FC Energie Cottbus facts for kids
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| Full name | Fußballclub Energie Cottbus e. V. | ||
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| Nickname(s) | Energie Die Lausitzer (Lusatian) Ultima Raka (Crayfishes) |
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| Founded | 31 January 1966 | ||
| Ground | Stadion der Freundschaft | ||
| Capacity | 22,528 (10,949 seated) | ||
| Chairman | Sebastian Lemke | ||
| Manager | Claus-Dieter Wollitz | ||
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FC Energie Cottbus (in Lower Sorbian: Energija Chóśebuz) is a German football club from Cottbus, Brandenburg. It was started in 1963 as SC Cottbus in what was then called East Germany.
After Germany became one country again, Energie played for six seasons in the third level of German football. Then, for 17 years (from 1997 to 2014), they moved between the 2. Bundesliga (second level) and the Bundesliga (top level). From 2014 to 2016, the club played in the 3. Liga (third level). After that, they were moved down to the Regionalliga Nordost (fourth level). In 2018, they moved back up to the 3. Liga, but went down again the very next season.
Contents
History of Energie Cottbus
Early Teams
Energie Cottbus has a long history, going back to a team called FSV Glückauf Brieske-Senftenberg. This club was started by coal miners in 1919 in a town called Marga. The first team was FV Grube Marga. In 1924, the miners formed a new team called SV Sturm Grube Marga. This team was later banned by the Nazi Party in 1933.
The East German Years
After World War II, the club started again in 1949 as BSG Franz Mehring Grube. In 1950, it became BSG Aktivist Brieske-Ost. In 1954, the club was renamed SC Aktivist Brieske-Senftenberg. This team usually played in the DDR-Oberliga, which was the top league in East Germany. They were often in the middle of the league table. In the early 1960s, they moved down to the second-tier DDR-Liga.
In 1963, the players from this team joined a new sports club called SC Energie Cottbus. The old club still exists today as FSV Glückauf Brieske-Senftenberg. The East German government often moved players around for political reasons. They even made players from SC Aktivist Brieske-Ost join SC Cottbus. The government also liked to name sports teams after socialist heroes, like Franz Mehring, who was a German socialist writer.
In the mid-1960s, the government changed how sports clubs worked. Football teams were separated from other sports. The football club was briefly called BSG von Bodo Krautz, named after a local coal mine. But it was quickly renamed BSG Energie in early 1966.
After German Reunification
When Germany became one country again in 1990, the team changed its name to FC Energie. Energie Cottbus became one of the few teams from former East Germany to do well in united Germany.
After playing in the third level for six seasons, the club moved up to the 2. Bundesliga in 1997. In the same year, they became the first former East German club to play in the DFB Cup Final. They won the Regionalliga Nordost and then moved up to the Bundesliga (the top league) in 2000. They stayed there for three years. A very important player during this time was Vasile Miriuță, a creative midfield player.
After moving down from the Bundesliga, Energie almost returned right away. They just missed out to Mainz 05 because of goal difference.
In the 2004–05 season, Energie had money problems and struggled on the field. They avoided moving down to the third level by scoring just one more goal than Eintracht Trier. During this season, the manager Eduard Geyer was replaced by Petrik Sander. The chairman Dieter Krein was replaced by Ulrich Lepsch. In the 2005–06 season, the club finished third and moved back up to the Bundesliga.
In the 2006–07 Bundesliga season, they finished 13th with 41 points. This was their best score ever in the Bundesliga. Energie Cottbus was the only club from former East Germany playing in the Bundesliga until 2009. They lost a play-off game to 1. FC Nürnberg and moved down. Cottbus stayed in the 2. Bundesliga for five more seasons until 2014. They finished 18th and moved down to the 3. Liga. This ended their 17-season run in the top two divisions. After finishing 19th in the 3. Liga in 2015–16, the club moved down again to the Regionalliga Nordost.
Recent Seasons
After two seasons in the fourth level, Cottbus moved back up to the 3. Liga. They beat Weiche Flensburg in two play-off games. However, in the 2018–19 season, they finished 17th and moved back down to the Regionalliga.
On May 21, 2023, Cottbus won the Regionalliga Nordost by beating SV Babelsberg 03. This was their third time winning the Regionalliga Nordost, and their first since 2018. In the games to move up to the 3. Liga, Cottbus lost both games against SpVgg Unterhaching, so they did not get promoted. On June 3, 2023, Cottbus won the Brandenburg Cup for the 11th time. They beat FSV 63 Luckenwalde 4–1.
Cottbus finished the 2023–24 season as champion and was promoted to the 3. Liga.
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel is an honorary member of the club.
Club Achievements
Here are some of the club's biggest achievements:
- DFB-Pokal (German Cup):
- Runners-up: 1997 (They reached the final but didn't win)
- 2. Bundesliga (Second Division)
- Promoted to Bundesliga: 2000, 2006
- DDR-Liga (East German Second Division)
- Winners: 1988
- Runners-up: 1973, 1978, 1986
- Regionalliga Nordost (Third/Fourth Division):
- Winners: 1997, 2018, 2023, 2024
- German Under 17 championship:
- Runners-up: 2004
- Brandenburg Cup (Local Cup):
- Winners: 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024
- DFB-Pokal U17 (Youth German Cup)
- Winners: 2011
Players
Current squad
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Out on loan
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Famous Players
The All-Foreign Line-up
On April 6, 2001, Energie Cottbus made history! They became the first club in the Bundesliga to play a game with 11 players who were all from other countries. That season, Energie often had nine or ten foreign players on the field. German players only played a total of 83 times, with striker Sebastian Helbig playing the most at 28 games.
The players in that famous all-foreign line-up were: Tomislav Piplica, Faruk Hujdurović, Bruno Akrapović (from Bosnia and Herzegovina), János Mátyus, Vasile Miriuță (from Hungary), Rudi Vata (from Albania), Moussa Latoundji (from Benin), Andrzej Kobylański (from Poland), Antun Labak (from Croatia), Laurențiu Reghecampf (from Romania), and Franklin (from Brazil). Even the three players who came on as substitutes were from other countries: Johnny Rödlund from Sweden, Sabin Ilie from Romania, and Witold Wawrzyczek from Poland.
See also
In Spanish: Energie Cottbus para niños
