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; 123 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

MSV Duisburg is a German football club from the city of Duisburg. People often call them Die Zebras because of their cool striped jerseys. The club was one of the first teams in the top German league, the Bundesliga, back in 1963. Today, they play in the fourth division of German football.

History of MSV Duisburg Football Club

How the Club Started

The club began in 1902 as Meidericher Spielverein. It represented the city of Meiderich, which became part of Duisburg in 1905. In 1905, they joined with another club called Sport Club Viktoria Meiderich. In 1967, the club changed its name to MSV Duisburg. This showed its important role as the city's main football team.

MSV Duisburg has always been a strong team. Early on, they won many local championships. They even had two amazing seasons (1913–14) where they didn't lose any games. They scored 113 goals and only let in 12! In 1929, they won their first Niederrhein championship. This let them play in the national championship for the first time. They did this again in 1931.

After a tough period, the club started to get strong again in the 1950s. After World War II, they became city champions in 1946. In 1951, Duisburg moved up to the top league called Oberliga West. This was the toughest football division in Germany then. Duisburg played in this top league until the Bundesliga was formed.

Joining the Bundesliga in the 1960s

The club was chosen to be one of the first teams in the new national league, the Bundesliga. This happened for the first season in 1963–64. It was a surprise because Duisburg wasn't a huge club or from a very big city. They were picked because they were the strongest team from the Lower Rhine region.

For their first Bundesliga season, the club hired a young coach named Rudi Gutendorf. He brought in World Cup winner Helmut Rahn. Gutendorf created a special way of playing where all players helped in attack and defense. His team shocked everyone by finishing second in the league. They were only six points behind the champions, 1. FC Köln. They also let in the fewest goals in the league. This is still the club's best league finish ever.

In 1966, they scored a club record of 70 goals in the league. They also had their biggest away win ever, beating Tasmania Berlin 9–0. They reached the DFB-Pokal final that year but lost to Bayern Munich. This was the last season they played as Meidericher SV. In 1967, they officially became MSV Duisburg.

European Games and Changes (1970s, 1980s)

In 1976, MSV Duisburg reached the DFB-Pokal final again. They lost to Eintracht Frankfurt. After this, they played in the UEFA Cup for the first time. They were knocked out in the second round. This season was also special because of their captain, Bernard Dietz. He played every minute of the league season and was seen as one of the best players. Dietz was even named Germany's best outfield player in 1978. He also captained the German national team to win UEFA Euro 1980 while still playing for Duisburg.

Duisburg finished 9th in 1976–77 and then 6th in 1977–78. This allowed them to play in the 1978–79 UEFA Cup. They beat teams like Lech Poznań and RC Strasbourg. They made it all the way to the semi-finals, where Borussia Mönchengladbach beat them. Even with this European success, Duisburg almost got sent down to a lower league that year. In the 1981–82 season, the club was relegated from the Bundesliga for the first time.

Four years later, Duisburg was relegated again. They finished last in the 2. Bundesliga. The club then spent three years in the third division, Oberliga Nordrhein. They returned to the 2. Bundesliga in 1989. During their time in the lower leagues, Duisburg also won the German amateur championship.

Moving Between Leagues (1990s, 2000s)

In their second season back in the second division, Duisburg finished second to Schalke 04. This meant they were promoted back to the Bundesliga after almost ten years. However, they were immediately relegated again. The club became known for moving up and down between the top two leagues. In 1993, with former player Ewald Lienen as coach, they were promoted again from the 2. Bundesliga. Lienen's team even led the Bundesliga for a while as a newly promoted team. They finished 9th but were relegated again the next season.

Friedhelm Funkel brought the club back to the Bundesliga in 1996. They finished in the top half of the league for three seasons in a row. They also reached the 1998 DFB-Pokal final but lost to Bayern Munich. Duisburg played in the 1998–99 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup but lost to K.R.C. Genk. This was the club's last time playing in a European competition. In March 2000, Friedhelm Funkel was let go, and the club was relegated at the end of the season.

The new MSV-Arena stadium, which holds 31,500 fans, was finished during the 2004–05 season. In this season, Duisburg was promoted again after five years in the 2. Bundesliga. Duisburg finished last in the 2005–06 Bundesliga. They won promotion back in 2006–07 but finished last again in 2007–08.

Recent Years (2010s, 2020s)

In 2011, MSV Duisburg surprisingly reached their fourth DFB-Pokal Final. Schalke won the match 5–0.

After five years in the 2. Bundesliga, Duisburg was moved down to the 3. Liga in 2013. This happened even though they finished 11th. The league did not give them a license to play because of money problems.

Duisburg earned promotion back to the 2. Bundesliga for the 2015–16 season. But they only stayed for one season, losing in a playoff. Duisburg won the 3. Liga for the first time in 2016–17. They finished in the top half of the 2. Bundesliga in 2017–18. The next year, they were relegated back to the 3. Liga.

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

Recent Seasons Overview

Key

Club Achievements and 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's mascot is a Zebra. It is named 'Ennatz', after the famous club legend Bernard Dietz.

As of 2022, the club has 8,638 members who support it.

Images for kids

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  A chart showing MSV Duisburg's league performance over time.

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  A picture of club legend Bernard Dietz in 1985.

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  An older logo of MSV Duisburg.

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  The special MSV Duisburg Anniversary logo used in the 2022–23 season.

See also

In Spanish: MSV Duisburgo para niños