VfL Bochum - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Verein für Leibesübungen Bochum 1848 Fußballgemeinschaft, commonly referred to as simply VfL Bochum, is a German association football club

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...

based in the city of Bochum

Bochum

Bochum is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area and is surrounded by the cities of Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Herne, Castrop-Rauxel, Dortmund, Witten and Hattingen.-History:...

, North Rhine-Westphalia.

Founding to World War II

VfL Bochum is the of the oldest sports organizations in the world claiming an origin date of 26 July 1848 when an article in the Märkischer Sprecher – a local newspaper – called for the creation of a gymnastics club. The Turnverein zu Bochum was then formally established on 18 February 1849. The club was banned on 28 December 1852 for political reasons and then reestablished on 19 June 1860. The club was reorganized in May 1904 as Turnverein zu Bochum, gegründet 1848 and formed a football department on 31 January 1911. On 1 April 1919 the club merged with Spiel und Sport 08 Bochum

TuS Bochum

Turn- und Sportverein Bochum 1908 was a German association football club from the city of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia.-History:The club was established in 1908 as Spiel und Sport 08 Bochum. The first football match at the Castroper Straße was played by Spiel und Sport on 8 October 1911...

to form the Turn- und Sportverein Bochum 1848. On 1 February 1924 the two clubs from the earlier merger spilt to into the Bochumer Turnverein 1848 (gymnastics department) and Turn- und Sportverein Bochum 1908

TuS Bochum

(football, track and field, handball

Team handball

Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...

, hockey

Field hockey

Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...

and tennis departments).

Bochumer Turnverein 1848 was forced by the Nazi regime to merge with Turn- und Sport Bochum 1908

TuS Bochum

and Sportverein Germania Vorwärts Bochum 1906

Germania Bochum

Sportverein Germania Vorwärts Bochum 1906 was a German association football club from the city of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia.-History:...

into the current-day club VfL Bochum on 14 April 1938. After the merger the VfL Bochum continued to compete in the top flight as part of the Gauliga Westfalen

Gauliga Westfalen

The Gauliga Westphalia was the highest football league in the Prussian province of Westphalia and the small Free State of Lippe from 1933 to 1945...

.

As World War II progressed, play throughout Germany became increasingly difficult due to player shortages, travel problems, and damage to football fields from Allied bombing raids. VfL became part of the wartime side Kriegsspielgemeinschaft VfL 1848/Preußen Bochum alongside Preußen 07 Elberfeld before reemerging as a separate side after the war. Although they fielded competitive sides, they had the misfortune of playing in the same division as Schalke 04 which was the dominant team of the era: VfLs best result was a distant second place in 1938–39, .

Postwar and entry to Bundesliga play

Following the war the football section resumed play as the independent VfL Bochum Fussballgemeinschaft 1848 and played its first season in the second division 2. Oberliga West in 1949, while Preußen Bochum went on to lower tier amateur level play. VfL captured the division title in 1953 to advance to the Oberliga West for a single season. They repeated their divisional win in 1956 and returned to the top-flight until again being relgated after the 1960–61 season.

With the formation of the Bundesliga

Fußball-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...

, Germany's new professional league, in 1963, VfL found itself in the third tier Amateurliga Westfalen. A first place result there in 1965 raised them to the Regionalliga West (II) from where they began a steady climb up the league table to the Bundesliga in 1971. During this rise Bochum also played its way to the final of the 1968 German Cup where they dropped a 1:4 decision to 1. FC Köln

1. FC Köln

1. FC Köln is a German association football club based in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia. It was formed in 1948 as a merger of the clubs Kölner Ballspiel-Club 1901 and SpVgg Sülz 07....

.

In spite of being a perennial lower table side, Bochum developed a reputation for tenaciousness on the field in a run of twenty seasons at the top flight. The club made a repeat appearance in the German Cup final in 1988, this time going down 0:1 to Eintracht Frankfurt

Eintracht Frankfurt

Eintracht Frankfurt is a German sports club, based in Frankfurt, Hesse that is best known for its association football club.- Club origins :...

. Relegated after a 16th place finish in 1993, the team has become a classic "yo-yo club", bouncing up and down between the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga. The club's best Bundesliga results have come relatively recently as 5th place finishes in 1997 and 2004, which earned them appearances in the UEFA Cup

UEFA Cup

The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...

tournament. In 1997, they advanced to the third round where they were put out by Dutch side Ajax Amsterdam

Ajax Amsterdam

Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax , also referred to as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam or simply Ajax , is a professional football club from Amsterdam, Netherlands...

, and in 2004, they were eliminated early through away goals (0–0 and 1–1) by Standard CL Liège of Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

Current

Today's sports club has 5,000 members with the football department accounting for over 2,200 of these. Other sections now part of the association include athletics

Athletics (track and field)

Athletics is an exclusive collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and race walking...

, badminton

Badminton

Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...

, basketball, dance, fencing

Fencing

Fencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...

, gymnastics, handball

Team handball

Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...

, hockey

Hockey

Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...

, swimming, table tennis

Table tennis

Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...

, tennis, and volleyball.

Current squad

As of 1 July, 2011

Retired number(s)

12 – Club Supporters (the 12th Man)

12th Man (football)

The 12th man or 12th player is a term used to describe the fans within a stadium during association football or American football games. This term has a different meaning in cricket, referring to the first substitute player who fields when a member of the fielding side is injured...

Players out on loan

For recent transfers, see List of German football transfers summer 2011#VfL Bochum and List of German football transfers winter 2010–11#VfL Bochum.

Notable players

The following are listed on the club's official site as their "Legendary Players", or are among the Bundesliga players with most appearances or goals.
Germany Hans-Joachim "Jochen" Abel

Hans-Joachim Abel

Hans-Joachim "Jochen" Abel is a former German footballer.Abel made 183 appearances in the German Bundesliga for Fortuna Düsseldorf, VfL Bochum and Schalke 04 and scored 70 goals. His 60 goals for Bochum also signify a record for the club. Until his retirement, Abel played in Liechtenstein for FC...

Holger Aden

Holger Aden is a retired German football striker and Football coach. He was known in the 1992/93 season when he scored the most goals in German professional leagues with 28 league goals. However, because of a transfer between two leagues, he was unable to become the highest scorer in either the...

Dieter Bast

Dieter Bast is a former German footballer.In total Bast played 412 Bundesliga games and scored 54 goals. His Bundesliga debut took place on his 19th birthday for Rot-Weiss Essen...

Frank Benatelli Mirko Dickhaut Thomas Ernst

Thomas Ernst

Thomas Ernst is a retired German footballer who played as a goalkeeper.-Football career:Ernst started playing professionally with Eintracht Frankfurt. At the Hessian club, he could only amass five Bundesliga appearances in seven years combined, being barred by legendary Uli Stein...

Frank Fahrenhorst

Frank Fahrenhorst is a German footballer, currently with FC Schalke 04 II.- Career :...

Harry Fechner Hermann Gerland

Hermann Gerland

Hermann Gerland is a German former football player and manager. He is currently the manager of the reserve team of the German Bundesliga side FC Bayern Munich.- Career :...

Dirk Helmig

Dirk Helmig is a German football manager and former midfielder.-External links:...

Michael Hubner Mathias Jack

Mathias Jack

Mathias Jack is a retired German footballer who played primarily as a defender and was last both player and manager of DJK Amisia Rheine 1926....

Josef Kaczor

Josef Kaczor is a retired German football striker.-External links:*...

Hans-Jürgen Köper Peter Közle Martin Kree

Martin Kree

Martin Kree is a former German footballer, who played mostly as a central defender.During a 15-year professional career, Kree played 401 Bundesliga games for VfL Bochum, Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund.-Football career:Kree made his first division debuts with VfL Bochum in 1983–84 - seven...

Stefan Kuntz

Stefan Kuntz is a former German professional footballer and since April 2008 chairman of the German football team 1. FC Kaiserslautern....

Michael Lameck

Michael Lameck, known as Ata , is a former German footballer.-Career:Lameck started his career during the Regionalliga West 1969–70 season with Schwarz-Weiß Essen...

Uwe Leifeld Kai Michalke Josef Nehl Walter Oswald Peter Peschel Thomas Reis Dirk Riechmann

Dirk Riechmann

Dirk Riechmann is a retired German football midfielder.-External links:*...

Hilko Ristau

Hilko Ristau is a German football player. As of February 2009, he plays for Bonner SC. He made his debut on the professional league level in the 2. Bundesliga for SG Wattenscheid 09 on August 29, 1997 when he came on as a substitute in the 31st minute in the game against SpVgg...

Michael Rzehaczek

Michael Rzehaczek is a retired German football player. He was forced to retire due to knee injuries.-External links:...

Christian Schreier

Christian Schreier is a German former footballer who is currently general manager of SC Paderborn. He played as an attacking midfielder, most notably with VfL Bochum and Bayer Leverkusen, and won one cap for West Germany, in 1984...

Frank Schulz

Frank Schulz is a German football coach and a former player.-External links:...

Thomas Stickroth

Thomas Stickroth is a retired German professional footballer.-Playing career:Beginning as a youth player at VfB Stuttgart, Stickroth spent nearly his entire career in Germany, playing with SC Freiburg, FC Homburg, Bayer Uerdingen, 1. FC Saarbrücken and VfL Bochum...

Franz-Josef Tenhagen Hans Walitza

Hans Walitza

Hans Walitza is a retired German football striker and manager.-External links:*...

Uwe Wegmann Andreas Wessels

Andreas Wessels

Andreas Wessels is a retired German football goalkeeper.-External links:...

Lothar Woelk Ralf Zumdick

Ralf Zumdick

Ralf Zumdick is a former German football goalkeeper. He is assistant coach of Persepolis. After his career Zumdick was assistant coach at VfL Bochum from 1995 till 1999...

Iceland Thordur Gudjonsson

Netherlands Rob Reekers

Rob Reekers

Robert "Rob" Reekers is a retired Dutch football player who played in the Netherlands for FC Twente and in Germany for ASC Schöppingen, VfL Bochum and FC Gütersloh. He earned four caps for the Dutch national side between 1988 and 1989...

Poland Tomasz Wałdoch

Honours

2. Bundesliga

2. 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...

champions: 1993–94, 1995–96, 2005–06
DFB-Pokal

DFB-Pokal

The DFB-Pokal or DFB Cup is a German knockout football cup competition held annually. 64 teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2nd Bundesliga. It is considered the second most important national title in German football after the Bundesliga...

finalists: 1967–68, 1987–88
Bundesliga

Fußball-Bundesliga

UEFA Cup

qualification: 1996–97 (5th), 2003–04 (5th)
Bundesliga top goal scorer

Bundesliga top scorers

This is the list of Bundesliga top scorers season by season. Since 1966 a miniature artillery sponsored by the German football magazine kicker is awarded to the top scorer at the end of the season. It is formally named "kicker Torjägerkanone" . Gerd Müller holds the record for most goals in a...

: 1985–86 (Stefan Kuntz

Stefan Kuntz

Stefan Kuntz is a former German professional footballer and since April 2008 chairman of the German football team 1. FC Kaiserslautern....

, 22 goals), 2002–03 (Thomas Christiansen

Thomas Christiansen

Thomas Christiansen Tarín is a retired Spanish footballer of Danish descent.A left-footed striker, he played for a number of clubs in Danish, Spanish, and German football, being crowned the top goalscorer of the 2002–03 Bundesliga....

, 21 goals (w/Giovane Elber

Giovane Elber

Élber Giovane de Souza, simply Élber , is a retired Brazilian footballer who played as a striker....

)), 2006–07 (Theofanis Gekas

Theofanis Gekas

Theofanis Gekas is a Greek football striker who currently plays for the German club Eintracht Frankfurt. He has been the top goalscorer of the Greek League and the Bundesliga in previous seasons...

, 20 goals)
Promoted to Bundesliga

Fußball-Bundesliga

: 1970–71 (1st Regionalliga West, 1st promotion group #1), 1993–94 (1st), 1995–96 (1st), 1999–2000 (2nd), 2001–02 (3rd), 2005–06 (1st)
2. Bundesliga

2. 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...

top goal scorer: 1993–94 (Uwe Wegmann 22 goals)
Regionalliga West

Regionalliga West

The Regionalliga West is the fourth tier of the German football league system since its introduction in 2008. It covers the states of Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland and North Rhine-Westphalia and is one of three leagues at this level, together with the Regionalliga Nord and the Regionalliga...

champions: 1969–70, 1970–71

Youth

German Under 19 championship
- Champions: 1969
- Runners-up: 2004, 2005
German Under 17 championship
- Champions: 1985
Under 19 Bundesliga West
Under 19 Bundesliga (football)
The Under 19 Fußball-Bundesliga is the highest level in German Under 19 football. It was created in 2003 and is divided in three divisions with 14 teams each...
- Champions: 2004, 2005

European record

Competition	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA
UEFA Cup UEFA Cup The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...	8	2	3	3	15	14
Intertoto Cup	28	10	8	10	37	33
Total	36	12	11	13	52	47

Stadium

Ruhrstadion

Ruhrstadion is a football stadium in Bochum, Germany. It is the home ground for the VfL Bochum and has a capacity of 29.448.-History:...

(also known as "rewirpowerSTADION" under a sponsorship deal) was one of the first modern football-only stadiums in Germany. It was built in the 1970s on the traditional ground of TuS Bochum 08 at the Castroper Straße north of the city centre.

The fully roofed venue's capacity is 31,328, including standing room for 15,639.

Current staff

As of 15 September 2011

Andreas Bergmann Andreas Bergmann Andreas Bergmann is a former German footballer and current manager of the VfL Bochum.-Career:Bergmann played in his career as Midfielder for 1...	Head coach
Karsten Neitzel Karsten Neitzel Karsten Neitzel is a German former footballer, who is now assistant manager of VfL Bochum.-External links:...	Assistant coach
Iraklis Metaxas	Assistant coach, *VfL Bochum II* Head coach
Dariusz Wosz Dariusz Wosz Dariusz Wosz is a German former footballer who played mostly as a playmaker. He is coach of the VfL Bochum U-19 team-Early life:Wosz's family migrated to Halle from Polish part of Silesia.-Club career:...	Assistant coach, *VfL Bochum U-19* Head coach
Peter Greiber	Goalkeeping coach

Coaches

19??–1956	Erich Melcher
1956–1960	Herbert Widmayer Herbert Widmayer Herbert Widmayer was a German football player and manager. He was the younger brother of Werner Widmayer.-External links:...
1960–1961	Fritz Silken
1961–1963	Hermann Lindemann Hermann Lindemann Hermann Lindermann was a German football player and later manager. He played for a number of German club sides, before participating in an all-star team tour of Iceland in the summer of 1938 while playing as a striker for Eintracht Frankfurt. During the trip he was invited to coach the Icelandic...
1963–1967	Hubert Schieth Hubert Schieth Hubert Schieth is a retired German football striker and manager.-External links:...
1967–1972	Hermann Eppenhoff Hermann Eppenhoff Hermann Eppenhoff was a German football player and manager.- Career :The forward was a member of FC Schalke 04 squad, which won the German Championship in the years 1939, 1940 and 1942...
1972–1979	Heinz Höher
1979–1981	Helmuth Johannsen Helmuth Johannsen Helmuth Johannsen was a German football coach.-Honours:* Bundesliga champion: 1967.* Swiss Super League champion: 1978.-External links:...
1981–1986	Rolf Schafstall Rolf Schafstall Rudolf 'Rolf' Schafstall is a retired German football coach and a player.-External links:...
1986–1988	Hermann Gerland Hermann Gerland Hermann Gerland is a German former football player and manager. He is currently the manager of the reserve team of the German Bundesliga side FC Bayern Munich.- Career :...
1988–1989	Franz-Josef Tenhagen
1989–1991	Reinhard Saftig Reinhard Saftig Reinhard Saftig is a German football manager.Saftig has served as head coach of Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Hannover 96, VfL Bochum, and Bayer Leverkusen in the German Bundesliga.-Career:...
1991	Rolf Schafstall Rolf Schafstall Rudolf 'Rolf' Schafstall is a retired German football coach and a player.-External links:...
1991–1992	Holger Osieck Holger Osieck Holger Osieck is a German football coach and current coach of the Australian national association football team. Prior to the Australian role, he most recently managed J.League club Urawa Red Diamonds, where he won the 2007 AFC Champions League. He served as an assistant coach of West Germany...
1992–1995	Jürgen Gelsdorf Jürgen Gelsdorf Jürgen Gelsdorf is a German football coach and former player who is currently youth teams coordinator at Bayer 04 Leverkusen.-External links:...
1995–1999	Klaus Toppmöller Klaus Toppmöller Klaus Toppmöller is a former football player and the coach of Georgia national football team from 2006 to April 1, 2008.He earned 3 caps and scored 1 goal during his international career for Germany.-Coaching career:...
1999	Ernst Middendorp Ernst Middendorp Ernst Middendorp is a German football manager.- Career :Middendorp coached the South African Castle Premiership team Kaizer Chiefs from the beginning of the 2005/06 season up to March 5, 2007....
1999–2000	Bernard Dietz Bernard Dietz Bernard Dietz is a former German football player and manager.-Club career:A defender and sweeper in his professional career, Bernard Dietz played in 495 Bundesliga matches for MSV Duisburg and FC Schalke 04, scoring 70 goals in his Duisburg years and seven in his days with FC Schalke 04 in the top...
2000–2001	Ralf Zumdick Ralf Zumdick Ralf Zumdick is a former German football goalkeeper. He is assistant coach of Persepolis. After his career Zumdick was assistant coach at VfL Bochum from 1995 till 1999...
2001	Rolf Schafstall Rolf Schafstall Rudolf 'Rolf' Schafstall is a retired German football coach and a player.-External links:...
2001	Bernard Dietz Bernard Dietz Bernard Dietz is a former German football player and manager.-Club career:A defender and sweeper in his professional career, Bernard Dietz played in 495 Bundesliga matches for MSV Duisburg and FC Schalke 04, scoring 70 goals in his Duisburg years and seven in his days with FC Schalke 04 in the top...
2001–2005	Peter Neururer Peter Neururer Peter Neururer is a German football manager.-Career:Neururer had a minor playing career in the lower leagues before moving into coaching at TuS Haltern and SG Weitmar...
2005–2009	Marcel Koller Marcel Koller Marcel Koller is a former Swiss football player and current head coach of the Austria national team.-As player:...
2009	Frank Heinemann Frank Heinemann Frank 'Funny' Heinemann is a German football coach and a retired player.-Coaching career:He was caretaker coach of the Fußball-Bundesliga team at the end of October 2009. Between 1 March 2010 and 14 March 2011, Heinemann was youth coordinator of VfL Bochum.-External links:* at transfermarkt.de...
2009–2010	Heiko Herrlich Heiko Herrlich Heiko Herrlich is a German former football centre forward and the current manager of 3rd Liga club SpVgg Unterhaching.-Career:...
2010	Dariusz Wosz Dariusz Wosz Dariusz Wosz is a German former footballer who played mostly as a playmaker. He is coach of the VfL Bochum U-19 team-Early life:Wosz's family migrated to Halle from Polish part of Silesia.-Club career:...
2010–2011	Friedhelm Funkel
2011–	Andreas Bergmann Andreas Bergmann Andreas Bergmann is a former German footballer and current manager of the VfL Bochum.-Career:Bergmann played in his career as Midfielder for 1...

External links

The Abseits Guide to German Soccer

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