberg being Germany's first postwar champions in 1948. Today the Meisterschale recognizes the country's Bundesliga champions and is inscribed with the names of each national championship team since 1903. The Viktoria has since been recovered and is held by the German Football Association
.
The next year they again met Dortmund in the playoffs, this time in the opening round, and once again eliminated them. However, they would themselves be put out in the next round by Preußen Dellbrück and begin a slide into anonymity.
formed in 1963 at the same time as Germany's new professional league, the Bundesliga. After ten years near or at the bottom of the league table they fell to tier III football, the Amateurliga Nordbaden
. Despite ongoing financial problems they rebuffed offers of a merger from SV Waldhof Mannheim in 1998 and again in 2003. They were denied a license that year and driven to the Verbandsliga Nordbaden
(V). However, the side performed well enough to win their division the next season and promotion to Oberliga Baden-Württemberg
(IV), where they play today. With a sixteenth place in 2007–08, they narrowly avoided relegation, being on equal points with the seventeenth team.
After suffering relegation in 2009, the club took two seasons to recover before returning to the Oberliga in 2011.
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 Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
, Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
formed in 1911 out of the fusion of Mannheimer FG 1896, Mannheimer FG 1897 Union, and FC Viktoria 1897 Mannheim. The team has played out most of its recent history as an unheralded local amateur side but has historically been quite a force in local football, with the highlight of winning the German championship in 1949 against Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund
Ballspielverein Borussia Dortmund, commonly BVB, are a German sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. Dortmund are one of the most successful clubs in German football history. Borussia Dortmund play in the Bundesliga, the top league of German football...
.
History
Predecessor sides FG Mannheim, FG Union Mannheim and FC Viktoria Mannheim were founding membersFounding 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...
in 1900. These various Mannheim teams were members of the VSFV (Verband Süddeutscher Fussball Vereine or Federation of South German Football Clubs) and after their merger in 1911 played as VfR through the 10s and 20s in the Westkreis-Liga
Westkreis-Liga
The Westkreis-Liga was the highest association football league in the Bavarian region of Palatinate, the northern parts of the Grand Duchy of Baden, the southern parts of the Prussian Rhine Province and parts of Lorraine from 1908 to 1918...
. The club emerged as the league champions of the Kreisliga Odenwald
Kreisliga Odenwald
The Kreisliga Odenwald was the highest association football league in the northern part of the German state of Baden and the southern part of the state of Hesse from 1919 to 1923...
in 1922 and the Bezirksliga Rhein
Bezirksliga Rhein
The Bezirksliga Rhein was the highest association football league in the northern part of the German state of Baden and the Bavarian region of Palatinate from 1923 to 1927, when the league was replaced by the Bezirksliga Rhein-Saar.- Overview :...
in 1925, but went out in the preliminary round of national championship play. The club finished in mid-table throughout the late 1920s and early 30's in the 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...
.
Success through the 30s and 40s
After the 1933 re-organization of German football under the Third Reich into sixteen top flight divisions Mannheim began play in the Gauliga BadenGauliga Baden
The Gauliga Baden was the highest football league in the German state of Baden from 1933 to 1945. Shortly after the formation of the league, the Nazis reorganised the administrative regions in Germany, and the Gau Baden replaced the state Baden....
. The club performed well in the years leading up to World War II and the throughout the conflict taking division titles in 1935, 1938, 1939, 1943 and 1944. However they could not translate this success in league play into success in the national playoffs with their best result being an advance to the 1943 quarterfinals where they were put out 2:3 by eventual vice-champions FV Saarbrücken.
Mannheim repeated as division champions in 1944. Wartime conditions made playing football increasingly difficult in the country, so much so that the national playoffs were initially abandoned and VfR declared champions by the sport's governing authority. However, this decision was revoked after protests from other clubs and the playoff competition reinstated. Mannheim advanced only as far as the eighth-final before being eliminated by 1. FC Nuremberg.
Postwar national championship
After the war VfR Mannheim played in the first division Oberliga SüdOberliga Süd (1945-63)
The Oberliga Süd was the highest level of the German football league system in the south of Germany from 1945 until the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963.It covered the three states of Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Hessen.-Overview:...
where they earned unremarkable results until a surprising breakthrough in 1949 that saw the team transform a distant second place finish in their division into a national championship. After thrashing Hamburger SV
Hamburger SV
Hamburger Sport-Verein, usually referred to as HSV in Germany and Hamburg in international parlance, is a German multi-sport club based in Hamburg, its largest branch being its football department...
5:0 in the opening round, they upset Kickers Offenbach
Kickers Offenbach
Kickers Offenbach is a German association football club in Offenbach am Main, Hesse. The club was founded on 27 May 1901 in the Rheinischer Hof restaurant by footballers who had left established local clubs including Melitia, Teutonia, Viktoria, Germania and Neptun...
, who had finished eleven points ahead of them in their Oberliga division that season, by a score of 2:1. VfR then earned a come from behind 3:2 overtime victory over Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund
Ballspielverein Borussia Dortmund, commonly BVB, are a German sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. Dortmund are one of the most successful clubs in German football history. Borussia Dortmund play in the Bundesliga, the top league of German football...
in front of 90,000 fans in the final. Between 1903 and 1944 German national champions were awarded the Viktoria trophy. The 1944 final between Dresdner SC
Dresdner SC
Dresdner SC is a German multisport club playing in Dresden, Saxony. Founded on 30 April 1898, the club was a founding member of the German Football Association in 1900...
and Luftwaffen-SV Hamburg
Luftwaffen-SV Hamburg
Luftwaffen-SV Hamburg was a short-lived military German association football club active during World War II and is notable as the most successful of the wartime military sides.-Military sports clubs:...
was the last Viktoria match ever played as the trophy disappeared at war's end. The missing prize was replaced by the Meisterschale in 1949 and was first awarded to Mannheim despite 1. FC Nuremberg being Germany's first postwar champions in 1948. Today the Meisterschale recognizes the country's Bundesliga champions and is inscribed with the names of each national championship team since 1903. The Viktoria has since been recovered and is held by 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...
.
The next year they again met Dortmund in the playoffs, this time in the opening round, and once again eliminated them. However, they would themselves be put out in the next round by Preußen Dellbrück and begin a slide into anonymity.
Descent from the top flight
Mannheim played in the second tier Regionalliga SüdRegionalliga Süd (1963-74)
The Regionalliga Süd was the second-highest level of the German football league system. It existed in the south of Germany from 1963 until the formation of the 2nd Bundesliga in 1974. It covered the three states of Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Hessen....
formed in 1963 at the same time as Germany's new professional league, the Bundesliga. After ten years near or at the bottom of the league table they fell to tier III football, the Amateurliga Nordbaden
Amateurliga Nordbaden
The Amateurliga Nordbaden was the highest football league in the region of the Nordbaden FA and the third tier of the German football league system from its inception in 1945 to the formation of the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg and the Verbandsliga Nordbaden below it in 1978.- Overview :The...
. Despite ongoing financial problems they rebuffed offers of a merger from SV Waldhof Mannheim in 1998 and again in 2003. They were denied a license that year and driven to the Verbandsliga Nordbaden
Verbandsliga Nordbaden
The Verbandsliga Baden is currently the 6th tier of the German football league system. Until the introduction of the 3rd Liga it was the 5th tier of the league system.- Overview :...
(V). However, the side performed well enough to win their division the next season and promotion to Oberliga Baden-Württemberg
Oberliga Baden-Württemberg
The Oberliga Baden-Württemberg is the highest Football League in the state of Baden-Württemberg and the Baden-Württemberg 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. With a sixteenth place in 2007–08, they narrowly avoided relegation, being on equal points with the seventeenth team.
After suffering relegation in 2009, the club took two seasons to recover before returning to the Oberliga in 2011.
League
- German football championship
- Champions: 1949
- Southern German championship
- Champions: 1925
- German amateur football championshipGerman amateur football championshipThe German amateur football championship was a football competition in Germany, existing from 1950 to 2000, organised by the German Football Association, the DFB.-Overview:...
- Runners-up: 1996
- Westkreis-LigaWestkreis-LigaThe Westkreis-Liga was the highest association football league in the Bavarian region of Palatinate, the northern parts of the Grand Duchy of Baden, the southern parts of the Prussian Rhine Province and parts of Lorraine from 1908 to 1918...
(I)- Champions: (4) 1910, 1911, 1913, 1914
- Kreisliga OdenwaldKreisliga OdenwaldThe Kreisliga Odenwald was the highest association football league in the northern part of the German state of Baden and the southern part of the state of Hesse from 1919 to 1923...
(I)- Champions: 1922
- Runners-up: (2) 1920, 1921
- Bezirksliga RheinBezirksliga RheinThe Bezirksliga Rhein was the highest association football league in the northern part of the German state of Baden and the Bavarian region of Palatinate from 1923 to 1927, when the league was replaced by the Bezirksliga Rhein-Saar.- Overview :...
(I)- Champions: (2) 1925, 1926
- Runners-up: (2) 1924, 1927
- Gauliga BadenGauliga BadenThe Gauliga Baden was the highest football league in the German state of Baden from 1933 to 1945. Shortly after the formation of the league, the Nazis reorganised the administrative regions in Germany, and the Gau Baden replaced the state Baden....
(I)- Champions: (5) 1935, 1938, 1939, 1943, 1944
- Runners-up: (3) 1934, 1937, 1940
- Oberliga Süd (I)
- Runners-up: 1949
- Oberliga Baden-WürttembergOberliga Baden-WürttembergThe Oberliga Baden-Württemberg is the highest Football League in the state of Baden-Württemberg and the Baden-Württemberg football league system. It is one of eleven Oberligas in German Football, the 5th tier of the German football league system...
(III)- Runners-up: 1985
- Amateurliga NordbadenAmateurliga NordbadenThe Amateurliga Nordbaden was the highest football league in the region of the Nordbaden FA and the third tier of the German football league system from its inception in 1945 to the formation of the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg and the Verbandsliga Nordbaden below it in 1978.- Overview :The...
(III)- Champions: (2) 1973, 1976
- Verbandsliga NordbadenVerbandsliga NordbadenThe Verbandsliga Baden is currently the 6th tier of the German football league system. Until the introduction of the 3rd Liga it was the 5th tier of the league system.- Overview :...
(V)- Champions: 2004
- Runners-up: 2011
Cup
- Southern German Cup
- Winners: 1959
- North Baden CupNorth Baden CupThe North Baden 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.-History:...
- Winners: 1972, 1997, 2001
- Runners-up: 2004
Recent managers
Recent managers of the club:| Manager | Start | Finish |
| Rainer Ulrich Rainer Ulrich Rainer Ulrich is a German former footballer who is now assistant manager of Bayern Munich II.-External links:... |
1 January 2005 | 31 June 2006 |
| Walter Pradt | 1 July 2006 | 17 April 2007 |
| Rainer Ulrich | 18 April 2007 | 30 June 2007 |
| Dieter Heimen | 1 July 2007 | 25 October 2007 |
| Ralf Köhnlein | 26 October 2007 | 31 December 2007 |
| Rafael Sánchez | 1 January 2008 | 13 January 2009 |
| Gernot Jüllich | 13 January 2009 | 28 January 2011 |
| Kenan Kocak | 2 February 2011 | Present |
Recent seasons
The recent season-by-season performance of the club:| Season | Division | Tier | Position |
| 1999–2000 | 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 | 3rd |
| 2000–01 | Regionalliga Süd | 8th | |
| 2001–02 | Regionalliga Süd | 9th ↓ | |
| 2002–03 | |||
| 2003–04 | Verbandsliga Nordbaden Verbandsliga Nordbaden The Verbandsliga Baden is currently the 6th tier of the German football league system. Until the introduction of the 3rd Liga it was the 5th tier of the league system.- Overview :... |
V | 1st ↑ |
| 2004–05 | Oberliga Baden-Württemberg Oberliga Baden-Württemberg The Oberliga Baden-Württemberg is the highest Football League in the state of Baden-Württemberg and the Baden-Württemberg football league system. It is one of eleven Oberligas in German Football, the 5th tier of the German football league system... |
IV | 12th |
| 2005–06 | Oberliga Baden-Württemberg | 10th | |
| 2006–07 | Oberliga Baden-Württemberg | 15th | |
| 2007–08 | Oberliga Baden-Württemberg | 16th | |
| 2008–09 | Oberliga Baden-Württemberg | V | 16th ↓ |
| 2009–10 | Verbandsliga Nordbaden | VI | 4th |
| 2009–10 | Verbandsliga Nordbaden | 2nd ↑ | |
| 2011–12 | Oberliga Baden-Württemberg | V |
- With the introduction of the Regionalligas in 1994 and the 3rd Liga3rd LigaThe 3rd Liga is the third division of football in Germany. The league started with the beginning of the 2008–09 season, when it replaced the Regionalliga as the third tier football league in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2...
in 2008 as the new third tier, below the 2nd Bundesliga2. Fußball-Bundesliga- Changes in division set-up :* Number of clubs: currently 18. From 1974 to 1981 there were two conferences, each of 20 teams. In 1981–91 it had 20...
, all leagues below dropped one tier.
External links
- Official website
- The Abseits Guide to German Soccer
- Das deutsche Fußball-Archiv historical German domestic league tables
- VfR Mannheim at Weltfussball.de