Spandauer SV

Football club infobox
clubname = Spandauer SV


fullname = Spandauer Sportverein 1894 e.V.
nickname =
founded = 1894
ground = Stadion an der Neuendorfer Straße
capacity = 3,000
chairman = Stephan Kalipke
manager = Oliver Kieback
league = NOFV-Oberliga Nord (V)
season = 2007-08
position = 12th
pattern_la1=|pattern_b1=|pattern_ra1=
leftarm1=ff0000|body1=ff0000|rightarm1=ff0000|shorts1=ff0000|socks1=ff0000
pattern_la2=|pattern_b2=|pattern_ra2=
leftarm2=ffffff|body2=ffffff|rightarm2=ffffff|shorts2=ffffff|socks2=ffffff

Spandauer SV is a German football club that plays in Berlin.

History

Early years

The capital city was one of the earliest centres of German football and was home to "1. Spandauer Fußballklub Triton", formed on May 24, 1894, and "Sportclub Germania Spandau", formed on October 15, 1895. These two sides merged late in 1920 to form "Spandauer Sport-Vereinigung 94/95 e.V.", the predecessor of today's club.

The team was promoted to the Verbandsliga Berlin-Brandenburg in 1921 where they earned a string of third and fourth place finishes. Their best result was a distant second place behind "Hertha BSC Berlin" in 1928.

German football was re-organized under the Third Reich in 1933 into sixteen top flight Gauligen. "SSV" joined the Gauliga Berlin-Brandenburg and played there until relegated in 1936. They returned briefly in 1939 only to be immediately relegated again. In 1944, towards the end of World War II, "Spandauer" and "SC Minerva Berlin" were melded into the wartime side "KSG Minerva/SSG Berlin" to play a final war-shortened season.

Postwar play

After the conflict the club was dissolved, like most other organizations in Germany, including sports and football associations. It was re-constituted in 1945 as "SG Spandau-Altstadt" and played in the city's first postwar league. The first division Oberliga Berlin was formed a year later and the club played there as "SG Spandau-Altstadt" beginning in 1947.

By the end of 1949 the team took on its current name "Spandauer Sport-Verein 1894 e.V." They were relegated for a season, but managed a return to the top flight the next year. "Spandau" consistently finished in the upper half of the league table, but were unable to do better than second place finishes in 1953 and 1959. "SSV" captured three consecutive Berlin Cups in 1954-1956 and advanced as far as the quarter final round of the 1957 German Cup where they were put out 1:4 by Bayern Munich.

pandau refuses the Bundesliga

Berlin's representative in Germany's new profession football league, the Bundesliga, formed in 1963, was city Oberliga champion "Hertha BSC Berlin". "Spandau" continued play in what was now the second tier Regionalliga Berlin (or Stadtliga Berlin).

The club had a minor role in the debacle of "Tasmania 1900 Berlin"'s promotion to the top-flight Bundesliga after "Hertha" was demoted for breaking the league's player salary rules. The politics of the Cold War era led to a space being held open for a Berlin side in the top league to replace "Hertha" in a show of solidarity with the former capital city. "Spandau" – coming off a second place finish – refused an offer to advance, leaving the way open to "Tasmania", which went on to the worst season in Bundesliga history.

A dramatic decline

"Spandau" continued to play as a tier II side in the Regionalliga Berlin until slipping to the Amateurliga Berlin for the 1974-75 season. When they returned to second level play the following year they found themselves in the newly established 2. Bundesliga Nord. Instead of playing against other city teams in the weak Regionalliga Berlin they were pitted against stronger competition from across the north of the country and they went on to suffer through a season as disastrous as "Tasmania"'s turn in the Bundesliga.

"Spandau" finished dead last, never once rising from the bottom position, with a record of 2 wins, 4 draws, and 32 losses. They did not earn their first point until a 15th round 1:1 draw with "SG Wattenscheid 09". Their first victory did not come until their 23rd round match against "Bayer Leverkusen". By season's end they had been outscored 33:115.

The club returned to tier III football in the amateur city league where they would play for the next 23 seasons. Financial problems in 1999 led to the club's license being revoked and relegation to the Verbandsliga Berlin (V), from where the club was promoted back to the Oberliga in 2007.

Honours

* Berlin Amateurliga champions: 1975
* Berlin Cup winners: 1954, 1955, 1956, 1974, 1977

External links

* [http://www.spandauer-sv.de Official team site]
* [http://www.abseits-soccer.com/clubs/spandau.html The Abseits Guide to German Soccer]