VfL Osnabrück
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| VfL Osnabrück | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Verein für Leibesübungen von 1899 e.V. Osnabrück |
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| Nickname(s) | The Violets | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Founded | 1899 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Osnatel-Arena (formerly Bremer Brücke) (Capacity 18,415) |
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| Chairman |  Dr. Dirk Rasch |
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| Head Coach | Claus-Dieter Wollitz |
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| League | 2. Bundesliga | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007-08 | 2. Bundesliga, 12th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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VfL Osnabrück is a German football club in Osnabrück, Lower Saxony.
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[edit] History
[edit] Foundation to WW2
The club has its origins in April 1899 as a loose association of football enthusiasts calling themselves FC Osnabrück. The club was formally incorporated on March 8, 1925, but a group of the footballers left to form a second side called SC Rapid – styled after the famous side from Vienna – the same year. Rapid came back to the fold thirteen years later in 1938 and the re-unified club adopted the light-purple colours of the returning football players.
After the re-structuring of German football leagues under the Third Reich, Osnabrück played in the Gauliga Niedersachsen and captured the division title in 1938 and 1939. That earned them a place in the national championship playoffs, but they went out in the early rounds on both occasions.
[edit] Post-War era
After World War II the club returned to play as 1. FSV Osnabrueck but resumed their old name in 1946. The team played in the Oberliga Nord and delivered credible performances that left them standing fourth in the league's all-time table behind well-known sides Hamburger SV, Werder Bremen, and FC St. Pauli.
[edit] 1960s & 70s
The Bundesliga was formed in 1963 as Germany's new top flight professional league. The Violets did not qualify for play there and were seeded into second division Regionalliga Nord. They had opportunities to advance through the promotion rounds in five consecutive years beginning in 1969, but could never break through. For most of the next 30 years the club remained a tier II fixture, playing just two of those seasons in the Amateur Oberliga Nord (III), but also once narrowly escaping relegation when FC St. Pauli was sent down instead when they were refused a license over their financial situation. A highlight of the period was a 5:4 victory over Bayern Munich in a 1978 German Cup match-up.
[edit] 1980s to present
In 1994 the club slipped into the Regionalliga Nord (III) where they have played since, with the exception of a couple of seasons spent in tier II. In 2007, the club clinched promotion back to the 2. Bundesliga on the final day of the season.
[edit] Honours
- Oberliga Nord champions: 1969, 1970, 1971, 1985, 1999, 2000
- Oberliga Nord vice-champions: 1972, 1973, 1995, 2003
- Gauliga Niedersachsen champions: 1939, 1940
- German amateur champions: 1995
[edit] Players
[edit] Current squad
As of February 20, 2008:
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[edit] External links
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German 2. Bundesliga (II) Football Clubs (2007-08)
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German Oberliga Nord (IV) Football Clubs (2007-08)
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