DSC Arminia Bielefeld (full
name: Deutscher Sportclub Arminia Bielefeld e. V.; also known
as "Die Arminen" or "Die Blauen" is a German
sports club from Bielefeld
, North Rhine-Westphalia
. Arminia offers the sports of
Football,
Field
hockey,
Figure skating and
Cue sports. The club has 11,394 members
and the club colours are black, white and blue.
Arminia‘s name derives
from the Cheruscian chieftain Arminius, who defeated a Roman army in the Battle of the
Teutoburg Forest
.
The club is most commonly known for its professional football team
which plays in the
2.
Bundesliga. Due to their
numerous promotions and relegations, they are considered as a
yo-yo club. They won promotion to the
Bundesliga seven times which is a German record. In 1971, the club
played a key role in the Bundesliga scandal when they
bribed their opponents.
Arminia
plays their home games at the Bielefelder Alm
stadium since 1926. Since 2004 the stadium
has been named
SchücoArena through a sponsorship
deal.
History
Logo of founding side
1.
Bielefeld was founded on 3 May 1905 as
1. Bielefelder
FC Arminia. The fourteen men who founded the club were from
the local bourgeoise.
Two weeks later, the club played its first
match against a side from Osnabrück
. Neither the name of the opponent nor the
result are known. The club was admitted to the
DFB in the same year. In 1907, local rivals
FC
Siegfried joined Arminia, a move which strengthened Arminia‘s
squad.
After playing on various grounds, Arminia moved to a new home at
the Pottenau in 1910. Their first big achievement came in 1913,
when they won the Westphalian championship after a 5-1 win over
BV 04 Dortmund. The outbreak of World
War I interrupted Arminia rise to the top. In 1919, Arminia merged
with
Bielefelder Turngemeinde 1848 to form
TG Arminia
Bielefeld. However, the merged broke up in 1922 and both
parent clubs were formed again.
Arminia won the West German championship in 1922. Originally, they
were even on points with
Kölner BC
01, but Köln fielded an ineligible player in one match. Arminia
played played for the first time in the German championships but
were eliminated in the quarter-finals after losing 0-5 to
FC Wacker München. In 1923, Arminia
won their second West German championship in a dramatic way. They
trailed
TuRU Düsseldorf 1-3 at
half time of the final, but came from behind to win 4-3 after extra
time. Arminia faced
Union
Oberschöneweide in the quarter-finals of the German
championships. The match ended goalless, so a replay was held.
Arminia led 1-0 and suffered the equalizer in injury time. The
Berlin side won the match after extra time.
Walter Claus-Oehler became Arminia‘s
first player to win a cap in the
German national team. Arminia
won further Westphalian titles from 1924 to 1927 but were unable to
repeat their success in the West German championships. On 30
January 1926, the club took its current name
Deutscher
Sportclub Arminia Bielefeld. Their next piece of silverware
was won in 1932 with a triumph in the Westphalian cup.
In 1933, Arminia qualified for the
Gauliga Westfalen, from which they were
relegated after the inaugural season. Three attempts of gaining
promotion failed before their return to the top flight was won in
1938. Their best performance in the Gauliga was the 1939-40
campaign, where Arminia finished second. Two years later, Arminia
was one only two teams to win a match at
Schalke 04. On 25 July 1943 Arminia merged with
local rivals
VfB 03 Bielefeld. The merger finshed the
1943-44 season on the last place.
After
World War II, a new league with
all teams who competed in the Gauliga Westfalen was formed. Arminia
were relegated and failed to win repromotion. In 1947-48, Arminia
were a third division side for the first time in their history.
After a dominating season in the Bezirksklasse, Arminia was
deducted 14 points because they fielded an ineligible player. The
next season was already under way when the Landesliga (II) was
expanded by two teams. Arminia took their chance, won the league
and gained promotion to the
Oberliga West.
The dream lasted for only a year. Arminia beat
Schalke 04 4-2 at home but finshed only second
from the bottom. In 1954, Arminia were relegated to the third
division. It took eight years before Arminia were a second division
side again. They struggled to finish on seventh place to secure a
spot in the newly formed
Regionalliga West.
Arminia finished their first seasons in mid-table. In 1966, Arminia
beat
Alemannia Aachen to claim the
West German cup for the first time. A year later, forward
Ernst Kuster joined the team and went on to
become the club‘s all-time leading goal scorer. A 0-1 loss to
Wuppertaler SV on the last day of the
1966–67 season held Arminia to enter the Bundesliga promotion
play-offs. Arminia were runners-up in the 1969–70 season and won
promotion to the Bundesliga after a 2-0 win at
Tennis Borussia Berlin in the
play-offs.
The team had a poor start in
their first Bundesliga
season and seemed to be doomed when they started to bribe their
opponents. The first fixed match was Arminia‘s 1-0 win at Schalke
04. Arminia also bribed
VfB Stuttgart
and
Hertha Berlin. Bielefeld
finished 14th and started their preparations for the next season
when the scandal was unveiled. Arminia was allowed to play the
71–72 season
but were forced to relegate to the Regionalliga. Arminia struggled
in the following seasons, but were good enough to be appointed to
the newly formed
2.
Fußball-Bundesliga in
1974.
After two season in mid-table, Arminia had good chances of
returning to the Bundesliga in
1976–77 but they
finished only as runner-up behind
FC St.
Pauli. They faced
1860
Munich in a two-legged play-off whose winner would win
promotion to the top flight. Arminia won the first match at home
4-0, but lost the second leg in Munich 0-4.
A third match had to
played in Frankfurt
which Munich won 2-0.
The team was shocked but bounced back to win promotion in
1977–78. Arminia
started well and on 10 March 1979, they won 4-0 at
Bayern Munich. However, Arminia were hit by
a slump and were relegated again. The club managed to keep the team
together and bounced back after a record-breaking year. They won 30
of 38 matches, scored 120 goals, had a 28 matches unbeaten streak
and set a league record by beating
Arminia Hannover 11-0.
Arminia struggled to avoid relegation and managed to stay in the
Bundesliga for five years, including two finishes on eighth place
in
1982–83
and
1983–84.
An ugly event shocked Germany when
Werder Bremen defender
Norbert Siegmann slashed
Ewald Lienen‘s right
thigh
during a match. The success on the pitch did not prevent the club
from suffering declining attendances which enlarged the financial
problems. In
1984–85, Arminia
finished third from the bottom and lost the relegation play-offs
against
1. FC Saarbrücken.
The team failed to gain re-promotion and in the fall of 1987,
Arminia had debts of 4.5 million
Mark.
The result was a last place finish in
1987–88.
Ernst Middendorp became the new manager and
assembled a young team for the new season. Arminia led the way in
the
Oberliga Westfalen but
finished only second in 1988–89. They won the Oberliga a year
later, but failed in the promotion play-offs to
VfB Oldenburg and
TSV
Havelse. Four dismal years followed in which the team started
well but were unable to compete for the championship.
In the spring of 1994, Arminia created a relatively large media
buzz by signing veteran Bundesliga players like
Thomas von Heesen,
Armin Eck and
Fritz Walter. Arminia
struggled at first but went on the become champions of the newly
formed
Regionalliga
West/Südwest and runners-up in the
Second Bundesliga
1995–96. Arminia signed
Stefan
Kuntz for the
Bundesliga season
1996–97, their first in 11 years and finished on 14th
position.
The club
wrote German football history by signing Iranian
players
Ali Daei and Karim
Bagheri. However, after a poor run after the winter
break, Arminia were relegated. They bounced back by winning the
1998–99
season.
Bruno Labbadia became the
league‘s top scorer with 28 goals. The club suffered from financial
problems and entered the
1999–2000 season
with a smaller budget. Relegation followed again after the team
became the third team in Bundesliga history to lose ten matches in
a row.
Arminia struggled against relegation again the next season and
avoided to drop into the Regionalliga in close season. Their
fortunes turned around and Arminia won their sixth promotion to the
Bundesliga in
2001–02 with
Artur Wichniarek scoring 18 goals. Arminia
were almost saved the next year but a slump with only two points
out of the last six matches sealed relegation again.
The team bounced back again in
2003/04 and were
able to stay in the top flight until 2009. Arminia reached the
semi-finals of the
German cup in 2005 and
2006. Arminia played their fifth consecutive Bundesliga season in
2008–09.
They finished last and were relegated to the
Second Bundesliga.
Colours and crest
Arminia took the club colours blue, white and black upon their
foundation in 1905. The colours haven‘t changed though the current
club colours are black, white and blue. Despite of this, Arminia
played their first match in an orange
kit. Arminia‘s home kit was blue
for most of the time while shorts and socks were white. The team
that won promotion to the Bundesliga in 1970 wore a blue shirt with
thick white stripes. The current home kit is blue with a white
hoop, black shorts and white socks. The away kit was mostly all
white while green shirts were worn in the 1990s. Currently the away
kit consists of a white shirt, white shorts and black socks. Their
third kit is entirely
maroon and is
being used if their other kits clash with the kit of the other
teams.
The crest consists of a flag with the club‘s colours black, white
and blue from left to right. The white part of the
flag includes the letter A for Arminia. The flag is
surrounded by a
wreath of
oak.
Stadium
The new eastern stand.
Arminia played their first home matches at the
Kesselbrink
in downtown Bielefeld. They moved to a new ground at the
Kaiserstraße (today: August-Bebel-Straße) in 1907 and to
the
Pottenau in 1910. In 1926, Arminia
leased a ground from a farmer named Lohmann. The
ground didn‘t look like a football pitch. The club member Heinrich
Pahl said that the area looks like an Alm (
German for
alpine
grassland). The stadium was known as
the Alm. Arminia played its first match against
Victoria Hamburg on 1 May 1926. The first
grandstands were constructed in 1954. When Arminia won promotion to
the Bundesliga in 1970, the Alm underwent a genereal development. A
main stand with seats was built and the northern and eastern stands
were enlarged. The Alm had a capacity of 30,000 and
floodlight were installed. In 1978, a
roof was added to the main stands and the other stands were
enlarged again. The stadium had a capacity of 35,000 then.
When Arminia was relegated to the Oberliga in 1988, the northern
and the southern stand were torn down because both stands didn‘t
match the new safety regulations. The eastern stand was also made
smaller and a roof was added. The capacity was reduced to about
15,000. After Arminia won promotion to the Bundesliga in 1996, the
main and northern stands were demolished and completely rebuilt.
The same happened to the south stand in 1999. In 2004, Arminia
signed a sponsorship deal with
Schüco
and the stadium was named
SchücoArena. The latest
redevelopment saw the eastern stand being rebuilt in 2008.
The Bielefelder Alm has a capacity of 28,008, including 20,381
seats. Bielefelder Alm is a candidate to host matches of the
2011 FIFA Women's World
Cup.
Supporters
Arminia have a large number of loyal supporters. The average
attendance was just above 20,000 in recent seasons. In 2007–08,
Arminia had an average of 21,535 which was the third lowest in the
league. The core of the fans can be found on the terraces of the
Southern Stand.
Arminia‘s
fans come primarely from the Ostwestfalen-Lippe
region with a catchment area of about 100
kilometers around Bielefeld. There are around 100 fanclubs,
mostly from Ostwestfalen-Lippe.
However, there are fanclubs in Berlin,
Stuttgart
, London, Birmingham, Taunton, Austria and the
Netherlands.
Players
Current squad
Players out on loan
For recent transfers, see List of German
football transfers summer 2009 and List of
German football transfers winter 2008–09.
Arminia Bielefeld II squad
Manager: Armin Perrey
100 Year Team
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the club's formation fans
were polled to find Arminia's greatest ever team. The following
players were chosen:
Manager -
Ernst Middendorp
Statistics and records
Honours
Even though Arminia Bielefeld never won any major trophies, they
have won some silverware on a minor level.
League titles
Regional titles
- Western
German football championship
- Winners: 1922
- Runners-up: 1913, 1924
- Westphalian
champion:
- Winners (11): 1912, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927,
1933, 1962, 1990
- Runners-up (1): 1929, 1989
Cups
Former coaches
| Coach |
Nationality |
from |
to |
Significant events |
| Frantisek Zoubec |
|
1922 |
1923 |
Westgerman Champion 1923 |
| Gerd Wellhöfer |
|
1923 |
1924 |
Westfalen Champion 1924 |
Frantisek Zoubec
Gerd Wellhöfer |
|
1924 |
1925 |
Westfalen Champion 1925 |
| Gerd Wellhöfer |
|
1925 |
1926 |
Westfalen Champion 1926 |
| Frantisek Zoubec |
|
1926 |
1933 |
Westfalen Champion 1923, 1933
Westfälischer Cup Winner 1932
Qualification to the Gauliga Westfalen 1933 |
| Otto Faist |
|
1933 |
1935 |
Abstieg aus der Gauliga 1934 |
| Wellnecker |
|
1935 |
1938 |
Climbing in the Gauliga 1938 |
| Erich Brochmeyer |
|
1938 |
1939 |
|
| Ferdinand Swatosch |
|
1939 |
1940 |
Vice Champion o the Gauliga |
| Otto Kranefeld |
|
1940 |
1942 |
|
| Karl Wunderlich |
|
1942 |
1945 |
|
| Erich Brochmeyer |
|
1945 |
1946 |
Relegation to the Landesliga |
| Ferdinand Swatosch |
|
1946 |
1947 |
|
| Karl Wunderlich |
|
1947 |
1948 |
Climbing in the Landesliga |
| Alois Münstermann |
|
1948 |
1949 |
Climbing in the Oberliga |
| Friedrich Otto |
|
1949 |
1950 |
Relegation to the 2. Liga West |
| Fritz Kaiser |
|
1950 |
1951 |
|
| Hellmut Meidt |
|
1951 |
1953 |
|
| Donndorf |
|
1953 |
1955 |
Relegation to the Landesliga 1954 |
| Otto Westphal |
|
1955 |
1958 |
|
| Arthur Gruber |
|
1958 |
19.03.1961 |
first Coach sacking |
| Jupp Rasselnberg |
|
20.03.1961 |
1961 |
|
| Jakob Wimmer |
|
1961 |
April 1963 |
Climbing in the 2. Liga West 1962 |
| Hellmut Meidt |
|
April 1963 |
1965 |
Qualification to the Regionalliga 1963 |
| Robert Gebhardt |
|
1965 |
1966 |
Westdeutscher Cup Winner
Westfälischer Cup Winner |
| Hans Wendtland |
|
1966 |
November 1969 |
|
| Egon Piechaczek |
|
November 1969 |
December 1971 |
Climbing in the Bundesliga 1970 |
| Hellmut Meidt |
|
January 1972 |
January 1972 |
|
| Jan Notermans |
|
February 1972 |
October 1972 |
Relegation to the Regionalliga |
| Willi Nolting |
|
October 1972 |
February 1973 |
|
| Norbert Lessle |
|
February 1973 |
September 1973 |
|
| H. Garstecki |
|
September 1973 |
October 1973 |
|
| Willi Nolting |
|
October 1973 |
Januar 1974 |
|
| Rudi Faßnacht |
|
January 1974 |
1974 |
Qualification to the 2. Bundesliga
Westfälischer Cup Winner |
| Erhard Ahmann |
|
1974 |
1976 |
|
| Karl-Heinz Feldkamp |
|
1976 |
1978 |
Climbing in the Bundesliga |
| Milovan Beljin |
|
1978 |
October 1978 |
|
| Otto Rehhagel |
|
October 1978 |
October 1979 |
Relegation to the 2. Bundesliga 1978 |
| Willi Nolting |
|
October 1979 |
October 1979 |
|
| Hans-Dieter Tippenhauer |
|
October 1979 |
September 1980 |
Climbing in the Bundesliga |
| Willi Nolting |
|
September 1980 |
December 1980 |
| Horst Franz |
|
December 1980 |
1982 |
|
| Horst Köppel |
|
1982 |
1983 |
Place 8 in the Bundesliga |
| Karl-Heinz Feldkamp |
|
1983 |
March 1984 |
|
| Gerd Roggensack |
|
March 1984 |
February 1986 |
Platz 8 in der Bundesliga 1984
Relegation to the 2. Bundesliga 1985 |
| Horst Franz |
|
February 1986 |
November 1986 |
|
| Fritz Fuchs |
|
November 1986 |
December 1987 |
|
| Joachim Krug |
|
December 1987 |
April 1988 |
|
| Ernst Middendorp |
|
April 1988 |
October 1990 |
Relegation to the Oberliga 1988
Champion of the Oberliga Westfalen 1990 |
| Franz Raschid |
|
October 1990 |
1991 |
|
| Fritz Grösche |
|
1991 |
1992 |
|
| Ingo Peter |
|
1992 |
February 1994 |
|
| Theo Schneider |
|
February 1994 |
1994 |
Qualification for the Regionalliga West/Südwest |
| Wolfgang Sidka |
|
1994 |
September 1994 |
|
| Ernst Middendorp |
|
September 1994 |
16.08.1998 |
Climbing in the 2. Bundesliga 1995
Climbing in the Bundesliga 1996
Relegation to the 2. Bundesliga |
| Thomas von Heesen |
|
17.08.1998 |
1999 |
Climbing in the Bundesliga |
| Hermann Gerland |
|
1999 |
October 2000 |
Relegation to the 2. Bundesliga |
| Benno Möhlmann |
|
October 2000 |
16.02.2004 |
Climbing in the Bundesliga
Relegation to the 2. Bundesliga |
| Thomas von Heesen |
|
17.02.2004 |
29.02.2004 |
|
| Uwe Rapolder |
|
01.03.2004 |
10.05.2005 |
Climbing to the Bundesliga |
| Frank Geideck |
|
11.05.2005 |
2005 |
|
| Thomas von Heesen |
|
2005 |
11.02.2007 |
|
| Frank Geideck |
|
11.02.2007 |
13.03.2007 |
|
| Ernst Middendorp |
|
14.03.2007 |
09.12.2007 |
|
| Detlev Dammeier |
|
10.12.2007 |
31.12.2007 |
|
| Michael Frontzeck |
|
01.01.2008 |
17.05.2009 |
|
| Jörg Berger |
|
19.05.2009 |
- |
Relegation to the 2. Bundesliga |
| Thomas Gerstner |
|
24.06.2009 |
Present |
|
Notable chairmans
References
- als Playercoach
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