SC Preußen Münster

SC Preußen Münster
Full name Sportclub Preußen 1906 e.V. Münster
Nickname(s) Die Adler (the Eagles)
Founded 30 April 1906
Ground Preußenstadion
Capacity 15,050 (2,931 seated)
Chairman Dr. Marco de Angelis
Coach Ralf Loose
League 3. Liga
2013–14 6th

SC Preußen Münster (English: Prussia Münster) is a German sports club based in Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia which is mostly recognised for its football section. The football team currently plays in 3. Liga which is the third tier in German football. Preußen Münster also fields teams in tennis, athletics, handball and fistball.

History

The club was founded as FC Preußen in 1906 and has its roots in a group formed at the Johann-Conrad-Schlaun Grammar School. In 1921 the team took on their current name, and progressed to second division competition in 1928.

In 1933, Preußen advanced to the Gauliga Westfalen, one of sixteen top-flight leagues established through the re-organization of German football under the Third Reich. They earned only mediocre results there and were relegated twice. Their second demotion in 1941 left them out of first division football until after World War II.

The team played three seasons in the Landesliga Westfalen Gr. 2 (II) before returning to the top-flight in the Oberliga West in the 1948–49 season. That arrival was accompanied by some notoriety as Preußen Münster became the first German football club to build a team by buying players, something previously unheard of in a country committed to the ideal of amateurism. Siegfried Rachuba, Adolf Preissler, Rudolf Schulz, Felix Gerritzen, and Josef Lammers formed a front five dubbed by the press as the "Hundred-Thousand-Mark Line", even though that much money never did change hands.[1]

The investment paid dividends as the club merited an appearance in the 1951 national final in front of 107,000 spectators at Berlin's Olympic Stadium against 1. FC Kaiserslautern where they were defeated with a score of 1–2.

Founding member of the Bundesliga

Their results as a mid-table side in the tough Oberliga West in the ten years prior to the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963 were good enough to earn them admission as one of the five teams from that league to earn a place in Germany's new sixteen-team professional circuit. The club made only a cameo appearance in the Bundesliga, being relegated after a next-to-last 15th place finish.

Post Bundesliga play

Preußen Münster played out the 1960s and 1970s as a second division side in the Regionalliga West and 2. Bundesliga Nord. In the 1970s the Preußen made several attempts to return to Bundesliga. Under club president Günter Wellerdieck (from 1970 to 1978) the club took a considerable financial risk to achieve the promotion to first tier. Preußen failed to do so by finishing on 5th place in the 1973-74 season and on 3rd place in the 1977-78 and 1978-79 seasons. After Wellerdieck and other staff of the club's management resigned due to financial difficulties and accusations of tax fraud in 1978 the decline of Preußen Münster went on.[2] They slipped to the Amateur Oberliga Westfalen (III) in the 1981–82 season, and except for a short adventure in the 2. Bundesliga in the 1990 and 1991 seasons, have since played third tier football in the Regionalliga West/Sudwest (1993–2000) and Regionalliga Nord (2000–2006). During this period, they captured the German Amateur Championship in 1994 with a 1–0 win over Kickers Offenbach.

In 2006, the club were relegated to the Oberliga Westfalen, now a fourth tier circuit. Management subsequently invested significant financial resources into a high-profile team of experienced second- and third-tier players in pursuit of immediate re-promotion. The attempt ended in failure and the club re-built itself with young players in place of expensive veterans and also put in place a young and relatively unknown coach, Roger Schmidt. The re-worked side finished in first place in the 2007-08 season, and so qualified for the new Regionalliga West which replaced the Oberliga in the league system. They ended the season in fourth place in the Regionalliga in 2008–09, and in sixth in 2009–10. For season 2008-09 the club qualified for the DFB-Pokal the first time since season 1997-98 (where they were defeated by 1.FSV Mainz 05). The opponent was the team of VfL Bochum which competed in Bundesliga at that time. After a penalty shootout Preußen lost 5:6. In the following year the Eagles were defeated in the extra time against another first tier team, Hertha BSC. The match ended 1:3. They were finally promoted to 3. Liga after finishing as champions of the West Group of the Regionalliga in the 2010-11 season. The manager of that time was Marc Fascher. Preußen were defeated by another Bundesliga team in the German cup. The Eagles lost against VfL Wolfsburg (1:2). The first season 2011-12 in the third tier of German football after five years ended with the 12th place. In the following seasons the team finished significantly better and even had chances to get promoted again to 2. Bundesliga. In season 2012-13 they almost succeeded and ended in fourth place. In that season the team was also able to defeat the Bundesliga team of Werder Bremen in the first round of the DFB-Pokal. The match ended 4:2 after extra time. In the second round the club lost against FC Augsburg. In season 2013-14 they ended in 6th place. Again the club managed to win against a team from a higher league in the DFB-Pokal, FC St. Pauli from 2. Bundesliga. In the next round Preußen was defeated again by FC Augsburg.

Honours

The club's honours:

Stadium

The club plays at the Preußenstadion, built in 1923, which has a capacity of 15,050 spectators (~1,560 seats). The construction of a new facility was considered in the 80's, but the idea was abandoned in December 2000. In spring 2008 it was decided to run reconstructions to make the stadium more attractive and fitting to modern standards. The seats area will be replaced by a new one including 2931 seats and VIP lounges. The terraces which still are uncovered will get a roof. The demolition of the seats area has begun in November 2008 and were finished in the beginning of 2009. Further plans have been brought up to continue to modernize the stadium and actions have been taken in 2014 to change the development plan of the stadium area by the local administration. The results are pending but in the end the club wants to rebuild the western and eastern stand to give the spectators more comfort and make the club financially more competitive. Furthermore the Eagles want to extend the training possibilities for the professional team and the junior teams.[3]

Fans

Due to the club's promotion from Regionalliga West to 3. Liga, Preußen Münster increased its average attendance significantly. During the years in fourth tier of the German league system the average crowd never exceeded 4,500 fans with the exception of the 2010-11 season in which the club got promoted with an average attendance of 5,628. In the following years the average crowd grew from 7,025 people in 2011-12 season to 8,986 people in season 2012-13. In season 2013-14 there was a decrease to 7,958 people.

The fans of Münster have rivalries especially with supporters of Arminia Bielefeld and VfL Osnabrück. The close proximity between the three cities which are located within a 65 kilometer radius led the press to the name of the Bermuda Triangle of Münster, Osnabrück and Bielefeld in 3. Liga.[4] Another minor rival of Preußen Münster supporters is Rot Weiss Essen.

Preußen Münster has currently 1980 members (in December 2014).[5] Part of the club is the Fanprojekt Preußen Münster e. V. which serves as a voice for supporters to club management. It also arranges bus tours to matches and events to support charity organizations in the Münster-area. Furthermore the Fanprojekt offers a radio during matches for people not present, Radio Mottekstrehle.

Team trivia

Manager History

Current squad

As of 11 March 2015[8]

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

No. Position Player
2 Germany DF Philip Röhe
3 Germany DF Fabian Hergesell
4 Germany DF Aaron Berzel
5 Germany DF Patrick Kirsch
6 Germany DF Kevin Schöneberg
7 Poland MF Marcus Piossek
8 Germany MF Marc Heitmeier
9 Germany FW Marcel Reichwein
10 Portugal MF Amaury Bischoff
11 Morocco FW Abdenour Amachaibou
14 Germany DF Julian Riedel
15 Germany DF Simon Scherder
16 Germany DF Dominik Schmidt
No. Position Player
17 Germany MF Erik Zenga
19 Netherlands FW Rogier Krohne
20 Germany MF Philipp Hoffmann
21 Germany MF Jens Truckenbrod
22 Germany GK Marco Aulbach
23 Iceland FW Emil Atlason
24 Germany DF Marco Pischorn
25 Germany GK Daniel Masuch
26 Germany MF Michael Holt
27 Turkey MF Mehmet Kara
30 Germany MF Benjamin Siegert
31 Germany DF Thorsten Schulz
35 Germany GK Max Schulze Niehues

Staff

Manager
Ralf Loose

Assistant Manager
Babacar N'Diaye

Goalkeeper coach
Alexander Ogrinc

Director of Sport
Carsten Gockel

Scout
Harald Menzel

Kit Manager
Jürgen Keseberg

References

  1. ↑ Dahlkamp, Hubert; Schulze-Marmeling, Dietrich (2006). 100 Jahre Preußen Münster. Göttingen: Die Werkstatt GmbH. pp. 62–65. ISBN 978-3-89533-519-8.
  2. ↑ Dahlkamp, Hubert; Schulze-Marmeling, Dietrich (2006). 100 Jahre Preußen Münster. Göttingen: Die Werkstatt GmbH. pp. 129–167. ISBN 978-3-89533-519-8.
  3. ↑ http://www.westline.de/fussball/sc-preussen-muenster/Muenster-macht-den-Weg-frei-fuer-dieses-Preussenstadion;art1991,2092845
  4. ↑ http://www.wn.de/Lokalsport/Preussen-Muenster/1807187-Das-Bermudadreieck-in-Liga-drei-Muenster-nervenstark-und-stabil
  5. ↑ http://www.wn.de/Lokalsport/Preussen-Muenster/1814356-Jahreshauptversammung-des-SC-Preussen-Auf-die-Spitze-getrieben
  6. ↑ Münsterländische Volkszeitung: Marc Fascher Nachfolger von Trainer Roger Schmidt Artikel vom 21. März 2010
  7. ↑ Dotschew neuer Trainer, www.scpreussen-muenster.de
  8. ↑ "Kader" [Squad] (in German). SC Preußen 06 e.V. Münster. Retrieved 11 March 2015.

External links