FC Gundelfingen

Football club infobox
clubname = FC 1920 Gundelfingen


fullname = FC 1920 Gundelfingen VfL e.V.
nickname =
founded = 27 February 1921
ground = Schwaben Stadion
capacity = 8,000
chairman = Viktor Merenda
manager = Stefan Anderl
league = Bezirksoberliga Schwaben (VII)
season = 2007-08
position = 10th
pattern_la1=|pattern_b1=|pattern_ra1=
leftarm1=348153|body1=348153|rightarm1=348153|shorts1=FFFFFF|socks1=FFFFFF
pattern_la2=|pattern_b2=_whitehalf2|pattern_ra2=
leftarm2=FFFFFF|body2=348153|rightarm2=348153|shorts2=348153|socks2=348153

The FC Gundelfingen is a football club from Gundelfingen an der Donau, Bavaria, in Germany.

The years 1920-45

The history [ [http://www.fcgundelfingen.de/vereinschronik.htm History of the FC Gundelfingen] , publisher:FC Gundelfingen accessed: 16 December 2007] of the club begun in 1920, when a handful of young men from Gundelfingen bought a football and formed the "Wald- und Wiesenclub". It is this occasion the club got its foundation date from since the true event happened on 27th of February 1920, when 20 football-enthusiasts formed the "FC 1920 Gundelfingen" at the "Gasthaus zum Kreuz". Shortly after, in December 1921, the footballers joined the "TV 1863 Gundelfingen".

The club survived the turbulent days of 1923 with its hyper inflation, travelling to away matches on horse drawn carts, and went on to win its first title in 1924 when they won the C-Klasse and gained promotion to the B-Klasse. Despite struggling financially, the club became independent again this year on 1st of March and adopted new team colours, green and white. The year after saw another championship, now in the B-Klasse, but promotion had to be declined due to lack of finances.

In 1926, the "FCG" met for the first time with its local rival, the "FC Lauingen", a two-all draw. The year 1928 brought another B-Klasse championship and this time the club accepted promotion and moved up to the A-Klasse. On the clubs tenth anniversary in 1930, it had 150 members.

While the early 1930s saw the return of financial problems for the club, two new clubs also formed in town, the "DJK" and "ASV Gundelfingen", both taking members away from the "FCG". The rise to power of the "Nazis" in 1933 saw the two new clubs being declared illegal but the "FCG" also found itself dictated a club chairman by the local NSDAP leader. On the football side of things, the club remained undistinguished in those years. A 0-9 cup defeat against BC Augsburg in 1937 being the only "highlight". Only in 1939 did success return when the club won the championship in the now Kreisklasse Nord, remained unbeaten in the promotion matches and gained entry to the Bezirksklasse Schwaben.

With the beginning of the 2nd World War the club only fielded a first team as, like everywhere else, young footballers were drafted to the army. With a reduced league program, the club still managed to perform rather well, defeating the "FC Lauingen" 9-2 in the 35th edition of the local derby. With difficultys, the club remained one of the few in Schwaben to carry out football games almost to the end of the war, mostly friendlys as few clubs then had players available.

The post 2nd World War years

The "FC Gundelfingen" applied and received a permission to play football matches from the allied occupation authorities shortly after the war and on 26th of August 1946 played its first post-war match, a friendly against the "FC Lauingen", a 6-2 win for the "FCG". Of the 119 members on the members roll in 1945, 42 were still away as prisoners of war, 28 had lost their lives and five were missing in action, leaving the club heavily depleted.

With the return of league football in 1946, the "FCG" found itself grouped in the 2nd division for Schwaben, the "2nd Schwäbische Liga". The club managed however to win the first ever Schwaben Cup in 1947. In 1948 the club built a new homeground and on 13th of June they played their last game at their long time home ground "Am Pflanzengarten".

In 1949, the "FCG" won its second cup title, in front of 20.000 spectators in Augsburg as a curtain raiser for the BC Augsburg versus VfB Stuttgart match in the Oberliga Süd.

The club now played in the "2nd Amateurliga Schwaben" and won another Schwaben Cup title in 1955. In 1963, the "FCG" opened its new stadion, the "Schwaben Stadion".

The years after 1963

With the reorganization of German football in 1963, most leagues either disappeared or were renamed. The "2nd Amateurliga Schwaben" became the "Bezirksliga Schwaben" and from 1968 onwards was played in a northern and a southern group. The "FCG" belonged at first to the Bezirksliga, then the Bezirksliga Schwaben-Nord, which they managed to win in 1971. The club gained promotion to the Landesliga Bayern-Süd and remained there for the next 22 years, setting a league record. The club also started fielding a women's team.

In 1973, the club beat Luton Town 2-1 in a friendly in Gundelfingen. The Under-19 side won promotion to the "A-Jugend Bayernliga Süd" for the first time in 1976, the highest league for this age group in southern Bavaria and faced FC Bayern München and TSV 1860 München there.

The first couple of years in the "Landesliga", the "FCG" establishes itself quite well, finishing 5th in 1974 and three more 6th places in the years after. The club survives the 1980s in the league, facing relegation trouble almost every year but with the start of the 90s, things take a sudden upturn.

Coming second in the "Landesliga" in 1990, 91 and 92, winning the Schwaben Cup for the 4th and 5th time in 1991 and 1992, the FCG found itself as the number three in Schwaben after the "FCA" and FC Memmingen. Qualifying for the German Cup, the "FC Gundelfingen" narrowly lost to Bayer Uerdingen 1-0 at home, in front of 4,500.

Play-off loses in 1990 to SpVgg Bayreuth (0-3) and 1991 to SpVgg Landshut (1-2) meant the club was kept out of the Bayernliga, but in 1993, promotion was finally and for the first time achieved. A 2-1 victory over BSC Erlangen and a 3-2 after penalties against TSV Eching put the club into the Bayernliga for the 1993-94 season.

The "FCG" also set an all-time record in the Landesliga Süd in 1991-92 when it only conceded 18 goals all season.

The second team also won promotion, from the A-Klasse Nord to the Bezirksliga Schwaben-Nord.

The Bayernliga years

The club managed to survive its first ever Bayernliga season with a 15th place and improved the two years after, coming in 11th and the 8th. In 1994, the club would have been relegated if it wasn't for the interception of the Regionalliga Süd, which meant six clubs from Bavaria were promoted and only one relegated.

1995 and 1996 saw the "FC Gundelfingen" being the best placed team from Schwaben in the Bayernliga, ahead of the "FC Memmingen".

In 1997 however, the "FCG" could not avoid relegation, for the first time since the second world war. The club trailed the saving 14th place by ten points and went down.

The year after saw another relegation and the FCG was back in the Schwaben league system for the first time since 1971, finishing 17th in the "Landesliga" and dropping down to the Bezirksoberliga Schwaben. This league however they only belonged to for a season, coming second and returning to the "Landesliga" straight away.

Three good "Landesliga Süd" seasons followed with a 3rd place in 2002 standing out, only two points behind TSV Schwaben Augsburg in second place. Schwaben Cup win number six came in 2001, but 2003 saw the second relegation from the "Landesliga" to the "Bezirksoberliga", finishing 17th again.

Since then, the "FCG" has been in the "Bezirksoberliga", generally in the upper half of the table. The 2007-08 season however has seen the club struggle and at the winter break, stuck in 14th place and in relegation trouble. A successful spring campain meant the club managed to survive in the "Bezirksoberliga", finishing 10th.

Overall tables

The FC Gundelfingen still ranks number two in the overall table of the "Landesliga Bayern-Süd" from 1963 to 2007, 403 points behind the "Landesligas" permanent fixture, "TSV 1860 Rosenheim". The records for the "FCG" in the three leagues it has played in since 1971 are:

Source:Cite web
url = http://www.fcgundelfingen.de/Fussball/Historie/tabelle
title = FC Gundelfingen final tables
accessdate = 2007-12-16
publisher = FC Gundelfingen website

Local rivals

The "FC Lauingen" is the number one rival for the club, being only a few kilometres away. The two teams have however not played in the same league now since 1987. Their last competitive meeting was in the Schwaben Cup in 2005-06 when the "FCG" won 2-0.

upport

Playing in the "Bezirksoberliga Schwaben" in 2007-08, the club averages 230 spectators for a homegame after eight rounds. While seemingly low, this is actually the second highest for the league [ [http://www.fc-gundelfingen.de/ FC Gundelfingen fan site: Zuschauertabelle] , Publisher: Benny Kahlau, accessed: 16 December 2007] .

Website

The club's official website offers a wealth of information on past and present players and coaches. It also contains the final league tables for every league they played in since 1971. Also, for all the three leagues "FCG" has played in since then, "Bayernliga", "Landesliga" and "Bezirksoberliga", it has overall tables from the founding of those leagues to 2007. The website is only in German.

Honours

*Schwaben Cup winners: 1947, 1949, 1955, 1991, 1992, 2001
*Promoted to Bayernliga (III) : 1993
*Landesliga Bayern-Süd (IV) runners-up: 1991, 1992, 1993
*Bezirksoberliga Schwaben (VI) runners-up: 1999
*Bezirksliga Schwaben-Nord (V) champions: 1971

External links

* [http://ergebnisse.bfv.de/ligaPublicErgebnisse.do?reqCode=save&filterType=combine&init=1&S= Tables and results from the Bavarian amateur leagues]
* [http://www.fcgundelfingen.de/Fussball/fussball.htm FC Gundelfingen (football) website]
* [http://www.fc-gundelfingen.de/ Fan site of the FC Gundelfingen]
* [http://www.bayliga.de/ Tables and results from the Bayernliga to the Bezirksligas]

References