SpVgg Greuther Fürth facts for kids
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| Full name | Spielvereinigung Greuther Fürth e. V. | ||
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| Nickname(s) | Kleeblätter (Cloverleaves) | ||
| Founded | 23 September 1903 as SpVgg Fürth | ||
| Ground | Sportpark Ronhof | ||
| Capacity | 16,626 | ||
| President | Fred Höfler | ||
| Head coach | Jan Siewert | ||
| League | Bundesliga | ||
| 2020–21 | 2. Bundesliga, 2nd of 18 (promoted) | ||
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Spielvereinigung Greuther Fürth, often called Greuther Fürth, is a German football club. It is based in the city of Fürth, in Bavaria. The team currently plays in the 2. Bundesliga, which is the second-highest football league in Germany. They were in the top league, the Bundesliga, during the 2021–22 season, but then moved back down.
The club started in 1903. Its most successful time was before the Bundesliga was created, in the 1910s and 1920s. During this period, Greuther Fürth won the German championship three times: in 1914, 1926, and 1929. They also finished second in 1920. In the 2012–13 season, the club played in the Bundesliga for the first time. They were promoted from the 2. Bundesliga but were relegated again after that season. On 23 May 2021, they were promoted to the Bundesliga for the second time. After finishing 18th in the 2021–22 season, they were relegated back to the 2. Bundesliga.
Contents
Club History: How Greuther Fürth Started
The Early Days of SpVgg Fürth
The club started on 23 September 1903. It was first a football part of a gymnastics club called Turnverein 1860 Fürth. In November 1906, the football players decided to form their own club. They became independent because they didn't get enough support from the gymnastics club.
The team played in the Ostkreisliga. They won their division in 1912, 1913, and 1914. This allowed them to compete in bigger regional playoffs. From the very beginning, there was a big rivalry between SpVgg Fürth and 1. FC Nürnberg. This was because the two cities are close neighbors. The club grew very fast. By 1914, it had 3,000 members, making it the largest sports club in Germany. In 1910, the club built its own stadium, Sportpark Ronhof. At that time, it was the biggest stadium in Germany.
Winning National Championships
Fürth won its first national title in 1914. This was the 1914 German football championship. Their coach was William Townley from England. They played against VfB Leipzig in the final on 31 May in Magdeburg. Leipzig was the defending champion. The game was very long, lasting 154 minutes. It was one of the longest games in German football history. Fürth scored a golden goal to win the championship.
The team continued to be successful in the 1920s and early 1930s. In 1920, they played in the national final against 1. FC Nürnberg. Nürnberg was a very strong team then. The rivalry between the two clubs was so strong that one of Fürth's star players had to leave the team. This happened after he married a woman from Nuremberg. In 1924, for the only time ever, the German national team had players only from Fürth and 1. FC Nürnberg. The players from the two teams even slept in separate train cars!
SpVgg Fürth often played in national competitions. They reached the semi-finals in 1923 and 1931. They won two more championships in 1926 and 1929. Both times, they beat Hertha BSC in the final. During this time, the club played in five Süddeutscher Pokal (South German Cup) finals. They won the cup four times. In 1929, another club, FC Schneidig Fürth, joined them.
In 1933, German football was changed. It was divided into 16 top leagues called Gauligen. Fürth joined the Gauliga Bayern. However, they did not have as much success in the next 12 seasons. They won one division title there in 1935. They also played regularly in the Tschammerpokal, which is now known as the DFB-Pokal (German Cup).
After the War
After World War II, the team had some difficulties. They played three seasons in the Oberliga Süd (the top league at the time). Then they dropped to the Landesliga Bayern (the second league). But SpVgg quickly improved and returned to the Oberliga the next season. They won the Oberliga title in 1950. They went on to the national playoffs but lost 1–4 to VfB Stuttgart in the semi-finals. In 1954, two players from SpVgg, Karl Mai and Herbert Erhardt, were part of the German team that won their first World Cup. This was known as the "Miracle of Bern".
Fürth stayed in the first division until 1963. That year, the Bundesliga was formed. Fürth did not qualify as one of the 16 teams for the new top league. So, they played in the second division, the Regionalliga Süd. They usually finished in the middle of the table. Their best finish was third place in 1967. The club played in the 2. Bundesliga from 1974 until 1983. Their best result was fourth place in 1978–79. They then dropped to the third-tier Bayernliga. They even spent three years in the fourth-tier Landesliga Bayern-Mitte in the late 1980s. Around this time, the club started having big money problems. In 1990, Fürth won 3–1 against Borussia Dortmund in the DFB-Pokal. This was a big win against a first-division team. They then lost 0–1 to 1. FC Saarbrücken in the next round. They returned to the Bayernliga (third tier) in 1991 and the Regionalliga Süd (third tier) in 1994.
The club's money problems continued to grow. They had to sell their stadium to a local businessman named Conny Brandstätter. To solve their financial issues, the president of SpVgg, Edgar Burkhart, made a deal. He arranged for Helmut Hack, the president of TSV Vestenbergsgreuth, to join SpVgg. The name of the club was changed to SpVgg Greuther Fürth, which is still used today. This merger helped SpVgg get back on track financially and improve their performance on the field. TSV also benefited by being part of a bigger club in Fürth.
TSV Vestenbergsgreuth: A Brief History
TSV Vestenbergsgreuth was a small village team. It was formed on 1 February 1974. They started as a fourth-division team. In 1987, they moved up to the Amateur Oberliga Bayern (third tier). This was just as SpVgg Fürth was moving down to that same division. TSV played in the national amateur playoffs in 1988 and 1995. Their most famous moment was in the 1995 DFB-Pokal. They surprisingly beat Bayern Munich 1–0. Then they beat FC 08 Homburg 5–1. They were finally knocked out in the third round by VfL Wolfsburg after a penalty shootout.
SpVgg Greuther Fürth: The Modern Era
When Vestenbergsgreuth's football team joined Fürth in 1996, both clubs were playing at a similar level in the Regionalliga Süd (third tier). The next year, SpVgg finished second in their division, just behind their old rival 1. FC Nürnberg. This meant they were promoted back to the 2. Bundesliga after 18 years. It was their first time in the second tier since 1979.
At this time, the Sportpark Ronhof stadium, then called Playmobil Arena, was updated. New stands were built on three sides of the field. A covered seating stand was built opposite the main stand. There was an uncovered standing area in the north and a mixed standing and seating area in the south. For the first time ever, floodlights were installed at the Ronhof. With the improved stadium and smart player transfers, the team often finished in the top half of the 2. Bundesliga table in the 2000s. This was impressive because they often had one of the smallest budgets.
On 1 July 2003, the club also merged with Tuspo Fürth. In 2008, the stadium was improved again. The standing area in the north got a roof, and a VIP building was added. The old main stand was the only part of the stadium that hadn't been updated. Around this time, Fürth came close to playing against Nürnberg in the Bundesliga. They just missed promotion in the first two seasons of the 2010s.
On 23 April 2012, Fürth finally earned promotion to the Bundesliga. They won the 2. Bundesliga title in the 2011–12 season under coach Mike Büskens. With this promotion, the south stand, built in 1998, was taken down. A new one was built, increasing the stadium's capacity from 14,500 to 18,000. The new south stand also got a roof.
However, Fürth had a tough first season in the Bundesliga. They only won four games out of 34. One of those wins was a 1–0 victory against their rivals 1. FC Nürnberg, which made their fans happy even though the team was relegated. The club also set a record: they were the first club in Bundesliga history not to win a single home game during the season. They finished last with 21 points and were relegated back to the 2. Bundesliga.
The next season, even though they weren't trying to get promoted, the club played very well. They finished third in the standings, which meant they played in the promotion play-offs against Hamburger SV. After a 0–0 draw in Hamburg, they missed out on promotion because the return game ended 1–1. Hamburger SV went up on the away goal rule. In the seasons after that, they struggled to be as strong as before their Bundesliga promotion. They almost got relegated to the 3. Liga in the 2014–15 season. They only stayed in the league with a close win against SV Darmstadt 98 on matchday 33.
In the same season, on matchday 2, they had a memorable 5–1 home victory in the Frankenderby. This was their biggest home win ever in a derby. In the next two years, the team finished in the middle of the table. They weren't worried about relegation, but they also weren't close to promotion. During this time, FCN (Nürnberg) was relegated in 2014. Since then, both rivals have played each other every year. In the 2016–17 season, the Kleeblatt won both derby games for the first time since the 1970s. They also finished above Nuremberg for the first time since the 1950s. In early 2016, the main stand, built in 1950, was taken down. Construction of a new main stand began. Before the 2017–18 season, the new main stand was finished. On 17 September 2017, with a 3–1 win over Fortuna Düsseldorf, the club became the leader of the all-time league table of the 2. Bundesliga.
By finishing second in the 2020–21 season, Greuther Fürth was promoted to the Bundesliga for the second time. Under coach Stefan Leitl, the team secured promotion on the last day of the season with a 3–2 win against Fortuna Düsseldorf.
Club Rivals
The biggest rival for Fürth is 1. FC Nürnberg. This rivalry goes back to the very beginning of German football. At times, these two clubs were the best in the country. Matches between them are called the "Frankenderby". Other minor rivals include Bayern Munich. Both teams played against each other in the 2012–13 Bundesliga season and the 2014–15 2. Bundesliga season.
Club Achievements
League Titles
- German Championship
- Champions: 1914, 1926, 1929
- 2. Bundesliga
- Champions: 2011–12
- Landesliga Bayern-Mitte (Fourth Tier)
- Champions: 1990–91
Cup Wins
- German Indoor Cup
- Winner: 2000
Regional Titles
- Southern German Championship
- Champions: 1914, 1923, 1931
- Ostkreis-Liga (First Tier)
- Champions: 1912, 1913, 1914, 1917
- Kreisliga Nordbayern (First Tier)
- Champions: 1922, 1923
- Bezirksliga Nordbayern (First Tier)
- Champions: 1927–28, 1929–30, 1930–31
- Gauliga Bayern (First Tier)
- Champions: 1934–35
- Oberliga Süd (First Tier)
- Champions: 1949–50
- Southern German Cup
- Winner: 1918, 1923, 1925, 1926, 1927 (a record five times!)
- Mittelfranken Cup (Tiers III-VII)
- Winner: 1990, 1991, 1996, 1997
Youth Team Success
- Bavarian Under 19 Championship
- Champions: 2003
- Bavarian Under 17 Championship
- Champions: 2001, 2008
- Bavarian Under 15 Championship
- Champions: 2004
Current Players
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Famous Players and Coaches
Notable Former Players
- Karl Mai: Played 21 games for Germany and was part of the 1954 World Cup winning team.
- Herbert Erhardt: Played 50 games for Germany and was in the 1954, 1958, and 1962 World Cups.
- Julius Hirsch: Played 7 games for Germany and was in the 1912 Summer Olympics. He was sadly killed during the Holocaust.
- Heiko Westermann: A German international player.
- Roberto Hilbert: A German international player.
- Rachid Azzouzi: Played for Morocco in the 1994 and 1998 World Cups.
- Gerald Asamoah: A German international player.
- Nicolai Müller: A German international player.
- Abdul Rahman Baba: A Ghana international player.
- Stephan Schröck: Captain of the Philippines national team.
Famous Coaches
- William Townley: Coached SpVgg Fürth three times (1911–1913, 1926–1927, and 1930–1932). He led the club to two championships.
A Famous Fan: Henry Kissinger
In September 2012, Henry Kissinger, who used to be the United States Secretary of State, came to watch a SpVgg match. His family had left Germany in 1938. He had promised to attend a game at the Ronhof stadium if the team got promoted to the top Bundesliga. As a child, Kissinger had tried to watch games there, even though his parents didn't want him to. Kissinger was an honorary member of SpVgg. For many years, he kept up with the team's results and stayed in touch with the club. When he worked in the White House in the 1970s, he reportedly asked his staff to have the team's weekend score ready for him on Monday mornings. He visited his hometown and the club several times. He attended a Bundesliga match in 2012 during the team's first season in the top league.
Images for kids
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Historical logos of Greuther Fürth
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Historical chart of Greuther Fürth and predecessors' performance
See also
In Spanish: Spielvereinigung Greuther Fürth para niños
