German Football news

[Oliver_Kahn]

Sport: Football (soccer)
Founded: 1963
Country: Germany

No. of teams: 18
Current champions: FC Bayern München

Website: Bundesliga - Die offizielle Webseite

Bundesliga list of winners:

2007/2008 FC Bayern München
2006/2007 VfB Stuttgart
2005/2006 FC Bayern München
2004/2005 FC Bayern München
2003/2004 SV Werder Bremen
2002/2003 FC Bayern München
2001/2002 BV 09 Borussia Dortmund
2000/2001 FC Bayern München
1999/2000 FC Bayern München
1998/1999 FC Bayern München
1997/1998 1. FC Kaiserslautern
1996/1997 FC Bayern München
1995/1996 BV 09 Borussia Dortmund
1994/1995 BV 09 Borussia Dortmund
1993/1994 FC Bayern München
1992/1993 SV Werder Bremen
1991/1992 VfB Stuttgart
1990/1991 1. FC Kaiserslautern
1989/1990 FC Bayern München
1988/1989 FC Bayern München
1987/1988 SV Werder Bremen
1986/1987 FC Bayern München
1985/1986 FC Bayern München
1984/1985 FC Bayern München
1983/1984 VfB Stuttgart
1982/1983 Hamburg SV
1981/1982 Hamburg SV
1980/1981 FC Bayern München
1979/1980 FC Bayern München
1978/1979 Hamburg SV
1977/1978 1. FC Köln
1976/1977 Borussia Mönchengladbach
1975/1976 Borussia Mönchengladbach
1974/1975 Borussia Mönchengladbach
1973/1974 FC Bayern München
1972/1973 FC Bayern München
1971/1972 FC Bayern München
1970/1971 Borussia Mönchengladbach
1969/1970 Borussia Mönchengladbach
1968/1969 FC Bayern München
1967/1968 1. FC Nürnberg
1966/1967 Eintracht Braunschweig
1965/1966 TSV 1860 München
1964/1965 SV Werder Bremen
1963/1964 1. FC Köln
1962/1963 BV 09 Borussia Dortmund
1961/1962 1. FC Köln
1960/1961 1. FC Nürnberg
1959/1960 Hamburg SV
1958/1959 Eintracht Frankfurt
1957/1958 FC Schalke 04
1956/1957 BV 09 Borussia Dortmund


List of German Champions (the competition before the Bundelsiga):


1955/1956 BV 09 Borussia Dortmund
1954/1955 Rot-Weiß Essen
1953/1954 Hannoverscher SV 96
1952/1953 1. FC Kaiserslautern
1951/1952 VfB Stuttgart
1950/1951 1. FC Kaiserslautern
1949/1950 VfB Stuttgart
1948/1949 VfR Mannheim
1947/1948 1. FC Nürnberg
1943/1944 Dresdner SC
1942/1943 Dresdner SC
1941/1942 FC Schalke 04
1940/1941 Rapid Wien
1939/1940 FC Schalke 04
1938/1939 FC Schalke 04
1937/1938 Hannoverscher SV 96
1936/1937 FC Schalke 04
1935/1936 1. FC Nürnberg
1934/1935 FC Schalke 04
1933/1934 FC Schalke 04
1932/1933 Fortuna Düsseldorf
1931/1932 FC Bayern München
1930/1931 Hertha BSC Berlin
1929/1930 Hertha BSC Berlin
1928/1929 SpVgg Fürth
1927/1928 Hamburg SV
1926/1927 1. FC Nürnberg
1925/1926 SpVgg Fürth
1924/1925 1. FC Nürnberg
1923/1924 1. FC Nürnberg
1922/1923 Hamburg SV
1921/1922 Suspended
1920/1921 1. FC Nürnberg
1919/1920 1. FC Nürnberg
1913/1914 SpVgg Fürth
1912/1913 VfB Leipzig
1911/1912 Holstein Kiel
1910/1911 Viktoria Berlin
1909/1910 Karlsruher FV
1908/1909 Phönix Karlsruhe
1907/1908 Viktoria Berlin
1906/1907 Freiburger FC
1905/1906 VfB Leipzig
1904/1905 Union 92 Berlin
1902/1903 VfB Leipzig


Bundesliga history

With a clear majority of 103:26 votes, at 5.14 pm on the 28th of July 1962, the delegates of the DFB general assembly approved the formation of the Bundesliga.


1962 was an eventful year. German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and French President Charles de Gaulle exchanged official visits to lay the foundations for Franco-German reconciliation, the first James Bond film was shot and the Cuban missile crisis had the world holding its breath.

There may not have been top-level politics on the agenda when the DFB's 14th general assembly convened at Dortmund congress centre, but the men attending also needed a certain amount of courage and tactical skill as German football found itself on the threshold of a new era.

103-26

There was a buzz among the 129 delegates, yet the first proposal on the agenda sounded relatively mundane: "The general assembly will decide whether to introduce a central league on 1.8. 1963 under the patronage of the German Football Association."

At 5.14 pm, the result of the ground-breaking vote was announced. 103 of the 129 delegates had approved the motion.

Important role for Herberger

They included a man who had led Germany to an historic World Cup title in 1954 and, by doing so, had given the entire nation a ray of hope thanks to the game of football: national team coach Sepp
Herberger - "the old man", as he was affectionately known by his players, and the mastermind behind the "Miracle of Bern".

The delegate for the Mannheim region, Herberger was fully aware of the significance of the decision. Germany needed a nationwide league to help players and clubs to develop. Similar set-ups had already been in place in Italy, England and Spain for years.

Many sceptics

Before there could be any celebrations at this dawning of a new era, many doubts had to be conquered. Lots of people feared that the clean image of the amateur game would be sullied. The close associates of Franz Kremer, the president of 1. FC Cologne, were well aware of these reservations.

A staunch supporter of Hermann Neuberger, who would later become DFB president, Kremer gave a fervent speech that managed to win over many of the sceptics. Nevertheless, the Bundesliga's founders did not want to give too much away and they set about the task before them cautiously.

No professionalisation

The proposal concerning the introduction of a single top flight was discussed separately from the motion regarding the introduction of professional football.

This turned out to be a wise move, as the proposed professionalisation of the new Bundesliga was rejected after just 49 votes, less than half of the delegates, backed the "outrageous" notion.

Maximum transfer fees

Instead each player was allowed to earn up to 1,200 deutschmarks, and transfer fees were restricted to a maximum of 50,000 deutschmarks.

In the years that have passed since that historic decision, the Bundesliga has bloomed into the sporting darling of the German people.

[Oliver_Kahn]

Campaigns against racism and xenophobia: bundesliga.de introduces to you the initiatives of the Bundesliga clubs.


The slogan is concise and unambiguous: "Blau-Weiss statt Braun!” (Blue-White, not Brown!)

Do something about it

Blue and white are the colours of Karlsruher SC, whose fans have been taking a tough stance against racism for more than six years, both inside the Wildparkstadion and outside the ground.

"We had a lot of problems back then with people shouting racist slogans, and xenophobia was a much bigger problem than it is today. We had to do something about it”, recalls one of the campaign's founding members, Joachim Köhn.

A matter of conviction: fans against reactionary right-wingers

The campaign's first action took place at Karlsruhe's home match against Wacker Burghausen on September 2nd, 2000. The club's fan organisation appealed in a statement to all fans at the match to act against racism. Directed by Marion Jabs, who is the Chairman of the club today, the fans for the first time put up a banner that read: "Blue-white, not brown – KSC fans against Nazis”. The club itself started its campaign ”Against violence and intolerance”.

The most important fact about that campaign was that it grew from within the KSC fan scene. "Within a year we managed to get about 95 percent of the Karlsruhe fan base behind us”, explains Köhn. "We have the full support of the ´Supporters Karlsruhe´ - the umbrella organization of KSC fan clubs, and the Ultras share our values, too. It's generally agred that we're doing the right thing.”

Praise from government

In May 2006 the Blue-White, not Brown! campaign was given an award for "being an example for imaginative and effective civic engagement” by the "Bündnis für Demokratie und Toleranz” (Alliance for Democracy and Tolerance), an initiative founded by the German Government. The award money was immediately handed on to youth projects among Karlsruhe fans.

The initiators of the Karlsruhe campaign continue to work closely Hertha BSC Berlin fans and fan organisations. Besides Blue-White, not Brown!, the Berliners support various other campaigns against xenophobia. The "School with courage, school against racism” project is supported by former Hertha-striker Michael Preetz and German international Malik Fathi in person. Hertha Berlin also take active part in the anti-racist campaign "Gesicht zeigen” (Ed.: "to show one's face" as in "Take a Stand").

A social problem

Hertha Berlin's fan commissioner, Donato Melillo warns that "Fans at the Bundesliga grounds are a cross-section of our society. Unfortunately right-wing extremism is still a problem in our society, as was shown in the latest election results. No club should ignore these problems”.

Fan Initiatives successful

"Its mainly campaigns against racism that come directly from the fans, that are successful. The BWsB project at Karlsruhe is a very good example for that”, Melillo said. "One has to continue this work, in times when there are no negative incidents as well, just to make people more aware of the problem. But all these campaigns have to come from, and be supported by, the fans.”

I hope this helps to fight racism, it getting worse and worse, solutions are needed fast.

[Oliver_Kahn]

The Hertha club is participating in the Bundesliga-wide fight against racism. The campaign will take place during the 8th round Bundesliga matches.


Hold that card up!

From October 20th -23rd, Hertha Berlin will participate in a country- wide project against racism and discrimination. When the capital city side entertains Borussia Mönchengladbach, all fans attending the game in the Olympic stadium will be given a symbolic card with the words: "Show racism the red card." printed on it, and be asked to collectively hold them up.

The event is part of a week of action brought to life by the network Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) in cooperation with the European footballing body UEFA. German football has agreed to take part in the stand against racism.

Racism is unwelcome

"We want to send a signal, because the Bundesliga stands for multi-nationality, openness and tolerance. We welcome the opportunity to support this Europe-wide event. Racism and discrimination have no place in football", explained the German Football League (DFL) president Werner Hackmann.

German football has a long history of fighting racism. In 1993 there was a project called: "My friend is a foreigner", and others such as "The week of tolerance."

Fans are invited to a discussion of the subject

The fan representatives at Hertha think the DFB and DFL campaign is a good idea and worth supporting. And they've asked all the Hertah fans to do so actively.

The fan reps also made an invitation to all fans who are interested in doing more to fight racism and discrimination to a special meeting and discussion group on the subject at the Hertha BSC Club offices on Wenesday October 18, 2006 at 18:00 hours. A short e-mail to fanbetreuung@herthabsc.de will let the fan reps know you plan to attend.

[skeeta]

Given that so far this season monkey chants have targeted Asamoah in Rostock and one of Gladbach's Africans in Aachen (which led to them getting a 50,000 euro fine from the DFB), it really does strain credulity to think that Hunt (or anyone else) could call a black player ein Affe without having some idea of how it would be taken.

[Oliver_Kahn]

Roughly six months after he started his job as technical director at the DFB, Matthias Sammer, on Friday in Frankfurt am Main presented his concept for integral promotion of young footballing talent.


Sammer, who won the European Championship with Germany in 1996, gave a 2-hour speech at the DFB headquarters, in which he focused on the promotion of the footballing elite and a large-scale search for, and promotion of, talents in the schools.

Winning over the parents

"We have to get to the elite”, said Sammer. "We have to lead the way. The economy is waiting for this.” Sammer´s idea is to use the momentum of this year´s World Cup and strengthen the role of football in society.

"We sometimes forget that those who want to win the World Cup in 2006 have already been born. Therefore we have made it our task to take responsibility for both football and society.”

[Oliver_Kahn]

I think it's a good idea, the youth is the future.

[Oliver_Kahn]

More than 1,000 foreign players have graced the Bundesliga and delighted its fans over the years. Read some wonderful stories about the stars from all over the world.


In the beginning, when the Bundesliga started in 1963, there were just three "legionnaires”, as they were rather disrespectfully dubbed at the time.

Austria's Willy Huberts (Eintracht Frankfurt), Dutchman Jacobus "Co” Prins (1. FC Kaiserslautern) and Yugoslavia's Petar Radenkovic (TSV Munich 1860) were the only foreigners on the pitch on day 1 of the Bundesliga, but they were the first of the more than 1,000 foreign players who have graced the Bundesliga over the years. Many, like Kevin Keegan in Hamburg, proved to be hits, but many quickly faded away into obscurity.

The first Asian player

Germany did not have to wait long for its first Asian player. While holding a training course for Japanese players at the German sports academy in Cologne, Hennes Weisweiler promptly discovered Yasuhiko Okudera, who went on to play 234 Bundesliga matches for 1. FC Cologne and Werder Bremen between 1977 and 1986.

South Korea's Bum Kun Cha enjoyed even more success after switching to Eintracht Frankfurt and then Bayer 04 Leverkusen after just one match for Darmstadt 98.

Cha played 308 Bundesliga matches, scoring 98 goals and even was winning the UEFA Cup. His son, Du Ri Cha, played for Arminia Bielefeld for a season before also moving to Eintracht Frankfurt in 2003.

Scandinavians at Mönchengladbach

Borussia Mönchengladbach was the first club to sign Danish players on a regular basis. Allan Simonsen scored 76 goals for them between 1973 and 1975, while a Dane with a French-sounding name, Ulrik Le Fevre, once scored the "goal of the season” as voted for by viewers of terrestrial TV channel ARD. Le Fevre is now a player's agent.

Belgian winger Roger van Gool became the Bundesliga's first million deutschmark player when he moved from FC Bruges to 1. FC Cologne in 1976.

First black player

Peru's Julio Baylon was the first black player in German professional football when he moved to Fortuna Cologne in 1973, but he was the first of many, including Anthony Yeboah and Augustine "Jay-Jay” Okocha.

As the number of foreigners in the Bundesliga increased, the league stepped up its efforts to combat racism. On the last matchday before the winter break in the 1992/93 season, all 18 Bundesliga teams wore shirts bearing the "My friend is a foreigner” slogan.

Key role for Brazilians

Brazilians have obviously had a key role to play in the German league. They all play wonderful football, but not all have shown the same levels of discipline as Jorginho.

Ailton is renowned for suddenly deciding to extend his holidays as well as for his rodeo escapades back home in Brazil, but compared to Zeze, Ailton s actions pale into insignifcance. In 1964, Zeze walked out of 1. FC Cologne at the first sight of snow after just five matches and one goal.

Many Brazilians at Bayer

Bayer 04 Leverkusen have cleverly used their parent company s links and contacts in Brazil to bring more Brazilians to Germany than any other club, and they are known for looking after their foreign players in every respect.

Tita was the first Brazilian at Bayer, and he was not one to mince his words. Jorginho, Lucio, Paulo Sergio, Zé Roberto, Zé Elias and Emerson are just a few of the other Brazilians who have followed in Tita s footsteps.

Lizarazu most successful

Ever since their exploits at the 1994 World Cup, players from the USA have also been regular features in the Bundesliga, and current national team goalkeeper Kasey Keller plays for Borussia Mönchengladbach in the Bundesliga.

However, the most successful foreign import in terms of trophies is France s Bixente Lizarazu at Bayern Munich. Having won the World Cup, the European Championship, the Champions League, the German league and the German cup, Lizarazu has always had just one regret, and that is that Munich is not on the coast. After all, Lizarazu is a talented surfer.

[Oliver_Kahn]

In this weeks Bundesliga games (week 7), 14 from 31 of the goals scored in Bundesliga's 7th week were scored by non-Germans.

[Pennywise]

Good info!

[Oliver_Kahn]

Also, according to a stat on der Kicker, the best defenders in the Bundesliga aren't Germans (besides Mertesacker and Lahm).

[Oliver_Kahn]

Otto Addo was involved in the "Stand up, speak up" campaign against racism. bundesliga.de met up with the FSV Mainz 05 player.


b>bundesliga.de: Otto Addo, you have got a German and a Ghanaian passport. Where do you feel at home?

Otto Addo: I feel at home in both countries. I've got two home countries. I am German citizen, play for Ghana and feel at ease in both countries.

bundesliga.de: There have been some awkward events on German grounds recently. Have you ever experienced racial attacks yourself?

Addo: Yes, but that was quite a while ago, back when I was playing in the 2. Bundesliga. It was less of a problem in the Bundesliga, though it has occured there as well. But it got more rare lately, especially in the Bundesliga.

bundesliga.de: Gerald Asamoah was visibly harassed after the racist attacks. How does one feel after such attacks? How does one come to grips with it?

Addo: For me that subject has always been present. It may have been surprising because it happened in the DFB Cup. But it's not a new problem. It happens often in the third or fourth flight, at least from what I hear from friends and colleagues. Sadly it happens especially in the newly-formed German states. You are constantly abused there and then you don't feel treated fair. I can't understand how people can be like that, absusing others because of the colour of their skin.

bundesliga.de: You have experienced problems in Cottbus yourself. You were abused there when you played for Hannover 96 in 1998. But on your return two years later there were no problems at all. How do you explain that?

Addo: There have been many campaigns, and they worked. Things are okay there now. The "Stadion der Freundschaft" lives up to its name now. (Energie's stadium name means "Stadium of friendship" in English) It's a question of time. Things have changes, in Cottbus as well.

bundesliga.de: This weekend sees the campaign "Show racism the red card!" with all clubs involved. What do you think of it?

Addo: These campaigns are always important. Youths and adolescents must see that the Bundesliga is clearly against racism. Everyone must see that the attacks against Asamoah or Kahe or out of place. And that not only in sport, but also in real life, you must show the red card. The DFL and the Bundesliga players have to set a good example.

bundesliga.de: There aren't any racism problems at your club FSV Mainz 05, are they?

Addo: No, the fans are very fair towards the club's players, and even towards visiting players. We've never had a problem here. But the club will take part in that campaign, of course.

bundesliga.de: You participated in the "Stand up, speak up" campaign together with Arsenal star Thierry Henry, which was a European-wide success. For example, wristbands with the slogan were being sold. What were the effects?

Addo: That was an important campaign, to position ourselves against racism. It was a nice campaign. The wristbands were sold very fast. A lot of money was gathered. It was donated to organisations that fight racism.

bundesliga.de: How is the situation off the pitch? What are your experiences in private life?

Addo: When I was using public transport in the past, you would be confronted with these problems. You are abused sometimes and confronted, and sadly that happens quite often.

bundesliga.de: From your point of view, how you the problem be eradicated? Which other path could be run?

Addo: There has to be a togetherness, there has to be more communication. Everyone must figure that dark-skinned people are not worse than white people. Children with parents from other countries have to be integrated in a better way.

bundesliga.de: Is this subject important for African players when choosing a club?

Addo: Of course! It is sometimes difficult if you run out of options and don't want to harm your career, but basically it plays a big part. You are always looking for a city with no or just a few right wing extremists.

[Oliver_Kahn]

In this weeks Bundesliga, the foreigners dominated the goals, as 19 goals from 25 were scored by non-Germans.

[Oliver_Kahn]

In Bundesliga's week 9, 16 out 25 goals were scored by foreign players.