Karlsruher SC

For other uses, see Karlsruhe (disambiguation).
Karlsruher SC
Full name Karlsruher Sport-Club
Mühlburg-Phönix e. V.
Nickname(s) KSC, Eurofighter (since 93–94 season)
Founded 6 June 1894
Ground Wildparkstadion
Ground Capacity 29,699
Chairman Ingo Wellenreuther
Manager Markus Kauczinski
League 2. Bundesliga
2014–15 3rd

Karlsruher SC is a German association football club, based in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg. KSC rose out of the consolidation of a number of predecessor clubs. They have played in the Bundesliga, but were relegated to the 2. Bundesliga in 1998 and in 2009. In 2012, they were relegated to the 3. Liga through play-offs, and in 2013, they were promoted back to the 2. Bundesliga.

History

A succession of mergers

The most successful of these ancestral clubs was Karlsruher Fussball Club Phönix, formed on 6 June 1894 by dissatisfied members of the gymnastics club Karlsruher Turngemeinde. They quickly became a strong regional side, playing in the Südkreis-Liga, and captured the national title in 1909, defeating defending champions Viktoria 89 Berlin 4–2 in the championship final that season. In 1912, Phönix merged with KFC Alemannia, established in 1897, to create KFC Phönix (Phönix Alemannia).

Logo of Phönix Karlsruhe ca. 1931.

It was as Phönix Karlsruhe that the club joined the Gauliga Baden, one of sixteen top-flight divisions created in the re-organization of German football under the Third Reich. They slipped from the first division for a single season in 1936, but returned to compete as a mediocre side over the next several years. In the 1943–44 season, Karlsruhe played with Germania Durlach as the combined wartime side named KSG (Kriegssportgemeinschaft) Phönix/Germania Karlsruhe. After World War II in 1946, Phönix re-emerged to compete in the newly formed first division Oberliga Süd, finishing 15th in their first season there. The club was relegated the following season.

Logo of predecessor side VfB Karlsruhe ca. 1931.

Two other threads in the evolution of KSC were the formation of FC Mühlburg in 1905 out of 1. FV Sport Mühlburg (founded in 1890) and Viktoria Mühlburg (founded in 1892), and the merger of FC Germania (founded in 1898) and FC Weststadt (founded in 1902) to form VfB Karlsruhe in 1911. FC Mühlburg and VfB Karlsruhe would in turn merge to form VfB Mühlburg in 1933. The group of clubs which came together to form VfB Mühlburg were an undistinguished lot, sharing just one season of upper-league play between them. The new side, however, started to compete in the first-division Gauliga Baden immediately after the league was established in 1933.

A lower-table side through the 30s VfB's performance improved considerably in the following decade. As war overtook the country, the Gauliga Baden was sub-divided at various times into a number of more local city-based circuits and the team was able to earn three second place finishes in divisional play. The Gauliga Baden collapsed in 1944–45 after playing a significantly reduced schedule in which many teams, including Mühlburg were unable to compete. After the war the club slipped from top-flight competition until earning promotion to the Oberliga Süd in 1947. They generally competed as a mid-table side here with the exception of a strong performance in 1951 when they narrowly missed an advance to the national championship rounds after earning a third place result just a single point behind SpVgg Fürth.

The formation of Karlsruher SC

The pyramid logo of KSC that was used between 1998 and 2005

KFC Phoenix and VfB Mühlburg united to form the Karlsruher Sport-Club Mühlburg-Phönix e. V., on 16 October 1952 and the new team earned good results throughout the remainder of the decade. In 1955, they beat FC Schalke 04 3–2 to win the DFB-Pokal, and repeated the success next year with a 3–1 win over Hamburger SV. That season, they also made an appearance in the national final, where they lost 2–4 to Borussia Dortmund. KSC was Oberliga Süd champion in 1956, 1958 and 1960, as well as runner-up in the DFB-Pkal in 1960, when they lost the final match 2–3 to Borussia Mönchengladbach. Their record earned them admission as one of sixteen founding clubs into Germany's new professional football league, the Bundesliga, when it began play in 1963.

Karlsruhe struggled in the top flight, never managing better than a 13th-place finish over five seasons before finally being demoted to the second-division Regionalliga Süd. Over the next three seasons, the team earned a first-place finish as well as two second-place finishes there, but were unable to advance in the promotion rounds. After the 1974 formation of the 2. Bundesliga, which consisted of two divisions at the time, KSC finished first in the 2. Bundesliga Süd and returned to the top flight for the 1975–76 season, but were able to stay up for only two years. They next returned to the first division in 1980 where they spent four seasons before being sent down again. After a two-year absence they fought their way back to the Bundesliga in 1987 to begin an extended stay.

The Schäfer era

Under the guidance of new coach Winfried Schäfer, KSC's return to the top flight was marked with some success as for the first time the team managed to work its way out of the bottom half of the league table. In the 1993–94 season, the club had a successful run in the UEFA Cup, going out in the semi-finals on away goals to Austria Salzburg after beating, in turn, PSV Eindhoven, Valencia CF, Girondins Bordeaux and Boavista Porto. Their stunning 7–0 second-round victory over Valencia, a top team in the Spanish La Liga at the time and in historical terms as well, might be considered the high point of the club's history in its centennial year. Between 1992 and 1997, the club was ranked in the single digits in six consecutive Bundesliga seasons and also participated in two more UEFA Cups, reaching the third round both in the 1996–97 and 1997–98 seasons, being eliminated from the competition after losing their second-leg matches to Brøndby IF and Spartak Moscow respectively. In 1995, KSC won the DFB-Hallenpokal, an indoor football tournament that was traditionally held during winter breaks of the Bundesliga seasons. They also played in the final of the DFB-Pokal in 1996, but lost 0–1 to 1. FC Kaiserslautern.

As the millennium drew to a close, Karlsruhe faded. The club started the 1997–98 Bundesliga season well, with two wins and a draw in their opening three matches, but their downfall began with a 1–6 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen on Day 4. At the league winter break the club sat outside the relegation ranks, but a series of negative results pushed them down to 15th place until the second-last matchday of the season. Schäfer was fired in March 1998, but this did not keep the club from slipping to the Second Bundesliga after a 16th-place finish. The club needed an away draw against Hansa Rostock on the final day of the season to avoid relegation, but lost the match 2–4 while Borussia Mönchengladbach beat VfL Wolfsburg 2–0 to overtake KSC and finish 15th on goal difference.

After relegation from the Bundesliga in 1998

KSC finished fifth in their first season in the 2. Bundesliga after relegation, only two points behind third-place SSV Ulm 1846 which was promoted to the Bundesliga. However, a last place finish in a terrible 1999–2000 season played under dire financial circumstances dropped them down to the Regionalliga Süd (III). The club rebounded and on the strength of a first place result in the Regionalliga made a prompt return to second division play. After four seasons of mediocre play that saw KSC narrowly avoid being sent further down, the team turned in a much-improved performance and earned a sixth place result in 2005–06.

From 2007

KSC secured the 2007 2. Bundesliga title with three games left in the season by way of a 1–0 victory over SpVgg Unterhaching on 29 April, combined with a draw by second-placed Hansa Rostock on 30 April.[1] KSC maintained its dominance over the course of the season, playing 14 matches (nine wins, five draws) before suffering their first loss of the campaign at the hands of Erzgebirge Aue. They are the first team in the history of the single-division 2. Bundesliga to occupy the top spot throughout the whole season.

In their return season to the Bundesliga in 2007–08 they finished 11th, fading in the second half of the year after a strong start that saw them positioned in the qualifying places for European competition. The club continued to perform poorly in the 2008–09 season, ultimately finishing 17th and finding themselves relegated to the 2. Bundesliga once more. The club's two most recent campaigns there ended with 10th and 15th place finishes. Karlsruhe finished second level as 16th and faced Jahn Regensburg with relegation play-offs. These teams draw with as 1–1 at Regensburg and as 2–2 at Karlsruhe. This meant Karlsruhe's relegation to third tier after 12 years according to away goal rule.

The club successfully bounced back in 2012–13 when it won a championship in the 3. Liga and earned promotion back to the 2. Bundesliga.

2014-15 would see the club come close to a return to the Bundesliga, a 3rd place finish would see them play a promotion play-off against Hamburg, and after a 1-1 draw in Hamburg in the first leg, KSC were seconds away from promotion, only for Hamburg to score an equaliser in the 90th minute to force extra time, where they would score a winning away goal late in the second half to secure their Bundesliga status for another season.

Reserve team

Main article: Karlsruher SC II

The Karlsruher SC II, historically also referred to as Karlsruher SC Amateure, is a successful side in its own right, playing for many years as high up as the Regionalliga Süd. At the end of the 2011–12 season, the team was forcefully relegated to the Oberliga because of the relegation of the first team to the 3. Liga as reserve teams of 3. Liga clubs are not permitted in the Regionalliga anymore from 2012. The team had suffered a similar fate in 2000, when the first team was relegated to the Regionalliga Süd and the reserve team therefore had to leave this league despite finishing above the relegation ranks.

Between 1991 and 2000 the team also won the North Baden Cup on four occasions, thereby qualifying for the first round of the German Cup on each occasion. Its greatest success in this competition was reaching the third round in 1996–97.[2]

League timeline

Bundesliga 3. Liga Bundesliga Bundesliga 2. Bundesliga Regionalliga 2. Bundesliga Bundesliga

Honours

The club's honours:

League

Cup

Reserve team

Players

Current squad

As of 20 January 2016.

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

No. Position Player
1 Germany GK Dirk Orlishausen (captain)
3 Jamaica DF Daniel Gordon
4 Germany DF Martin Stoll
5 Germany DF Dennis Kempe
7 Germany DF Sascha Traut
8 Austria FW Erwin Hoffer
9 Greece FW Dimitrios Diamantakos (on loan from Olympiacos)
10 Japan MF Hiroki Yamada
11 Azerbaijan FW Dimitrij Nazarov
13 Germany MF Dominic Peitz
14 Germany DF Manuel Gulde
15 Germany MF Boubacar Barry
16 Germany MF Marvin Mehlem
No. Position Player
17 Tunisia MF Mohamed Gouaida
18 Spain MF Manuel Torres
19 Germany MF Grischa Prömel
20 Austria MF Ylli Sallahi
21 France MF Gaëtan Krebs
22 Germany MF Enrico Valentini
23 Germany MF Jonas Meffert
24 Germany GK René Vollath
25 Germany GK Florian Stritzel
26 Germany DF Bjarne Thoelke
29 Russia FW Vadim Manzon
34 Germany MF Tim Grupp (on loan to SpVgg Neckarelz)
35 Germany DF Matthias Bader

Karlsruher SC II squad

As of 15 January 2016.

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

No. Position Player
Germany GK Flemming Niemann
Austria GK Sebastian Gessl
Germany DF Martin Kramer
Guinea DF Cheick Cisse
Germany DF Florian Henk
Germany DF Linus Radau
Germany DF Pierre Fassnacht
France MF Aymar N'Gueni Bong
Germany MF Sebastian Weizel
Germany MF Patrick Fossi
Germany MF Ernesto de Santis
No. Position Player
Germany MF Carsten Lutz
Germany MF Marcel Mehlem
Germany MF Tim Ronecker
Germany MF Michael Reith
Germany MF Kai Luibrand
Germany MF Tim Fahrenholz
Mali MF Kévin Traoré
Germany FW Samir Frank
Germany FW Pius Krätschmer
Germany FW Kai Kleinert
Germany FW Christoph Batke

Manager: Germany Stefan Sartori

Managers: past and present

Managers of the club since 1952:[3]

  • Hans Hipp – 16 October 1952 – 30 April 1953
  • Friedel Moser – 1 May 1953 – 30 June 1953
  • Adolf Patek – 1 July 1953 – 31 July 1956
  • Ludwig Janda – 1 July 1956 – 30 June 1959
  • Eduard Frühwirth – 1 July 1959 – 30 June 1962
  • Kurt Sommerlatt – 1 July 1962 – 26 January 1965
  • Helmut Schneider – 27 January 1965 – 18 October 1965
  • Werner Roth – 19 October 1965 – 1 November 1966
  • Paul Frantz – 2 November 1966 – 24 October 1967
  • Georg Gawliczek – 25 October 1967 – 8 February 1968
  • Herbert Widmayer – 10 February 1968 – 18 February 1968
  • Bernhard Termath – 19 February 1968 – 30 June 1968
  • Kurt Baluses – 1 July 1968 – 21 May 1971
  • Carl-Heinz Rühl – 1 July 1973 – 30 June 1977
  • Bernd Hoss – 1 July 1977 – 26 October 1977
  • Rolf Schafstall – 27 October 1977 – 15 April 1978
  • Walter Baureis – 1 July 1978 – 26 November 1978
  • Manfred Krafft – 1 July 1978 – 30 June 1981
  • Max Merkel – 27 November 1981 – 30 June 1982

Recent seasons

The recent season-by-season performance of the club:[4][5]

Karlsruher SC

Season Division Tier Position
1999–2000 2. Bundesliga II 18th↓
2000–01 Regionalliga Süd III 1st↑
2001–02 2. Bundesliga II 13th
2002–03 2. Bundesliga 13th
2003–04 2. Bundesliga 14th
2004–05 2. Bundesliga 11th
2005–06 2. Bundesliga 6th
2006–07 2. Bundesliga 1st↑
2007–08 Bundesliga I 11th
2008–09 Bundesliga 17th↓
2009–10 2. Bundesliga II 10th
2010–11 2. Bundesliga 15th
2011–12 2. Bundesliga 16th↓
2012–13 3. Liga III 1st↑
2013–14 2. Bundesliga II 5th
2014–15 2. Bundesliga 3rd

Karlsruher SC II

Season Division Tier Position
1999–2000 Regionalliga Süd III 12th↓
2000–01 Oberliga Baden-Württemberg IV 8th
2001–02 Oberliga Baden-Württemberg 11th
2002–03 Oberliga Baden-Württemberg 15th
2003–04 Oberliga Baden-Württemberg 4th
2004–05 Oberliga Baden-Württemberg 1st↑
2005–06 Regionalliga Süd III 11th
2006–07 Regionalliga Süd 14th
2007–08 Regionalliga Süd 16th
2008–09 Regionalliga Süd IV 16th
2009–10 Regionalliga Süd 10th
2010–11 Regionalliga Süd 10th
2011–12 Regionalliga Süd 5th↓
2012–13 Oberliga Baden-Württemberg V 12th
2013–14 Oberliga Baden-Württemberg 5th
2014–15 Oberliga Baden-Württemberg

Key

Promoted Relegated

References

  1. http://www.bundesliga.de/de/liga2/matches/2006/index.php?omi=46560&reiter=b&tag=31&fla=1
  2. DFB-Pokal (German) Weltfussball.de, accessed: 11 January 2015
  3. "Karlsruher SC .:. Trainer von A-Z" (in German). weltfussball.de. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  4. "Historical German domestic league tables" (in German). Das deutsche Fußball-Archiv. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  5. "Tables and results of all German football leagues" (in German). Fussball.de. Retrieved 18 September 2011.

External links

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