FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt

Rot-Weiß Erfurt
Full nameFußballclub Rot-Weiß Erfurt e.V.
Founded26 January 1966; 58 years ago (1966-01-26)
GroundSteigerwaldstadion
Capacity18,611
PresidentLars Fuchs
CoachFabian Gerber
LeagueRegionalliga Nordost
2022–23Regionalliga Nordost, 3rd of 18

FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt is a German association football club based in Erfurt, Thuringia.

History

Foundation to World War II

The club has roots that go back to a cricket club founded in 1895. As they broadened their interests they came to be called Sport Club Erfurt. The club was a founding member of the German Football Association in 1900 and in 1904 they joined the Verband Mitteldeutscher Ballspielvereine (Central German Football League). The side won the league championship in 1908–09 and advanced as far as the semi-final of the national round where they lost to the eventual champion. While Erfurt did manage to play for a number of seasons in the premier level Gauliga Mitte, formed after 1933, they failed to earn any honours.

Post-World War II era

Historical chart of Rot-Weiß Erfurt league performance

In the aftermath of World War II, the Allies banned all organizations, including sport and football clubs. In 1946, the Soviet occupation authorities permitted the organization of five district sports clubs in Erfurt. SG Erfurt West encompassed the area of the city once served by SC Erfurt 1895 and VfB Erfurt and drew footballers who had played for these clubs. Success came quickly with an appearance in the 1948 Thüringer final, followed by a title in 1949. A quick series of name changes went hand-in-hand with a series of failed cup and final appearances: as SG Fortuna Erfurt in 1949, KWU Erfurt in 1950, and BSG Turbine Erfurt in 1951. In 1954 and 1955, Turbine captured consecutive East German national titles, but then slipped back into the pack and out of tier I for the first time in 1959. The team moved up and down between the first and second divisions through the 1960s, being relegated three times, but always winning immediate promotion. Like other East German clubs at the time, they suffered as the best players were routinely chosen to play for clubs with politically powerful sponsors.

1960s–1980s

East German football underwent major changes in 1965 with the creation of dedicated football clubs in the place of broadly generalised sports clubs. The number one football sides of SC Turbine Erfurt and BSG Optima Erfurt were merged in 1966 and revived the name FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt, while the more junior sides stayed with their original clubs. The name (Rot-Weiß meaning the two colours red and white) was unusual for its time in that the club did not have a name that honoured a socialist virtue. In 1980, Rot-Weiß Erfurt appeared in the East German Cup final, losing 3–1 to Carl Zeiss Jena.

Reunification

Stand 3, home of "Erfordia Ultras"

German reunification and the merger of the leagues of East and West Germany in the early 1990s brought exciting times to Rot-Weiß. A third-place finish in the NOFV-Oberliga in 1990–91 earned them a spot in the 2. Bundesliga, as well as qualification for the UEFA Cup. They eliminated Groningen in the first round, and went out against the eventual winners Ajax in the second round. This fixture made them the last side to appear internationally for East Germany.

Through the 1990s and into the new millennium, Rot-Weiß remained a tier three side. They had a close call in 2001 when they avoided relegation only because SSV Ulm 1846 was denied a licence due to financial difficulties. During this period of time, the club went through to the regional cup final seven times. They came away as Thuringian cup winner each time which qualifies for the nationwide German cup (DFB-Pokal), although they never advanced beyond the first round. In 2004, the club was promoted to the 2. Bundesliga, but finished last and was relegated back to Regionalliga Nord (III). In 2008, Erfurt finished in seventh place in Regionalliga Nord (III) and therefore qualified for the new nationwide 3. Liga. They played at this level until they were relegated to the Regionalliga Nordost (IV) in 2018.

Bankruptcy and reformation

On 4 February 2020, the club ceased operations due to financial difficulties, and as a result, withdrew from the Regionalliga Nordost, with all their results being annulled and all further matches cancelled. The club formed a new team and organisation, playing in the Oberliga in the 2020/21 season; their first home game against FC Grimma was sold out.

Honours

League competitions

Cup competitions

  • FDGB-Pokal:
    • Runners-up: 1949–50, 1979–80
  • DFV-Toto-Sonderrunde (de)
    • Winners: 1974

Regional

Players

Current squad

As of 21 August 2023

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Germany GER Lukas Schellenberg
2 DF Germany GER Ben-Luca Moritz
3 MF Germany GER Til-Linus Schwarz
4 DF Lithuania LTU Natanas Žebrauskas
5 DF Kazakhstan KAZ Andrej Startsev (captain)
6 MF Germany GER Samuel Biek
7 FW Germany GER Malcolm Badu
8 MF Germany GER Daniel Muteba
9 FW Jamaica JAM Michael Seaton
10 MF Russia RUS Maximilian Pronichev
11 FW Greece GRE Romario Hajrulla
14 MF Saint Lucia LCA Caniggia Elva
15 DF England ENG David Adesida
16 DF Netherlands NED Sidny Lopes
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 MF Germany GER Robbie Felßberg
19 DF Germany GER Kay Seiderman
20 GK Germany GER Pascal Manitz
21 DF Germany GER Robin Fabinski
22 DF Germany GER Kwabe Schulz
23 DF France FRA Ismael Mansaray
24 MF Cape Verde CPV Keliano Tavares
27 MF Poland POL Daniel Krasucki
28 FW Germany GER Maxime Langner
30 MF Germany GER Erik Weinhauer
31 FW Germany GER Artur Mergel
33 DF Germany GER Lucas Zeller
40 GK Germany GER Jean-Marie Plath
79 FW Croatia CRO Noa-Gabriel Šimić

Managers

Recent seasons

The recent season-by-season performance of the club:

Year Division Tier Position
1999–2000 Regionalliga Nordost III 7th
2000–01 Regionalliga Süd 15th
2001–02 Regionalliga Süd 5th
2002–03 Regionalliga Süd 9th
2003–04 Regionalliga Süd 2nd ↑
2004–05 2. Bundesliga II 18th ↓
2005–06 Regionalliga Nord III 14th
2006–07 Regionalliga Nord 11th
2007–08 Regionalliga Nord 7th
2008–09 3. Liga 10th
2009–10 3. Liga 9th
2010–11 3. Liga 5th
2011–12 3. Liga 5th
2012–13 3. Liga 13th
2013–14 3. Liga 10th
2014–15 3. Liga 12th
2015–16 3. Liga 8th
2016–17 3. Liga 14th
2017–18 3. Liga 20th ↓
2018–19 Regionalliga Nordost IV 5th
2019–20 Regionalliga Nordost 18th ↓
2020–21 NOFV-Oberliga Süd V Abd-3rd
Key
Promoted Relegated

Reserve team

The club's reserve team, FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt II, most recently in the tier five NOFV-Oberliga Süd. It first played at this level from 2005 to 2007, and again since 2008 with a third place in 2012 as its best result. At the end of the 2015–16 season the team was withdrawn from competition.

The team also made a losing appearance in the 2004 Thuringia Cup final but won the competition in the following year. This win allowed the team qualification for the 2005–06 DFB-Pokal where it lost 0–8 to Bayer 04 Leverkusen.


This page was last updated at 2024-03-19 12:34 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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