VfB Eppingen is a
German association football clubAssociation 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...
based in
EppingenEppingen is a town in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The town has the second-largest population in the district....
,
Baden-WürttembergBaden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
with a membership of about 450 people.
History
The club has its roots in the sports club Turnverein 1865 Eppingen whose primary focus was gymnastics and formed a football side around 1910. At the end of World War I, footballers received some tutoring from an unlikely source in the form of an English officer in charge of prisoners-of-war locally. VfB Eppingen was established as a separate club devoted to football in 1921 and went on to win the local Gau title in 1925.
Eppingen enjoyed a successful decade in the 70's beginning with a 2.Amateur Liga Rhein-Neckar championship in 1973 and following up with
Amateurliga NordbadenThe Amateurliga Nordbaden was the highest football league in the region of the Nordbaden FA and the third tier of the German football league system from its inception in 1945 to the formation of the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg and the Verbandsliga Nordbaden below it in 1978.- Overview :The...
titles in 1974 and 1979. A highlight of the club's history in this period was their 2:1 win over
Hamburger SVHamburger Sport-Verein, usually referred to as HSV in Germany and Hamburg in international parlance, is a German multi-sport club based in Hamburg, its largest branch being its football department...
in the 1974-75 German Cup, commonly dubed the "mother of all cup sensations", which was part of their run through first three rounds of the competition to the Achtelfinale (eighthfinal) where they were finally put out 0:2 by Werder Bremen. Eppingen continued its cup run to the fourth round, where it lost to Werder Bremen. Eppingens series of regional league wins culminated in a rapid move up through the
Oberliga Baden-WürttembergThe Oberliga Baden-Württemberg is the highest Football League in the state of Baden-Württemberg and the Baden-Württemberg football league system. It is one of eleven Oberligas in German Football, the 5th tier of the German football league system...
to the
2nd Bundesliga SüdThe 2. Fußball-Bundesliga Süd was the second-highest level of the German football league system in the south of Germany from 1974 until the formation of the single-division 2. Fußball-Bundesliga in 1981...
for a single season in 1980–81, when the club finished second in the Oberliga, behind
VfB Stuttgart IIVfB Stuttgart II is a German football team located in Stuttgart, currently playing in the 3rd Liga. Their first team, VfB Stuttgart, won the Bundesliga league title in 2007.- Relationship with VfB Stuttgart :...
. The club finished last in the 2nd Bundesliga and was relegated back to the Oberliga, where another straight relegation put the club back in the Verbandsliga Nordbaden.
The team played one more season in the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg (III) in 1990–91. Since then, the club has been fluctuating between Verbandsliga and Landesliga. In 2003, the club fell as far as the tier-VII Bezirksliga but rebounded impressively, winning their division with 25 wins, five draws and no loss in 2003–04. Since then, the club has been playing in the Landesliga, interrupted by two seasons in the Verbandsliga.
League
- Oberliga Baden-Württemberg
The Oberliga Baden-Württemberg is the highest Football League in the state of Baden-Württemberg and the Baden-Württemberg football league system. It is one of eleven Oberligas in German Football, the 5th tier of the German football league system...
(III)
- Amateurliga Nordbaden
The Amateurliga Nordbaden was the highest football league in the region of the Nordbaden FA and the third tier of the German football league system from its inception in 1945 to the formation of the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg and the Verbandsliga Nordbaden below it in 1978.- Overview :The...
(III)
- Verbandsliga Nordbaden
The Verbandsliga Baden is currently the 6th tier of the German football league system. Until the introduction of the 3rd Liga it was the 5th tier of the league system.- Overview :...
(IV)
Recent seasons
The recent season-by-season performance of the club:
| Season |
Division |
Tier |
Position |
| 1999–2000 |
Verbandsliga NordbadenThe Verbandsliga Baden is currently the 6th tier of the German football league system. Until the introduction of the 3rd Liga it was the 5th tier of the league system.- Overview :...
|
V |
13th |
| 2000–01 |
Verbandsliga Nordbaden |
14th ↓ |
| 2001–02 |
Landesliga Rhein-Neckar |
VI |
|
| 2002–03 |
Landesliga Rhein-Neckar |
14th ↓ |
| 2003–04 |
Bezirksliga Sinsheim |
VII |
1st ↑ |
| 2004–05 |
Landesliga Rhein-Neckar |
VI |
2nd ↑ |
| 2005–06 |
Verbandsliga Nordbaden |
V |
10th |
| 2006–07 |
Verbandsliga Nordbaden |
15th ↓ |
| 2007–08 |
Landesliga Rhein-Neckar |
VI |
4th |
| 2008–09 |
Landesliga Rhein-Neckar |
VII |
3rd |
| 2009–10 |
Landesliga Rhein-Neckar |
2nd |
| 2010–11 |
Landesliga Rhein-Neckar |
2nd |
| 2011–12 |
Landesliga Rhein-Neckar |
|
- With the introduction of the Regionalligas in 1994 and the 3rd Liga
The 3rd Liga is the third division of football in Germany. The league started with the beginning of the 2008–09 season, when it replaced the Regionalliga as the third tier football league in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2...
in 2008 as the new third tier, below the 2nd 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...
, all leagues below dropped one tier.
External links