| Full name | Braunschweiger Turn- und Sportverein Eintracht von 1895 |
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| Nickname(s) | (Nord) Löwen (The (Northern) Lions) | ||
| Founded | 15 December 1895 | ||
| Ground | Eintracht-Stadion, Braunschweig (Capacity: 25,540) |
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| Chairman | Sebastian Ebel | ||
| Coach | Torsten Lieberknecht | ||
| League | 2. Bundesliga | ||
| 2010–11 | 3. Liga, 1st (promoted) | ||
| Website | Club home page | ||
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Eintracht Braunschweig is a German association football club based in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony. The club was one of the founding members of the Bundesliga in 1963 and won the national title in 1967.
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It was founded as the football and cricket club FuCC Eintracht in 1895, became FC Eintracht 1895 e.V. in 1906 and took on the name Eintracht Braunschweig in 1920. The team was re-formed after World War II as TSV Braunschweig in 1945 and reclaimed its current name in 1949.
The team has a colorful history and it quickly became one of northern Germany's favorite sides. They enjoyed success early on, playing in the upper tier league, winning the north German championship in 1908 and 1913, and placing three players on the German national team by 1914. Under the Third Reich the team played in the Gauliga Niedersachsen and managed an appearance in the national final rounds. They continued to play in the upper leagues after the war with the exception of a single season (1952–53) spent in tier II. The side was touched by tragedy in 1949 when goalkeeper Gustav Fähland died of internal bleeding a few days after being injured during a game in a collision with a Bremen striker. Another appearance in the final round of the national championship came in 1958 ending with a third place finish.
Eintracht Braunschweig's consistently high standard of play and financial stability helped it to become one of the sixteen teams selected out of a group of forty-six applicants for play in the Bundesliga, the new federal professional league formed in 1963. Once again the side enjoyed early success, capturing the national title in the 1966–67 season with solid defensive play. That championship team gave up only 27 goals against, which stood as a Bundesliga record until bettered by Werder Bremen in 1988. The club just missed a second title in 1977 when they finished third, one point back of champion Borussia Mönchengladbach and just behind second place finisher Schalke 04 on goal difference. Another ten players joined the national side from the team, mostly through the 60's and 70's.
The club found itself embroiled in the Bundesliga scandal of 1971, but with a somewhat unusual twist. A number of players accepted payments totaling 40,000 DM – not to underperform and so lose or tie a game, but rather, to put out an extra effort to win. Ultimately, two players were suspended and another ten were fined.
In 1973, in the face of some opposition from the league, Braunschweig became the first Bundesliga side to sport a sponsor logo on their jerseys, although they did refuse a related attempt to re-name the team Eintracht Jägermeister. The move paid the team 100,000 DM and introduced a new way of doing business to football that is worth millions today. Other clubs quickly followed suit. Braunschweig's game against FC Schalke 04 on 24 March 1973 became the first-ever Bundesliga match to feature a club having sponsorship on its jersey.[1]
The club played in the Bundesliga through to the mid-80's having been relegated just twice, in 1973–74 and again in 1980–81. During their run of 322 games in the Bundesliga from 1963 to 1973 they set a record that still stands by not seeing a single player red-carded. Since the 1985–86 season the side has played at the tier II and III levels. In 1987, Braunschweig managed to set a mark even as they were demoted. They are the only team ever to have been relegated with a positive goal differential: 52 goals for and 47 against.
The side counted a casualty in the Cold War in the death of Lutz Eigendorf, who fled East Germany in 1979, where he played for Dynamo Berlin, to come to the west to play for 1. FC Kaiserslautern. Shortly after his transfer to Braunschweig in 1983, he died in a motor vehicle accident which was revealed in 2000 as the assassination of a "traitor" arranged by the Stasi, East Germany's secret police.
The last 10 years Eintracht Braunschweig moved constantly between the 2. Bundesliga and the 3. Liga/Regionalliga. The team most recently were promoted after the 2010–11 3rd Liga campaign, permitting them to re-enter 2. Bundesliga in 2011–12.
| Year | Division | Position |
| 1999–2000 | Regionalliga Nord (III) | 3rd |
| 2000–01 | Regionalliga Nord | 8th |
| 2001–02 | Regionalliga Nord | 2nd (promoted) |
| 2002–03 | 2. Bundesliga (II) | 15th (relegated) |
| 2003–04 | Regionalliga Nord (III) | 6th |
| 2004–05 | Regionalliga Nord | 1st (promoted) |
| 2005–06 | 2. Bundesliga (II) | 12th |
| 2006–07 | 2. Bundesliga | 18th (relegated) |
| 2007–08 | Regionalliga Nord (III) | 10th |
| 2008–09 | 3. Liga (III) | 13th |
| 2009–10 | 3. Liga | 4th |
| 2010–11 | 3. Liga | 1st |
| 2011–12 | 2. Bundesliga | 6th |
As of 22 November 2011[update] Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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