Spandauer SV
Encyclopedia
Spandauer SV is a German association football club
that plays in Berlin.
The team was promoted to the Verbandsliga Berlin-Brandenburg in 1921 where they earned a string of third and fourth place finishes. Their best result was a distant second place behind Hertha BSC in 1928.
German football was re-organized under the Third Reich in 1933 into sixteen top flight Gauligen. SSV joined the Gauliga Berlin-Brandenburg
and played there until relegated in 1936. They returned briefly in 1939 only to be immediately relegated again. In 1944, towards the end of World War II, Spandauer and SC Minerva Berlin were melded into the wartime side KSG Minerva/SSG Berlin to play a final war-shortened season.
By the end of 1949 the team took on its current name Spandauer Sport-Verein 1894 e.V. They were relegated for a season, but managed a return to the top flight the next year. Spandau consistently finished in the upper half of the league table, but were unable to do better than second place finishes in 1953 and 1959. SSV captured three consecutive Berlin Cups in 1954–1956 and advanced as far as the quarter final round of the 1957 German Cup where they were put out 1:4 by Bayern Munich.
, formed in 1963, was city Oberliga champion Hertha BSC. Spandau continued play in what was now the second tier Regionalliga Berlin (or Stadtliga Berlin).
The club had a minor role in the debacle of SC Tasmania 1900 Berlin's promotion to the top-flight Bundesliga after Hertha was demoted for breaking the league's player salary rules. The politics of the Cold War
era led to a space being held open for a Berlin side in the top league to replace Hertha in a show of solidarity with the former capital city. Spandau – coming off a second place finish – refused an offer to advance, leaving the way open to Tasmania, which went on to the worst season in Bundesliga history.
. Instead of playing against other city teams in the weak Regionalliga Berlin they were pitted against stronger competition from across the north of the country and they went on to suffer through a season as disastrous as Tasmanias turn in the Bundesliga.
Spandau finished dead last, never once rising from the bottom position, with a record of 2 wins, 4 draws, and 32 losses. They did not earn their first point until a 15th round 1:1 draw with SG Wattenscheid 09
. Their first victory did not come until their 23rd round match against Bayer 04 Leverkusen. By season's end they had been outscored 33:115.
The club returned to tier III football in the amateur city league where they would play for the next 23 seasons. Financial problems in 1999 led to the club's license being revoked and relegation to the Verbandsliga Berlin (V), from where the club was promoted back to the Oberliga in 2007.
Football in Germany
Association football is the most popular sport in Germany. The German Football Association is the sport's national governing body, with 6.6 million members organized in over 26,000 football clubs. There is a league system, with the 1. and 2. Bundesliga on top, and the winner of the first...
that plays in Berlin.
Early years
The capital city was one of the earliest centres of German football and was home to 1. Spandauer Fußballklub Triton, formed on 24 May 1894, and Sportclub Germania Spandau, formed on 15 October 1895. These two sides merged late in 1920 to form Spandauer Sport-Vereinigung 94/95 e.V., the predecessor of today's club.The team was promoted to the Verbandsliga Berlin-Brandenburg in 1921 where they earned a string of third and fourth place finishes. Their best result was a distant second place behind Hertha BSC in 1928.
German football was re-organized under the Third Reich in 1933 into sixteen top flight Gauligen. SSV joined the Gauliga Berlin-Brandenburg
Gauliga Berlin-Brandenburg
The Gauliga Berlin-Brandenburg was the highest football league in the provinces of Brandenburg and Berlin in the German state of Prussia from 1933 to 1945...
and played there until relegated in 1936. They returned briefly in 1939 only to be immediately relegated again. In 1944, towards the end of World War II, Spandauer and SC Minerva Berlin were melded into the wartime side KSG Minerva/SSG Berlin to play a final war-shortened season.
Postwar play
After the conflict the club was dissolved, like most other organizations in Germany, including sports and football associations. It was re-constituted in 1945 as SG Spandau-Altstadt and played in the city's first postwar league. The first division Oberliga Berlin was formed a year later and the club played there as SG Spandau-Altstadt beginning in 1947.By the end of 1949 the team took on its current name Spandauer Sport-Verein 1894 e.V. They were relegated for a season, but managed a return to the top flight the next year. Spandau consistently finished in the upper half of the league table, but were unable to do better than second place finishes in 1953 and 1959. SSV captured three consecutive Berlin Cups in 1954–1956 and advanced as far as the quarter final round of the 1957 German Cup where they were put out 1:4 by Bayern Munich.
Spandau refuses the Bundesliga
Berlin's representative in Germany's new profession football league, the BundesligaFußball-Bundesliga
The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
, formed in 1963, was city Oberliga champion Hertha BSC. Spandau continued play in what was now the second tier Regionalliga Berlin (or Stadtliga Berlin).
The club had a minor role in the debacle of SC Tasmania 1900 Berlin's promotion to the top-flight Bundesliga after Hertha was demoted for breaking the league's player salary rules. The politics of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
era led to a space being held open for a Berlin side in the top league to replace Hertha in a show of solidarity with the former capital city. Spandau – coming off a second place finish – refused an offer to advance, leaving the way open to Tasmania, which went on to the worst season in Bundesliga history.
A dramatic decline
Spandau continued to play as a tier II side in the Regionalliga Berlin until slipping to the Amateurliga Berlin for the 1974–75 season. When they returned to second level play the following year they found themselves in the newly established 2. Bundesliga Nord2. Fußball-Bundesliga
- Changes in division set-up :* Number of clubs: currently 18. From 1974 to 1981 there were two conferences, each of 20 teams. In 1981–91 it had 20...
. Instead of playing against other city teams in the weak Regionalliga Berlin they were pitted against stronger competition from across the north of the country and they went on to suffer through a season as disastrous as Tasmanias turn in the Bundesliga.
Spandau finished dead last, never once rising from the bottom position, with a record of 2 wins, 4 draws, and 32 losses. They did not earn their first point until a 15th round 1:1 draw with SG Wattenscheid 09
SG Wattenscheid 09
SG Wattenscheid 09 is a German association football club, located in Wattenscheid which is part of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club claims an official founding date of 18 September 1909 as Ballspiel-Verein Wattenscheid out of the merger of two earlier sides known as BV Sodalität der...
. Their first victory did not come until their 23rd round match against Bayer 04 Leverkusen. By season's end they had been outscored 33:115.
The club returned to tier III football in the amateur city league where they would play for the next 23 seasons. Financial problems in 1999 led to the club's license being revoked and relegation to the Verbandsliga Berlin (V), from where the club was promoted back to the Oberliga in 2007.
Honours
- Berlin Amateurliga champions: 1975
- Berlin CupBerlin CupThe Berliner Landespokal is an annual football cup competition held by the Berlin Football Association . The cup winner qualifies for the national DFB-Pokal. Cup finals are usually held in the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark. The competition has been held since 1906, with various interruptions...
winners: 1954, 1955, 1956, 1974, 1977