MSV Duisburg facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
MSV Duisburg

Full name	Meidericher Spielverein 02 e. V. Duisburg
Nickname(s)	Die Zebras (The Zebras)
Founded	1902; 122 years ago (1902)
Ground	MSV-Arena
Ground Capacity	31,514
Manager	Dietmar Hirsch
League	Regionalliga West
2023–24	3. Liga, 18th of 20 (relegated)
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Meidericher Spielverein 02 e. V. Duisburg, commonly known as simply MSV Duisburg (German pronunciation: [ʔɛm ʔɛs faʊ ˈdyːsbʊɐ̯k]), is a German association football club based in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia. Nicknamed Die Zebras for their traditional striped jerseys, the club was one of the original members of the Bundesliga when it was formed in 1963, although they are now playing in the fourth tier of German football.

History

Historical chart of MSV Duisburg league performance

Bernard Dietz

Early years

The club was founded in 1902 as Meidericher Spielverein, representing the city of Meiderich, which became a district of Duisburg in 1905. In 1905, they absorbed the club Sport Club Viktoria Meiderich. In 1967, they took on their current name, acknowledging their role as the city's most popular and successful side.

While Duisburg has always been a competitive side, real success has so far eluded them. Early in their history, they won a number of local championships, and even enjoyed a pair of undefeated seasons (1913–14) when they scored 113 goals while only giving up 12. In 1929, they won the first Niederrhein championship and qualified for the first time for the national championship rounds, repeating the feat in 1931.

However, the club then went into a tailspin from which they did not really recover until the 1950s, when they began once again to field competitive sides. During World War II, the club came close to folding, but returned to play after the war, emerging as city champions in 1946. In 1951, Duisburg earned promotion to the top-flight Oberliga West with their first-place finish in the 2. Oberliga West. The Oberliga West was the most competitive division of German football at the time, and except for the 1954–55 season, Duisburg would play first division football there right up to the time of the formation of the Bundesliga.

Early years of the Bundesliga (1960s)

Former logo of MSV Duisburg

The club was surprisingly chosen to be a member of the new national league, the Bundesliga, for the inaugural 1963–64 season. Despite not being a big name or coming from a big city, Meiderich were chosen as they were the strongest club from the populous Lower Rhine region; this decision was controversial, and Alemannia Aachen challenged the decision in court.

The club signed young coach Rudi Gutendorf for the first Bundesliga season, replacing the highly regarded Willi Multhaup. He convinced the board to sign World Cup-winner Helmut Rahn, and developed a tactical system later compared to Dutch total football, whereby every player contributed in both attack and defence. Gutendorf's team shocked the Bundesliga by finishing second, six points behind champions 1. FC Köln, and conceding the fewest goals in the league. This remains the club's highest ever league finish.

In 1966, they finished with a club record 70 goals scored in the league, including the Bundesliga's biggest ever away win, 9–0 against Tasmania Berlin. They also reached the DFB-Pokal final, losing to Bayern Munich. This was the last season played under the old name of Meidericher SV, as the club renamed itself MSV Duisburg in 1967, having received financial support from the city of Duisburg.

European campaigns and relegation to the Oberliga (1970s, 1980s)

In 1976, MSV Duisburg reached the DFB-Pokal final for the second time, but lost to Eintracht Frankfurt. They then made their first appearance in the UEFA Cup, losing in the second round to Levski-Spartak Sofia on away goals. This season was also notable for the performances of defender and captain Bernard Dietz, who played every minute of the league season and was voted by Sport Bild as one of the league's best players. Dietz would achieve this three more times, being named the Bundesliga's best outfield player in 1978, and captaining Germany to victory at UEFA Euro 1980 while still at Duisburg.

Duisburg finished 9th in 1976–77, their first top-half finish since 1970–71, and then 6th in the 1977–78 Bundesliga, qualifying for the 1978–79 UEFA Cup. The club eliminated Lech Poznań, Carl Zeiss Jena, RC Strasbourg and Budapest Honvéd to reach the semi-final, where they were beaten by Borussia Mönchengladbach. Despite their success in Europe, Duisburg only narrowly avoided relegation, having been in the relegation zone during the winter break. In the 1981–82 season, the club was relegated from the Bundesliga for the first time, finishing last.

Four years later, Duisburg were relegated again, finishing last in the 2. Bundesliga with only 15 points from 38 games. For their final game, they managed a crowd of just 600 fans. The club spent three years in the third-tier Oberliga Nordrhein, before returning to the 2. Bundesliga in 1989. During their time in the regional leagues, Duisburg also won the German amateur championship by beating Bayern Munich II.

Between the Bundesliga & 2. Bundesliga (1990s, 2000s)

In their second season back in the second-tier, Duisburg finished runner up to Schalke 04, returning to the Bundesliga for the first time in nearly a decade. However, they would immediately be relegated back and would develop a reputation for 'yo-yoing' between the top two leagues. In 1993, with former player Ewald Lienen as coach, they again won promotion from the 2. Bundesliga. Lienen's Duisburg led the Bundesliga as late as February as a newly promoted team, becoming the first team to ever top the table with a negative goal difference; they eventually finished 9th, and were relegated again the following season.

Friedhelm Funkel brought the club back into the Bundesliga in 1996 and achieved three successive top-half finishes, also reaching the 1998 DFB-Pokal final. As in 1966, Duisburg lost to Bayern Munich. Duisburg qualified for the 1998–99 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, but were heavily beaten by K.R.C. Genk, in the club's final European appearance to date. In March 2000, with his team bottom of the table, Friedhelm Funkel was sacked; the club was relegated at the end of the season.

The new 31,500-capacity MSV-Arena, was completed during the 2004–05 season, in which Duisburg once again won promotion after five years in the 2. Bundesliga. In December 2005, promotion-winning coach Norbert Meier was infamously sacked after 'one of the most bizarre incidents in Bundesliga history,' where he headbutted 1. FC Köln player Albert Streit during a game and pretended to have himself been attacked.

Duisburg finished last in the 2005–06 Bundesliga, won promotion back in 2006–07, and then finished last again in 2007–08.

Financial troubles (2010s, 2020s)

MSV Duisburg Anniversary logo used in the 2022–23 season

In 2011, MSV Duisburg surprisingly reached their fourth DFB-Pokal Final. Schalke won the match 5–0, the joint-biggest winning margin in a DFB-Pokal final.

After five years in the 2. Bundesliga, Duisburg were demoted to the 3. Liga in 2013 despite finishing 11th, after having their license application denied by the league for financial reasons. The possibility of the club becoming insolvent was raised by club officials.

Duisburg earned promotion back to the 2. Bundesliga for the 2015–16 season, but lasted only one season, losing to Würzburger Kickers in the relegation playoff; there were again concerns over whether the club would be granted a license. Duisburg won the 3. Liga for the first time in 2016–17 and finished in the top half of the 2. Bundesliga in 2017–18. The following year they were relegated back to the 3. Liga.

The club was reportedly under threat of insolvency again in 2022.

For the first time in the club's history, MSV Duisburg will play in the fourth tier of German professional football, Regionalliga West, starting with the 2024–25 season.

Recent seasons

Key

Honours

League

• Bundesliga
  • Runners-up: 1963–64
• 2. Oberliga West (II): 1950–51
• 3. Liga (III): 2016–17
• Oberliga Nordrhein (III): 1987–88, 1988–89

Cup

• DFB-Pokal
  • Finalists: 1965–66, 1974–75, 1997–98, 2010–11

International

• Intertoto Cup: 1974, 1977, 1978

Regional

• Bezirksliga Niederrhein (I): 1928–29, 1930–31, 1931–32
• Lower Rhine Cup (Tiers III–below): 1988–89, 2013–14, 2016–17

Amateur/Youth teams

• German amateur championship (III): 1986–87
• German Under 19 championship: 1971–72, 1976–77, 1977–78

Current squad

No. Position Player 1 GK Maximilian Braune 2 DF Moritz Montag 5 DF Tobias Fleckstein 6 DF Franko Uzelac 7 MF Jakob Bookjans 8 MF Jonas Michelbrink 9 FW Malek Fakhro 11 FW Jihad Boutakhrit 13 FW Gerrit Wegkamp 14 FW Luis Hartwig 17 DF Mert Göckan 18 FW Steffen Meuer

No. Position Player 19 MF Leon Müller 20 FW Kilian Pagliuca 21 FW Jannik Zahmel 22 GK Kevin Kunz 23 MF Jan-Simon Symalla 27 DF Can Coşkun 28 MF Florian Egerer 29 DF Joshua Bitter 32 DF Batuhan Yavuz 33 MF Jesse Tugbenyo 37 MF Patrick Sussek 42 DF Alexander Hahn (captain)

Manager history

Women's section

Club culture

The club mascot is a Zebra, coming from the club nickname 'die Zebras' – it is named 'Ennatz', after the nickname for club legend Bernard Dietz.

As of 2022^[update] the club has 8,638 members.

See also

In Spanish: MSV Duisburgo para niños