Borussia Neunkirchen

Football club infobox
clubname = Borussia Neunkirchen


fullname = Borussia Verein für Bewegungspiele
Neunkirchen e.V.
nickname =
founded = 1905
ground = Ellenfeld Stadion
capacity = 29,200
chairman =
manager =
league = Oberliga Südwest (V)
season = 2007-08
position = 6th
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Borussia VfB Neunkirchen is a German football club based in Neunkirchen, Saarland. The club "SC Borussia Neunkirchen" was founded out of the 1907 merger of "FC 1905 Borussia" and "SC Neunkirchen".

History

From 1912 through to 1963 the club had an uninterrupted record of first division play including the "Bezirksliga Rhein-Saar" and selection to the "Gauliga", formed in 1933 through the reorganization of German football under the Third Reich. "Borussia" remained at this level, in the "Gauliga Südwest/Mainhessen", throughout the leagues history, with good results but not winning a league championship. Like other organizations in the country, including sports and football associations, "Borussia" was dissolved by the Allied occupation authorities after World War II, but was quickly reformed under its current name.

The club played in the French-occupied Saarland and the French made various efforts to see the state become independent of Germany or join France. In sport this was manifested as separate 1952 Olympic and 1954 World Cup teams for Saarland, the establishment of a short-lived football league for the state, and the German club "1. FC Saarbrücken" playing in the French second division. "Neunkirchen" played in the Saarland Ehrenliga from 1949 to 1951, winning the title in the first year and finishing as runner-up the next. They were able to re-join the DFB (Deutscher Fußball-Bund or German Football Association) after the 1950-51 season in the Oberliga Südwest.

Despite their record of continuous play at the top flight, "Neunkirchen" was not one of the sixteen sides selected for play in Germany's new professional football league at its formation. Along with "FK Pirmasens" and "Wormatia Worms", they were bypassed in favour of "1. FC Saarbrucken", even though they all had better records than the chosen side. More than a few protests were lodged as "1. FC" appeared to have gained entry based simply on their affiliation with a member of the league selection committee. Their entry was delayed by only a year as they were able to play their way into the upper league through the promotion rounds after winning the Regionalliga Südwest.

Their stay in the Bundesliga was short-lived. After a mid-table result in 1965, they would be relegated the following season after a 17th place finish. They won the Regionalliga Südwest again after being sent down and returned to the Bundesliga to another 17th place finish and relegation.

"Neunkirchen" spent another seven years playing tier II football before slipping to the Amateurliga Saarland (III). Through the mid 70's and into the early 80's the club bounced up and down between these levels of play, before settling in for a decade and a half at tier III. The team slipped again in 1996 to the Oberliga Südwest (IV) where they play today. They won their division in 2005 but declined the oppourtunity to apply for a license and promotion to the third division because of financial problems that have plagued the club since 2003.

Honours

"Borussia Neunkirchen" is a seven time winner of the Saarland Cup, a regional championship tournament established in 1974.
*Southern German Cup winner: 1921
*Oberliga Südwest (I) champions: 1962
*Oberliga Südwest (I) runners-up: 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963
*Bezirksliga Rheinhessen-Saar (I) champions: 1924
*Bezirksliga Rhein-Saar ("Saar division") (I) champions: 1929
*Regionalliga Südwest (II) champions: 1964, 1967, 1971, 1972, 1974
*Oberliga Südwest (III) champions: 1980, 1991
*Oberliga Südwest (IV) champions: 2000, 2002, 2005
*Amateurliga Saarland (III) champions: 1976, 1977, 1978
*Ehrenliga champions: 1949
*Ehrenliga finalists: 1950
*Saarland Cup: 1978, 1985, 1986, 1990, 1992, 1996, 2003

Recent seasons

Former Players

* Richard Manu

External links

* [http://www.vfb-borussia-neunkirchen.de/ Official team page]
* [http://www.abseits-soccer.com/clubs/neunkirchen.html The Abseits Guide to German Soccer]