SV Darmstadt 98

SV Darmstadt 98 is a German association football club based in Darmstadt, Hesse. The club was founded on 22 May 1898 as FC Olympia Darmstadt. Early in 1919 the association was briefly known as Rasen-Sportverein Olympia before merging with Darmstädter Sport Club 1905 on 11 November that year to become Sportverein Darmstadt 98. Merger partner SC was the product of a 1905 union between Viktoria 1900 Darmstadt and Germania 1903 Darmstadt. The footballers are today part of a sports club which also offers its approximately 1,200 members athletics, basketball, cheerleading, hiking, judo, and table tennis.

History

Olympia played as a lower table side in the Westkreisliga between 1909 and 1913. In the late 20s and early 30s the club played as SV Darmstadt in the Kreisliga Odenwald and Bezirksliga Main-Hessen, Gruppe Hesse, but struggled to stay in top flight competition. In 1933, German football was reorganized under the Third Reich into sixteen premier divisions known as Gauligen. Darmstadt was not able to break into upper league play until 1941 when they joined the Gauliga Hessen-Nassau, Gruppe 2. Their stay was short-lived and they were relegated after their second season of play at that level. By 1944–45 the division had collapsed in the face of the advance of Allied armies into Germany.

Darmstadt enjoyed a long run as a second division team through the 50s and then again from the time of the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963 on into the 70s. However, they were never better than a lower to mid-table side until they finally managed a breakthrough in 1973 with a Regionalliga Süd championship and participation in the promotion rounds for the Bundesliga where they finished a distant second to Rot-Weiß Essen.

Rise to the Bundesliga and fall to insolvency

A side with limited resources, Darmstadt eventually managed two seasons in the Bundesliga (1978–79 and 1981–82). They narrowly missed a third turn in the top league in 1988 when they lost in a lengthy promotion playoff to SV Waldhof Mannheim in overtime of the third match between the two clubs. After returning to second tier play they escaped relegation to the Amateur Oberliga Hessen (III) in 1991 when Essen was refused a 2.Bundesliga license for financial reasons. However, by 1997, SV had themselves become victims of financial mismanagement, slipping to play in the III and IV divisions.

The team's most recent successes include wins in the Hessen Pokal (Hessen Cup) in 1999, 2001, 2006, 2007 and 2008 as well as three consecutive Possmann-Hessen Cup wins from 2000 to 2002. In German Cup play Darmstadt advanced as far as the third round in the 1989 and 2001, and to the quarterfinals in 1986. In 2004 the club claimed the Oberliga Hessen (IV) championship under manager and ex-player Bruno Labaddia and were promoted to the Regionalliga Süd (III).

Financial problems limited their options and they were relegated to the Oberliga Hessen (IV) at the end of the 2006–07 season. The club's stated aim is to reach the new 3rd Bundesliga within five years. However, on 6 March 2008 Darmstadt entered insolvency proceedings with debts of about € 1.1 million [1] making the future of the club uncertain. Since the 2007–08 Oberliga Hessen-Championship, Darmstadt is playing in the new Regionalliga Süd. Darmstadt has taken various measures to avert bankcruptcy, for example a friendly benefit match against Bayern Munich, donations etc., but crucial were the payments by former persons with responsibility (e.g. former president, former tax advisor). In 2009, insolvency has been averted. With long-term debts of €900,000, the club's financial situation is still uncertain.

Darmstadt won the 2010–11 Regionalliga Süd and got promoted to the 3rd Liga, thus returning to a professional level.

Honours

The club's honours:

• ^† Won by reserve team.

Recent seasons

The recent season-by-season performance of the club:^[1][2]

• With the introduction of the Regionalligas in 1994 and the 3rd Liga in 2008 as the new third tier, below the 2nd Bundesliga, all leagues below dropped one tier.

Current squad

As of 20 August 2011 (2011 -08-20)^[update]

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Former coaches

The managers of the club:^[3]

• Kosta Runjaic (2010–present)
• Zivojin Juskic (2009–2010)
• Gerhard Kleppinger (2006–2009)
• Gino Lettieri (2006)
• Bruno Labbadia (2003–2006)
• Hans-Werner Moser (2002–2003)
• Michael Feichtenbeiner (2000–2002)
• Eckhard Krautzun (1999–2000)
• Lothar Buchmann (1996–1998)
• Max Reichenberger (1996)
• Gerhard Kleppinger (1994–1996)
• Jürgen Sparwasser (1990–1991)
• Uwe Klimaschefski (1990)
• Dieter Renner † (1989–1990)
• Eckhard Krautzun (1989)
• Werner Olk (1988)
• Klaus Schlappner (1987–1988)
• Eckhard Krautzun (1986–1987)
• Udo Klug † (1985–1986)
• Lothar Kleim (1984)
• Timo Zahnleiter (1983–1984)
• Manfred Krafft (1982–1983)
• Werner Olk (1981–1982)
• Jörg Berger (1979–1980)
• Klaus Schlappner (1979)
• Lothar Buchmann (1978–1979)
• Udo Klug (1971–1976)

References

External links

• The Abseits Guide to German Soccer
• SV Darmstadt 98 at Weltfussball.de (German)
• Das deutsche Fußball-Archiv (German) historical German domestic league tables