Westfalia Herne
Encyclopedia
SC Westfalia Herne is a German football club
based in Herne
, North Rhine-Westphalia
. The club was founded on 13 June 1904 by the sons of the more well-heeled residents of the city as a rival to the worker-based club SV Sodingen.
and occupation of the Ruhr by the French in 1923, the club was dissolved, but still carried on unofficially. It was reconstituted in 1925 through fusion with Fortuna Herne to play as Westfalia Fortuna Herne. The union was good for the club, which advanced to upper league play in 1930, and made it as far as the semi-finals in the national championship the next season. When German football was reorganized under the Third Reich, Herne was not selected for play in the first tier Gauliga Westfalen
, but did manage to play their way into the premier circuit the next year. They competed at that level until the collapse of the league system at the end of World War II
.
After the war, Herne again found itself left out of the newly re-organized upper league until they managed to earn promotion in 1954. They then went on to win the Oberliga West in 1959 and finish second in 1960, but did not have much success in the subsequent national championship playoff rounds. Despite delivering consistently solid results in the post-war period, the club missed qualifying for the Bundesliga – Germany's new professional football league – in 1963 with an unexpectedly poor finish in the 1962–63 season that saw the team relegated.
Sixteen years of mediocre play in tiers II and III followed. Sponsorship by petrol company Goldin Imperium helped keep the team in the 2.Bundesliga-Nord through the late 70s as SC Westfalia Goldin Herne. When the firm went bankrupt in late 1979 the club was forced to withdraw after just one match of the 1979–80 season. They picked up play next season in the Amateur Oberliga Westfalen (III) before slipping again, this time to the IV and V level divisions. The club was promoted after the 2004–05 season and currently plays in the Oberliga Nordrhein-Westfalen
(V). On 22 October 2009 announced the club he is bankruptcy, these told the Chairman Horst Haneke to the Medias.
, Theo, the main character, has tickets for his "game of the century", a DFB-Pokal
match of SC Westfalia Herne versus FC Schalke 04
but misses the game due to his truck being stolen. In reality, there was no such game in this era.
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 Herne
Herne, Germany
Herne is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area directly between the cities of Bochum and Gelsenkirchen.- History :Like most other cities in the region Herne was a tiny village until the 19th century...
, North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
. The club was founded on 13 June 1904 by the sons of the more well-heeled residents of the city as a rival to the worker-based club SV Sodingen.
History
After World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and occupation of the Ruhr by the French in 1923, the club was dissolved, but still carried on unofficially. It was reconstituted in 1925 through fusion with Fortuna Herne to play as Westfalia Fortuna Herne. The union was good for the club, which advanced to upper league play in 1930, and made it as far as the semi-finals in the national championship the next season. When German football was reorganized under the Third Reich, Herne was not selected for play in the first tier Gauliga Westfalen
Gauliga Westfalen
The Gauliga Westphalia was the highest football league in the Prussian province of Westphalia and the small Free State of Lippe from 1933 to 1945...
, but did manage to play their way into the premier circuit the next year. They competed at that level until the collapse of the league system at the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
After the war, Herne again found itself left out of the newly re-organized upper league until they managed to earn promotion in 1954. They then went on to win the Oberliga West in 1959 and finish second in 1960, but did not have much success in the subsequent national championship playoff rounds. Despite delivering consistently solid results in the post-war period, the club missed qualifying for the Bundesliga – Germany's new professional football league – in 1963 with an unexpectedly poor finish in the 1962–63 season that saw the team relegated.
Sixteen years of mediocre play in tiers II and III followed. Sponsorship by petrol company Goldin Imperium helped keep the team in the 2.Bundesliga-Nord through the late 70s as SC Westfalia Goldin Herne. When the firm went bankrupt in late 1979 the club was forced to withdraw after just one match of the 1979–80 season. They picked up play next season in the Amateur Oberliga Westfalen (III) before slipping again, this time to the IV and V level divisions. The club was promoted after the 2004–05 season and currently plays in the Oberliga Nordrhein-Westfalen
Oberliga Nordrhein-Westfalen
The NRW-Liga, or Nordrhein-Westfalen-Liga, is the highest football League in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is one of the eleven Oberliga groups in German football, the 5th tier of the German football league system....
(V). On 22 October 2009 announced the club he is bankruptcy, these told the Chairman Horst Haneke to the Medias.
In popular culture
In the 1980 German movie Theo gegen den Rest der Welt, starring Marius Müller-WesternhagenMarius Müller-Westernhagen
Marius Müller-Westernhagen is a German actor and musician.Possibly best known for the maudlin hit "Johnny Walker", Marius Müller Westernhagen has been a feature in German rock music since the mid seventies...
, Theo, the main character, has tickets for his "game of the century", a DFB-Pokal
DFB-Pokal
The DFB-Pokal or DFB Cup is a German knockout football cup competition held annually. 64 teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2nd Bundesliga. It is considered the second most important national title in German football after the Bundesliga...
match of SC Westfalia Herne versus FC Schalke 04
FC Schalke 04
Fußball-Club Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04, commonly known as simply FC Schalke 04 or Schalke , is a German, association-football club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Schalke has long been one of the most popular football teams in Germany, even though major...
but misses the game due to his truck being stolen. In reality, there was no such game in this era.
Squad
Team trivia
- The team plays today in blue in white, but the original team colours were red and white.
- Early German football saw numerous leagues come and go – Westfalia played in nineteen different leagues in its first twenty-nine years of existence.