SV Waldhof Mannheim

Football club infobox
clubname = SV Waldhof Mannheim


fullname = Sportverein Waldhof Mannheim e.V.
nickname =
founded = 1907
ground = Carl-Benz-Stadion
capacity = 27,000 (~15,000 seats)
chairman = Dr. Mario Noell
manager = Alexander Conrad
league = Regionalliga Süd
season = 2007-08
position = Oberliga Baden-Württemberg (IV), 3rd
pattern_la1=_black_stripes|pattern_b1=_blackstripes|pattern_ra1=_black_stripes
leftarm1=000080|body1=000080|rightarm1=000080|shorts1=000000|socks1=000000
pattern_la2=|pattern_b2=|pattern_ra2=
leftarm2=FFFFFF|body2=FFFFFF|rightarm2=FFFFFF|shorts2=FFFFFF|socks2=FFFFFF

SV Waldhof Mannheim is a German football club, located in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg. The club today has a membership of over 2,400.

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History

The club was founded 1907 and enjoyed its best performances in the Gauliga Baden, one of sixteen top-flight divisions established through the 1933 re-organization of German football under the Third Reich. "Waldhof" dominated the division through the 30s and into the early 40s by capturing the title five times and consistently finishing well up the table. They were unable, however, to translate that into success at the national level. Their best result came in 1940 when they went out in a semi-final match against "FC Schalke 04", the dominant side of the era, before settling for fourth place after losing a consolation round match to "Rapid Vienna".

After World War II, "Waldhof" picked up play in the Oberliga Süd where they earned mid-table results until being relegated to the 2nd Oberliga Süd in 1954. They bounced up and down between first and second division play until the formation of the Bundesliga, Germany's new professional football league, in 1963. The next season saw them in the tier II Regionalliga Süd alongside local rivals "VfR Mannheim". A string of unimpressive results finally led to relegation in 1970 to the Amateurliga Nordbaden (III).

Support from a new sponsor, snack chip maker Chio, revived the team and helped their return to the second division where they played as "SV Chio Waldhof Mannheim" from 1972 to 1978. They continued to play as a middling side there until an unexpected breakthrough to the Bundesliga in 1983. "Waldhof" spent seven seasons competing at the top flight until a 17th place finish saw the club relegated at the end of the 1989-90 season. They delivered another seven seasons as a decent 2.Bundeliga club until slipping to the Regionalliga Süd for two seasons in 1997-99. A merger with "VfR Mannheim" was considered in 1998 but the club walked away from a deal at the last minute. Their return to the 2.Bundesliga in 1999 after a season long struggle with "Kickers Offenbach" was cut short in 2003 when financial irregularities saw the DFB deny the team a license, dropping them to the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg (IV). Another attempt at a merger with "VfR" failed that same year. The club played in the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg until 2007-08, when a third place finish allowed them qualification for the Regionalliga.

Reserve team

The "SV Waldhof II", historically also referred to as "SV Waldhof Amateure", rose to the tier-IV league Verbandsliga Nordbaden in 1986 and remained there until gaining promotion to the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg in 2001. After two seasons in the Oberliga with good results, the team had to be withdrawn due to the forced relegation of the first team. In the 2007-08 season, the team narrowly missed out on Verbandsliga promotion when it finished second on equal points to the SV Sandhausen II. [ [http://www.fussball.de/fussball/servlet/content/60?next=%2F0708%2F013%2F032%2F320%2F320043&tag=50001 Fussball.de: Table of the Landesliga Rhein/ Neckar] accessed: 17 July 2008]

Honours

* Bezirksliga Rhein (I) champions: 1924
* Bezirksliga Rhein-Saar ("Rhein division") (I) champions: 1928, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933
* Gauliga Baden (I) champions: 1934, 1936, 1937, 1940, 1942
* 2nd Bundesliga (II) winners: 1983
* Oberliga Süd (I) runners-up: 1947
* 2nd Oberliga Süd (II) winners: 1958, 1960
* Amateurliga Nordbaden (III) champions: 1971, 1972

Recent seasons

V Waldhof Mannheim

V Waldhof Mannheim II

External links

* [http://www.waldhof-mannheim.de Official website]
* [http://www.abseits-soccer.com/clubs/waldhof.html Abseits Guide to German Soccer]

References