Kickers Offenbach is a German football club in Offenbach am Main, Hesse. The club was founded on 27 May 1901 in the Rheinischer Hof restaurant by footballers who had left established local clubs including Melitia , Teutonia , Viktoria , Germania and Neptun . From 1921 to 1925 they were united with VfB 1900 Offenbach as VfR Kickers Offenbach until resuming their status the separate side Offenbacher FC Kickers . [1]

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History

The club became one of the founding members of the Nordkreis-Liga in 1909, where it played until the outbreak of the war. In post-First World War Germany, Kickers played in the Kreisliga Südmain (I), winning this league in 1920, 1922 and 1923.

The club played as a mid-table side in the Bezirksliga Main-Hessen through the late 1920s and early 1930s. German football was re-organized in 1933 under the Third Reich into sixteen first division Gauligen. Kickers joined the Gauliga Südwest, where the team immediately captured the title and entered the national playoffs for the first time. They fared poorly there, but did manage to raise their overall level of play in the following seasons, going on to win five consecutive divisional championships from 1940 to 1944. ^[2]

In the early 1940s the Gauliga Südwest had been split into the Gauliga Westmark and the Gauliga Hessen-Nassau, where Kickers played. Their best post-season result came in 1942 when the team was able to advance as far as the semi-finals in the national championship rounds before they were decisively put out 0:6 by Schalke 04 , who were on their way to their sixth championship as the era's most dominant side. By 1944, Allied armies were rolling through Germany and the Gauliga Hessen-Nassau did not play the 1944-45 season.

Post war football

After World War II, Offenbach continued their emergence as a strong side in the Oberliga Süd (I). In 1949, they advanced again to the national semi-finals and again were put out by the eventual champions, this time VfR Mannheim . The next year they made an appearance in the final, losing 1:2 to VfB Stuttgart .

Kickers returned to the final in 1959 where they dropped a 3:5 decision to Eintracht Frankfurt . Throughout the post-war period and into the years leading up to the formation of Germany's first professional football league, the Bundesliga, in 1963, the team consistently finished in the upper half of their league table, coming second in the overall table of the Oberliga Süd. In spite of this, Kickers Offenbach were not one of the sixteen teams chosen for the inaugural season of the new top flight league, with selection going instead to rival Frankfurt .

Entry to the Bundesliga and scandal

The club found itself in the new Regionalliga Süd (II) and play in the Bundesliga would have to wait until 1968. The team was immediately relegated, but returned to the upper league for play in 1970-71. In addition to their return to the Bundesliga, the club would win its one of its few honours in 1970 with a 2:1 German Cup victory over 1. FC Köln .

However, the end of the 1971 season would find Kickers Offenbach at the centre of the Bundesliga scandal. The club president, Horst Canellas, went to the DFB (Deutsche Fussball Bund or German Football Association) after being approached by a player from another team looking for a cash bonus for that club's effort in beating one of ''Offenbachs rivals in the fight against relegation. Receiving no help from league officials, Canellas began gathering evidence of how widespread the payoffs were. In the end more than fifty players from seven clubs, two coaches, and six game officials were found guilty of trying to influence the outcome of games through bribes, but Canellas was unable to save his club from relegation. The club central to the scandal – Arminia Bielefeld – would not be punished until the following season, too late to save Offenbach''. ^[3]

The scandal had a strongly negative effect on the young league and contributed to plummeting attendance figures. One outcome of the whole affair was the further evolution of German football; salary restrictions were removed and the 2. Bundesliga also became a professional league. For the players it meant that having one's club sent down no longer also meant losing one's status as a paid professional.

Decline and recovery

Kickers would spend the next seven years in the second division before making a return to the Bundesliga for just a single season in 1983-84. In 1985, financial problems led to the club being penalized points and driven into the third division Amateur Oberliga Hessen. They recovered themselves only to be denied a license in 1989 and be sent back down again. By the mid-1990s they slipped as far as Oberliga Hessen (IV), but remained competitive. They appeared in the final of the national amateur championship in 1994 where they lost 0:1 to Preußen Münster . After a failed attempt to advance in 1998, Offenbach returned to play in the 2. Bundesliga in 1999 and were immediately sent down after a 17th place result there. In each of these seasons the team took part in the nation amateur championship winning the title in 1999.

The club next appeared in second division play in 2005. After two lower table finishes, Kickers were relegated to 3. Liga on the final day of the 2007–08 season following a 0:3 defeat to fellow strugglers VfL Osnabrück . Despite their mixed fortunes the team remain a fan favorite and are well supported.

Recent seasons

Year	Division	Position
1999-2000	2. Bundesliga (II)	17th (relegated)
2000-01	Regionalliga Süd (III)	10th
2001-02	Regionalliga Süd	8th
2002-03	Regionalliga Süd	8th
2003-04	Regionalliga Süd	13th
2004-05	Regionalliga Süd	1st (promoted)
2005-06	2. Bundesliga (II)	11th
2006-07	2. Bundesliga	14th
2007-08	2. Bundesliga	15th (relegated)
2008-09	3. Liga (III)	7th
2009-10	3. Liga

Current squad

s of ^[]

No. Position Player 1 {{flagicon Daniel Endres 2 {{flagicon Alexander Huber (football) 3 {{flagicon Daniel Goldschmitt 4 {{flagicon Nils Teixeira 5 {{flagicon Maik Schutzbach 6 {{flagicon Martin Hyský (Captain (association football)) 7 {{flagicon Tufan Tosunoglu 8 {{flagicon David Ulm 9 {{flagicon Matthias Morys 10 {{flagicon Suat Türker 11 {{flagicon Christian Fröhlich 13 {{flagicon Marc Heitmeier 14 {{flagicon Marius Laux 15 {{flagicon Christian Pospischil

No. Position Player 16 {{flagicon Sebastian Rode 17 {{flagicon Stefan Zinnow 18 {{flagicon Steffen Haas (on loan from TSG 1899 Hoffenheim) 19 {{flagicon Simon Pospischil 20 {{flagicon Mirnes Mesic 21 {{flagicon Mounir Chaftar 22 {{flagicon Ugur Albayrak 23 {{flagicon Nils Pfingsten-Reddig 24 {{flagicon Benjamin Baier 25 {{flagicon Maurice Paul 26 {{flagicon Marko Kopilas 28 {{flagicon Robert Wulnikowski

Coaches

Name	Period
Franz Nagy	1922
Rudolf Keller	1926
Mac Pherson	1927
Rudolf Keller	1928
Paul Oßwald	1946 - 1958
Bodgan Cuvaj	1958 - 1962
Hans Merkle	1962 - 1964
Radoslav Momirski	1964 - 1965
Kurt Baluses	1965 - Feb. 1968
Kurt Schreiner	Mar. - Jun. 1968
Paul Oßwald	Jul. 1968 - Nov. 1969
Kurt Schreiner	Dez. 1969
Willi Keim	Dez. 1969
Zlatko Cajkovski	Jan - Jul. 1970
Kurt Schreiner	Aug. 1970
Aki Schmidt	Sep. 1970
Rudi Gutendorf	Sep. 1970 - Feb. 1971
Kuno Klötzer	Feb. 1971 - Jun. 1972
Guyla Lorant	Jul. 1972 - Mar. 1974
Otto Rehhagel	Apr. 1974 - Dec. 1975
Zlatko Cajkovski	Jan. - Oct. 1976
Udo Klug	Nov. 1976 - Jun. 1978
Horst Heese	Jul. 1978 - Jun. 1980
Franz Brungs	Jul. 1980 - May 1982
Lothar Buchmann	Jun. 1982 - Mar. 1984
Hermann Nuber	Mar. 1984 - Jun. 1984
Fritz Fuchs	Jul - Dec 1984
Horst Heese	Dec 1984 - Jun 1985
Wilfried Kohls	Jul 1985 - Jun 1986
Franz Brungs	Jul 1986 - May 1987
Robert Jung	May 1987 - Jun 1987
Dieter Renner	Jul 1987 - Mar 1989
Nikolaus Semlitsch	Mar 1989 - Dec 1989
Hans-Günther Neues	Dec 1989 - Apr 1990
Kurt Geinzer	Apr 1990 - Jun 1992
Lothar Buchmann	Jul 1992 - Oct 1994
Valentin Herr	Oct 1994 - Apr 1995
Wilfried Kohls	Maz 1995 - Jun 1995
Wolfgang Uschek	Jul 1995 - Dec 1995
Ronald Borchers	Jan 1996 - Apr 1997
Wilfried Kohls/Jörg Hambückers	Apr 1997 - Jun 1997
Hans-Jürgen Boysen	Jul 1997 - Oct 1999
Peter Neururer	Oct 1999 - Aug 2000
Dragoslav Stepanovic	Aug 2000 - Sep 2000
Knut Hahn	Sep 2000 - Oct 2000
Wilfried Kohls	Oct 2000 - Oct 2000
Knut Hahn	Nov 2000 - Nov 2000
Dieter Müller/Oliver Roth	Nov 2000 - Dec 2000
Ramon Berndroth	Dec 2000 - Aug 2003
Lars Schmidt	Aug 2003 - Mar 2004
Hans-Jürgen Boysen	Mar 2004 - Jan 2006
Wolfgang Frank	Jan 2006 - Oct 2007
Jørn Andersen	Nov 2007 - May 2008
Hans-Jürgen Boysen	May 2008 -

Source: Book "Kickers Offenbach - die ersten hundert jahre" ("Kickers Offenbach - the first hundred years")

Famous players

• Uwe Bein
• Rudi Völler
• Walter Bechtold
• Oliver Reck
• Jimmy Hartwig
• Li Bing (footballer)

Honours

League

• German football championship
• * Runners-up : 1950, 1959
• Kreisliga Südmain
• * Winners : 1920, 1922, 1923
• Gauliga Südwest/Mainhessen
• * Winners : 1934, 1940, 1941
• Gauliga Hessen-Nassau
• * Winners : 1942, 1943, 1944
• Oberliga Süd
• * Winners : 1949, 1955
• * Runners-up : 1957, 1959, 1960
• Regionalliga Süd (II)
• * Winners : 1967, 1970, 1972
• * Runners-up : 1966, 1968
• 2nd Bundesliga Süd (II)
• * Runners-up : 1981
• Regionalliga Süd (III)
• * Winners : 2005
• * Runners-up : 1998, 1999
• Oberliga Hessen (III-IV)
• * Winners : 1986, 1987, 1993
• * Runners-up : 1994, 1997
• All competitions are tier-one unless otherwise stated

Cup

• German Cup
• * Winners : 1970
• Hesse Cup
• * Winners : 1949, 1993, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2009

Reserve team

• Verbandsliga Hessen-Süd (IV-V)
• * Winners : 1984, 1999, 2008

Youth

• German Under 19 championship
• * Runners-up : 1973
• German Under 17 championship
• * Runners-up : 1985

Kickers Offenbach Amateure

Kickers second team played in the Amateurliga Hessen (III) from 1971-74 until being disbanded after the 1973-74 season. The reconstituted side reappeared in the Amateuroberliga Hessen (III) in 1984, but were sent down after the relegation of the senior side from the 2. Bundesliga Süd. The amateur's last appearance of note was in the Oberliga Hessen (IV) in 1999 in a campaign that ended in relegation after a 15th place finish. In 2008-09, it returned to the Oberliga and finished in fourth place.