VfL Osnabrück facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
VfL Osnabrück

Full name	Verein für Leibesübungen von 1899 e.V. Osnabrück
Nickname(s)	die Lila-Weißen (The Purple-Whites)
Founded	1899; 126 years ago (1899)
Ground	Stadion an der Bremer Brücke
Ground Capacity	15,741
Chairman	Holger Elixmann
Head coach	Pit Reimers
League	3. Liga
2020–21	2. Bundesliga, 16th of 18 (relegated)
Home colours Away colours Third colours

VfL Osnabrück is a German sports club from the city of Osnabrück. It's located in the region of Lower Saxony. This club has teams for basketball, gymnastics, swimming, table tennis, and tennis. However, it is most famous for its football (soccer) team.

The football team currently plays in the 3. Liga, which is the third highest football league in Germany. They were recently relegated from the 2023-24 2. Bundesliga season. The team's coach is Pit Reimers, and their captain is Timo Beermann.

VfL Osnabrück holds a special record: they have played more seasons in the 2. Bundesliga than any other team without ever reaching the top league, the Bundesliga. They are also ranked 10th in the 2. Bundesliga's all-time (history) table.

Club History: How VfL Osnabrück Started

Early Days and Mergers (Before World War II)

The club began on April 17, 1899. Three small football clubs called Antipodia, Germania, and Minerva joined together. They formed a new club named Fußball Club 1899 Osnabrück. Later, in 1920, this group merged with Osnabrücker Ballverein 05. They then played as BV 1899 Osnabrück.

Osnabrücker BV 05 was formed in 1905. It was a merger of two other clubs: Fußball Club Edelweiß 1902 Osnabrück and Fußball Club Alemannia Osnabrück. This team even reached the quarterfinals of a big regional competition in 1910.

The club we know today, Verein für Leibesübungen Osnabrück (VfL Osnabrück), was created in 1924. This happened when BV 1899 Osnabrück joined with Spiel- und Sport Osnabrück. Before 1921, Spiel- und Sport Osnabrück was the football part of a gymnastics club.

VfL was officially registered on March 8, 1925. However, some members soon left to start their own team, Sportclub Rapid Osnabrück. This new club was named after the famous Rapid Vienna team. Thirteen years later, in 1938, Rapid Osnabrück rejoined VfL. When they came back, the club adopted the light-purple colors that the Rapid players wore.

After 1933, German football leagues were reorganized. Osnabrück played in the second division. They were promoted to the top league, the Gauliga Niedersachsen, in 1935. They went down after one season but returned in 1937. They won the division title in the 1938–39 season. The Gauliga Niedersachsen was then split into two parts. VfL won the Niedersachsen-Nord title in the next two seasons. They won the overall division title in 1940. Their wins in 1939 and 1940 allowed VfL to play in the national championship.

After World War II

Historical chart of Osnabrück league performance

After World War II, the club played as 1. FSV Osnabrück. But they soon went back to their original name, VfL Osnabrück, in 1946. The team played in the Oberliga Nord, which was a top league. They performed well, ranking fourth in the league's history. Only famous clubs like Hamburger SV, Werder Bremen, and FC St. Pauli were ahead of them.

The Golden Years

In 1963, the Bundesliga was created as Germany's new national professional league. VfL Osnabrück did not qualify for it. Instead, they played in the second division, the Regionalliga Nord. VfL never made it to the Bundesliga. However, they had a lot of success in the early years of the Bundesliga era.

VfL won the Regionalliga Nord three times in a row: in 1969, 1970, and 1971. They also finished as runners-up in 1972 and 1973. This meant they played in the 'Aufstiegsrunde' five times in a row. This was a playoff where the best teams from each Regionalliga competed for a spot in the Bundesliga. In 1969, they finished second in this playoff. This was the closest they ever came to joining the Bundesliga.

During this time, VfL Osnabrück also had very successful teams in basketball and table tennis. Their basketball team even became German champions in 1969.

Becoming 2. Bundesliga Regulars

In 1974, a new national second division was introduced. It was split into two groups: North and South. Osnabrück played in the new 2. Bundesliga Nord. However, they couldn't repeat their earlier successes. In 1978–79, Osnabrück achieved one of their most famous wins. They beat Bayern Munich 5–4 in the DFB-Pokal (German Cup) at the Olympiastadion. Andreas Wagner scored three goals in that game.

The 2. Bundesliga became a single national league in 1981. Osnabrück qualified for the first season of this new league in 1981–82. Except for one season in the third tier, the Oberliga Nord (which they won), the club spent the entire 1980s in the second division. Their best result in this league was finishing sixth in 1986–87.

In 1992–93, after Germany reunited, the 2. Bundesliga became a single league. Osnabrück was finally relegated to the Oberliga Nord. After one season there, the leagues were reorganized again. Osnabrück finished second in the new Regionalliga Nord. This didn't mean promotion, but it allowed VfL to compete for the German amateur football championship, which they won in 1995.

The 21st Century

Crest from 1995 to 2017

After several years in the Regionalliga Nord, Osnabrück was finally promoted back to the 2. Bundesliga in June 2000. They had won the Regionalliga Nord for the second year in a row. Osnabrück then played against Union Berlin in a promotion playoff. They won on penalties, thanks to their goalkeeper Uwe Brunn. He saved three penalties and scored the winning one! However, the club was immediately relegated back to the third tier.

The club won promotion again in 2002–03. But their coach, Jürgen Gelsdorf, surprisingly left after promotion. The club then finished last in the 2. Bundesliga in 2003–04.

Claus-Dieter Wollitz, who had two spells as coach

After returning to the Regionalliga Nord, former player Claus-Dieter Wollitz became coach. In his third season, 2006–07, Osnabrück secured promotion by taking second place on the final day. Wollitz helped the team stay safe in the 2007–08 season. A win over Kickers Offenbach on the last day sent Offenbach down and put Osnabrück in 12th place. This was their highest finish since 1988. This game was also the last for Joe Enochs, who played more games for Osnabrück than any other player.

The next season, the club was relegated in a difficult situation. After losing a relegation playoff, it was found that a defender was involved in a match-fixing scandal. Without this, the club might have stayed in the league. Wollitz left and Karsten Baumann took over. Under Baumann, Osnabrück had a very successful 2009–10 season. They won the new 3. Liga and reached the DFB-Pokal quarterfinals. They beat big teams like Hamburger SV and Borussia Dortmund. However, the club was relegated straight back down to the third tier in 2010–11. They lost a relegation playoff to Dynamo Dresden. During these years, the club became known as a 'Fahrstuhlmannschaft', which means a "yo-yo club" (a team that often moves between leagues).

This relegation started a period of eight seasons in the 3. Liga. Claus-Dieter Wollitz returned in 2012. He left the team with one game left in the 2012–13 season. Osnabrück still finished third, which qualified them for the promotion playoff. But they lost to Dynamo Dresden again.

After some financial difficulties and not much success, the club brought back its traditional logo in 2017. The stadium's name also changed back to the traditional Bremer Brücke. The 2017–18 season was tough, and VfL almost got relegated to the fourth tier. They finished 17th in the 3. Liga. Former player Daniel Thioune became coach during that season.

Fans in the Bremer Brücke celebrate promotion in 2019

In his first full season as coach, Thioune led Osnabrück to win the 3. Liga title. They won promotion on the day the club celebrated its 120th anniversary! Back in the 2. Bundesliga, Osnabrück did well for most of the season. They even beat big clubs like Hamburger SV and VfB Stuttgart. They finished 13th.

Thioune left at the end of that season. In the 2020–21 season, the club had two coaches, Marco Grote and Markus Feldhoff. This season was played mostly without fans because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Under Feldhoff, Osnabrück again finished in the relegation playoff spot. They lost to FC Ingolstadt and returned to the 3. Liga.

Club Achievements and Trophies

• Gauliga Niedersachsen (Top league in its time)
  • Champions: 1939, 1940
• Regionalliga Nord (Second league)
  • Champions: 1969, 1970, 1971
  • Runners-up: 1972, 1973
• Oberliga Nord (Third league)
  • Champions: 1985
• Regionalliga Nord (Third league)
  • Champions: 1999, 2000
  • Runners-up: 1995, 2003
• 3. Liga (Third league)
  • Champions: 2009–10, 2018–19
• German amateur championship
  • Champions: 1995
• Lower Saxony Cup (Regional Cup)
  • Winners: 2005, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2023

Meet the Players: Current Squad

No. Position Player 1 GK David Richter 3 DF Bastien Conus 4 DF Maxwell Gyamfi (vice-captain) 5 DF Bashkim Ajdini 6 MF Kofi Amoako (on loan from VfL Wolfsburg) 7 FW Ba-Muaka Simakala 8 MF Robert Tesche 9 FW Erik Engelhardt 10 MF Jannes Wulff 11 FW Joël Zwarts 14 FW Liridon Mulaj 15 FW Brian Beyer 17 DF Lion Semić 18 FW Lars Kehl

No. Position Player 19 FW Marcus Müller 21 GK Lukas Jonsson 23 MF Aday Ercan 25 DF Niklas Wiemann 26 MF Dave Gnaase 29 MF Niklas Niehoff (on loan from Holstein Kiel) 30 MF Emeka Oduah 33 DF Timo Beermann (captain) 34 DF Felix Langhammer 35 GK Mats Remberg 36 GK Luca Böggemann 38 FW Kevin Wiethaup 39 DF Yiğit Karademir 48 MF Bryang Kayo (on loan from FC Ingolstadt)

Players on Loan

These players are still part of VfL Osnabrück but are playing for other teams for a while.

No. Position Player DF Florian Bähr (at 1860 Munich until 30 June 2026) FW Ismail Badjie (at SC Wiedenbrück until 30 June 2025)

No. Position Player FW Bernd Riesselmann (at Blau-Weiß Lohne until 30 June 2025)

Home Ground: Stadion an der Bremer Brücke

The Bremer Brücke during a DFB-Pokal win over Hamburger SV in 2017

The club plays its home games at the Stadion an der Bremer Brücke. Most people just call it the Bremer Brücke. This stadium has had a few different names over the years. But in 2017, it went back to its traditional name.

The stadium was built in 1931 by a club called Rapid Osnabrück. This club later rejoined VfL. The Bremer Brücke has been VfL Osnabrück's home field ever since. It used to hold over 30,000 fans, but now it holds just over 16,000.

Some people have suggested building a new stadium because the current one has some limits. However, the Bremer Brücke is very popular with fans. It was even voted the most exciting stadium in the 3. Liga in an online poll!

Club Identity: Colors and Fans

The official club colors are purple and white. Because of this, the team is often called die Lila-Weißen, which means "The Purple-Whites". Their home uniforms are usually mostly purple.

When the club celebrated its 120th birthday in 2019, they wore a special black uniform. This was inspired by the club's original colors. In the 2019–20 season, their home shirt was purple and black. This combined the old colors with their usual purple.

The club has spoken out against racism. In 2018, they wore a special uniform with a message against far-right groups. In 2022, they wore another special uniform that said "Build Bridges!".

The Felix-Löwenstein-Weg

The "VfL Bündnis" (VfL Alliance) is a group that includes the VfL Museum, fan groups, and the club's fan department. In 2019, the DFB recognized this alliance. They received an award for their work remembering Felix Löwenstein. He was a Jewish member and supporter of the club who was killed by the Nazi regime in 1945. The VfL Museum also helped get a road next to the stadium renamed to the Felix-Löwenstein-Weg. This happened as part of the club's 120th anniversary.

VfL Osnabrück's main rivals are SC Preußen Münster.

Who Has Coached VfL Osnabrück?

How VfL Osnabrück Has Performed Recently

This table shows how the club has done in recent seasons:

2. Bundesliga

Key

See also

In Spanish: VfL Osnabrück para niños