SV Meppen

SV Meppen is a German association football club playing in Meppen, Lower Saxony. The club was founded on 29 November 1912 as Amisia Meppen and joined Männer-Turnverein Meppen on 8 February 1920 to form TuS Meppen 1912. The football branch left TuS Meppen in 1921 to create a separate club called Sport Verein Meppen 1912 e.V. SV Meppen spent a total of 11 years in the 2.Bundesliga.

History

The footballers have had a relatively a quiet history playing in III and IV level circles, winning their first title of any sort when they claimed the Amateurliga Lower Saxony (IV) championship in 1961. They claimed a second title there in 1968 and then qualified for the Regionalliga Nord (III) in 1972. After league re-structuring in 1974 the team played in the Oberliga Nord (III) where they won the championship in 1987 and then emerged out the promotion playoffs to join the 2.Bundesliga to became one of the league's original "Kult" clubs.

Generally, the side ended up mid-table there with their best finishes being 7th in 1994 and 6th in 1995. Meppen played their way into the final eight of the 1997 DFB-Pokal competition on the strength of a memorable 6–1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt. The club's eleven year run on the professional circuit ended in 1998 and they began a slide that landed them in the Oberliga Nord (V) where they have played the last half dozen seasons burdened by on-going financial problems. During the new century SV Meppen was passed throw to the Niedersachsenliga (5th division). But the SV rises again in 2011. They won the Niedersachsenliga championship and advanced to the Regionalliga Nord to continue their march back to the 2nd Bundesliga. In a 2011 pre-season friendly match against Werder Bremen they were humiliated 13-1 on the 6th of July in front of their own fans.

Stadium

The "Vivaris Arena Emsland" is located in northern Meppen on Lathener Strasse. Construction on the site was finished in 1924 and the stadium was named "Hindenburg Stadion" two years later. In 1992 the stadium was re-named "Emsland-Stadion". A sponsorship deal in 2005 currently has the stadium branded as "Vivaris Arena Emsland". The stadium's largest ever crowd of 18,000 spectators watched SV Meppen play a 1982 friendly against FC Barcelona and their famous Argentinian striker Diego Maradona. Today the stadium has a capacity of 16,500.

Squad 2011 - 2012

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

Records

• Amateurliga Niedersachsen (IV) champions: 1961, 1968
• Oberliga Nord (III) champions: 1987
• Niedersachsenliga champions: 2011

The club played eleven consecutive seasons in the 2. Bundesliga from 1988 to 1998. In 404 games there, the team scored 495 goals, with a record of 124 wins, 139 draws, and 141 losses placing them 27th in the all-time 2. Bundesliga table.

Literature

• Hans Vinke: Die Meppen-Story, Geschichte eines Fußball-Phänomens, 1997, ISBN 3-927099-56-2

External links

• Official website (German)
• The Abseits Guide to German Soccer