:Kickers Offenbach

{{short description|German association football club}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}

{{Infobox football club

| clubname = Kickers Offenbach

| image = Kickers Offenbach logo.svg

| upright = 0.8

| fullname = Offenbacher Fußball-Club Kickers 1901 e. V.

| nickname = OFC

| founded = {{start date and age|1901|05|27|df=y}}

| ground = Stadion am Bieberer Berg

| capacity = 20,500

| chairman = Joachim Wagner

| manager = Christian Neidhart

| league = Regionalliga Südwest

| season = 2022–23

| position = 7th of 18

| pattern_la1 = _nikechallenge5urw

| pattern_b1 = _nikechallenge5urw

| pattern_ra1 = _nikechallenge5urw

| pattern_sh1 =

| pattern_so1 =

| leftarm1 = FF0000

| body1 = FF0000

| rightarm1 = FF0000

| shorts1 = FFFFFF

| socks1 = FF0000

| pattern_la2 =

| pattern_b2 = _koffenbach2425a

| pattern_ra2 =

| pattern_sh2 =

| pattern_so2 =

| leftarm2 = FFFFFF

| body2 = FFFFFF

| rightarm2 = FFFFFF

| shorts2 = A40000

| socks2 = FFFFFF

| pattern_la3 =

| pattern_b3 = _nikepark7b

| pattern_ra3 =

| pattern_sh3 =

| pattern_so3 =

| leftarm3 = 000000

| body3 = 000000

| rightarm3 = 000000

| shorts3 = 000000

| socks3 = 000000

}}

Offenbacher Fussball-Club Kickers, commonly known as Kickers Offenbach, is a German association football club in Offenbach am Main, Hesse. The club was founded on 27 May 1901 in the Rheinischer Hof restaurant by footballers who had left established local clubs including Melitia, Teutonia, Viktoria, Germania and Neptun. From 1921 to 1925 they were united with VfB 1900 Offenbach as VfR Kickers Offenbach until resuming their status as a separate side, Offenbacher FC Kickers.Grüne, Hardy (2001). Vereinslexikon. Kassel: AGON Sportverlag {{ISBN|3-89784-147-9}} The team plays its home games at the Stadion am Bieberer Berg.

History

The club became one of the founding members of the Nordkreis-Liga in 1909, where it played until the outbreak of the war. In post-First World War Germany, Kickers played in the Kreisliga Südmain (I), winning this league in 1920, 1922 and 1923.

The club played as a mid-table side in the Bezirksliga Main-Hessen through the late 1920s and early 1930s. German football was re-organized in 1933 under the Third Reich into sixteen first division Gauligen. Kickers joined the Gauliga Südwest, where the team immediately captured the title and entered the national playoffs for the first time. They fared poorly there, but did manage to raise their overall level of play in the following seasons, going on to win five consecutive divisional championships from 1940 to 1944.Grüne, Hardy (1996). Vom Kronprinzen bis zur Bundesliga. Kassel: AGON Sportverlag {{ISBN|3-928562-85-1}}

In the early 1940s, the Gauliga Südwest had been split into the Gauliga Westmark and the Gauliga Hessen-Nassau, where Kickers played. Their best post-season result came in 1942 when the team was able to advance as far as the semi-finals in the national championship rounds before they were decisively put out 0:6 by Schalke 04, who were on their way to their sixth championship as the era's most dominant side. By 1944, Allied armies were rolling through Germany and the Gauliga Hessen-Nassau did not play the 1944–45 season. In their 1953 Asian Tour, they played twelve matches.{{cite web|author=Neil Morrison|date=12 November 2015|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tableso/ofckickers-asia53.html|title=Kickers Offenbach (West Germany) Asian tour 1953|work=Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation|access-date=24 June 2021|archive-date=19 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019153551/http://www.rsssf.com/tableso/ofckickers-asia53.html|url-status=live}}

File:Kickers Offenbach Performance Chart.png

File:Diba stadion offenbach 03.JPG (1921–2011)]]

File:Stadion OFC.jpg (opened 2012)]]

=Entry to the Bundesliga and scandal=

The club found itself in the new Regionalliga Süd (II) and play in the Bundesliga would have to wait until 1968. The team was immediately relegated, but returned to the upper league for play in 1970–71. In addition to their return to the Bundesliga, the club would win one of its few honours in 1970 with a 2:1 German Cup victory over 1. FC Köln.

However, the end of the 1971 season would find Kickers Offenbach at the centre of the Bundesliga scandal. The club president, Horst-Gregorio Canellas, went to the German Football Association (Deutsche Fussball Bund or German Football Association) after being approached by a player from another team looking for a cash bonus for that club's effort in beating one of Offenbach's rivals in the fight against relegation. Receiving no help from league officials, Canellas began gathering evidence of how widespread the payoffs were. In the end more than fifty players from seven clubs, two coaches, and six game officials were found guilty of trying to influence the outcome of games through bribes, but Canellas was unable to save his club from relegation. The club central to the scandal – Arminia Bielefeld – would not be punished until the following season, too late to save Offenbach.Ulrich Hesse-Lichtenberger (2002). Tor! The Story of German Football. WSC Books {{ISBN|0-9540134-5-X}}

The scandal had a negative effect on the young league and contributed to plummeting attendance figures. One outcome of the whole affair was the further evolution of German football; salary restrictions were removed and the 2. Bundesliga also became a professional league. Kickers immediately returned to the top level. The best finish was 7th in the 1972–73 season. They were leaders for 5 rounds and beat Bayern Munich 6–0 in the 1974–75 season but were relegated to the second level in the 1975–76 season.

=Decline and recovery=

Kickers spent the next seven years in the 2. Bundesliga before making a return to the Bundesliga for just a single season in 1983–84. In 1985, financial problems led to the club being penalized points and driven into the third division amateur Oberliga Hessen. They recovered, only to be denied a licence in 1989, and were sent back down again. By the mid-1990s they again slipped into the Oberliga Hessen (IV). They appeared in the final of the national amateur championship in 1994 where they lost 1–0 to Preußen Münster. Offenbach returned the 2. Bundesliga in 1999 and were immediately relegated after a 17th-place finish. In each of these seasons the team took part in the national amateur championship, winning the title in 1999.

The club next appeared in the 2. Bundesliga in 2005. After two lower table finishes, Kickers were relegated to the 3. Liga on the final day of the 2007–08 season following a 3–0 defeat to fellow strugglers VfL Osnabrück.

On 18 July 2012, the club's new ground was opened under the name Sparda-Bank-Hessen-Stadion with a pre-season friendly against Bayer Leverkusen. The club was refused a 3. Liga licence at the end of the 2012–13 season and was relegated to the Regionalliga, with SV Darmstadt 98 taking its place. The club, €9 million in debt, could have faced insolvency and a restart at the lowest level of the German football league system.[https://www.kicker.de/ruhl_ein-bitterer-tag-fuer-den-ofc-587262/artikel Ruhl: "Ein bitterer Tag für den OFC"] {{in lang|de}} kicker.de, published: 3 June 2013, accessed: 4 June 2013

The club won the Regionalliga Südwest in 2014–15 and earned the right to take part in the promotion round to the 3. Liga, where they missed out on promotion to Magdeburg. The loss was overshadowed by approximately 40 Offenbach supporters storming the field in the 84th minute and forcing a twenty-minute interruption to the return leg.[http://www.weltfussball.de/news/_n1578373_/3-liga-magdeburg-wuerzburg-bremen-ii-steigen-auf/ 3. Liga: Magdeburg, Würzburg, Bremen II steigen auf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150601235719/http://www.weltfussball.de/news/_n1578373_/3-liga-magdeburg-wuerzburg-bremen-ii-steigen-auf/ |date=1 June 2015 }} {{in lang|de}} Weltfussball.de, published: 31 May 2015, accessed: 1 June 2015

Recent seasons

The recent season-by-season performance of the team:[http://www.f-archiv.de/ Das deutsche Fußball-Archiv] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180222131522/http://www.f-archiv.de/ |date=22 February 2018 }} {{in lang|de}} Historical German domestic league tables[http://www.fussball.de/fussball-ergebnisse-die-top-ligen-bei-fussball-de/id_45692854/index Fussball.de – Ergebnisse] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110518003238/http://www.fussball.de/fussball-ergebnisse-die-top-ligen-bei-fussball-de/id_45692854/index |date=18 May 2011 }} {{in lang|de}} Tables and results of all German football leagues

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

=Kickers Offenbach=

class="wikitable"

! Season

! Division

! Tier

! Position

align="center"

| 1968–196930 Jahre Bundesliga, DFB special edition booklet

| align="left"| 1. Bundesliga

| rowspan=1| I

| style="background:#ffcccc"| 18th ↓

align="center"

| 1970–197130 Jahre Bundesliga, DFB special edition booklet

| align="left"| 1. Bundesliga

| rowspan=1| I

| style="background:#ffcccc"| 17th ↓

align="center"

| 1972–197330 Jahre Bundesliga, DFB special edition booklet

| align="left"| 1. Bundesliga

| rowspan=1| I

| 7th

align="center"

| 1973–197430 Jahre Bundesliga, DFB special edition booklet

| align="left"| 1. Bundesliga

| rowspan=1| I

| 10th

align="center"

| 1974–197530 Jahre Bundesliga, DFB special edition booklet

| align="left"| 1. Bundesliga

| rowspan=1| I

| 8th

align="center"

| 1975–197630 Jahre Bundesliga, DFB special edition booklet

| align="left"| 1. Bundesliga

| rowspan=1| I

| style="background:#ffcccc"| 17th ↓

align="center"

| 1983–198430 Jahre Bundesliga, DFB special edition booklet

| align="left"| 1. Bundesliga

| rowspan=1| I

| style="background:#ffcccc"| 17th ↓

align="center"

| 1994–95

| align="left"| Regionalliga Süd

| III

| style="background:#ffcccc"| 15th ↓

align="center"

| 1995–96

| align="left"| Hessenliga

| rowspan=2| IV

| 3rd

align="center"

| 1996–97

| align="left"| Hessenliga

| style="background:#ddffdd"| 2nd ↑

align="center"

| 1997–98

| align="left"| Regionalliga Süd

| rowspan=2| III

| 2nd

align="center"

| 1998–99

| align="left"| Regionalliga Süd

| style="background:#ddffdd"| 2nd ↑

align="center"

| 1999–2000

| align="left"| 2. Bundesliga

| II

| style="background:#ffcccc"| 17th ↓

align="center"

| 2000–01

| align="left"| Regionalliga Süd

| rowspan=5| III

| 10th

align="center"

| 2001–02

| align="left"| Regionalliga Süd

| 8th

align="center"

| 2002–03

| align="left"| Regionalliga Süd

| 8th

align="center"

| 2003–04

| align="left"| Regionalliga Süd

| 13th

align="center"

| 2004–05

| align="left"| Regionalliga Süd

| style="background:#ddffdd"| 1st ↑

align="center"

| 2005–06

| align="left"| 2. Bundesliga

| rowspan=3| II

| 11th

align="center"

| 2006–07

| align="left"| 2. Bundesliga

| 14th

align="center"

| 2007–08

| align="left"| 2. Bundesliga

| style="background:#ffcccc"| 15th ↓

align="center"

| 2008–09

| align="left"| 3. Liga

| rowspan=5| III

| 7th

align="center"

| 2009–10

| align="left"| 3. Liga

| 7th

align="center"

| 2010–11

| align="left"| 3. Liga

| 7th

align="center"

| 2011–12

| align="left"| 3. Liga

| 8th

align="center"

| 2012–13

| align="left"| 3. Liga

| style="background:#ffcccc"| 15th ↓

align="center"

| 2013–14

| align="left"| Regionalliga Südwest

| rowspan=6| IV

| 8th

align="center"

| 2014–15

| align="left"| Regionalliga Südwest

| 1st

align="center"

| 2015–16

| align="left"| Regionalliga Südwest

| 4th

align="center"

| 2016–17

| align="left"| Regionalliga Südwest

| 12th

align="center"

| 2017–18

| align="left"| Regionalliga Südwest

| 3rd

align="center"

| 2018–19

| align="left"| Regionalliga Südwest

| 5th

{{col-2}}

=Kickers Offenbach II=

class="wikitable"

! Season

! Division

! Tier

! Position

align="center"

| 1999–2000

| align="left"| Oberliga Hessen

| IV

| style="background:#ffcccc"| 15th ↓

align="center"

| 2000–01

| align="left"| Landesliga Hessen-Süd

| rowspan=14| V

| 3rd

align="center"

| 2001–02

| align="left"| Landesliga Hessen-Süd

| 11th

align="center"

| 2002–03

| align="left"| Landesliga Hessen-Süd

| 3rd

align="center"

| 2003–04

| align="left"| Landesliga Hessen-Süd

| 5th

align="center"

| 2004–05

| align="left"| Landesliga Hessen-Süd

| 3rd

align="center"

| 2005–06

| align="left"| Landesliga Hessen-Süd

| 9th

align="center"

| 2006–07

| align="left"| Landesliga Hessen-Süd

| 3rd

align="center"

| 2007–08

| align="left"| Landesliga Hessen-Süd

| style="background:#ddffdd"| 1st ↑

align="center"

| 2008–09

| align="left"| Hessenliga

| 4th

align="center"

| 2009–10

| align="left"| Hessenliga

| 5th

align="center"

| 2010–11

| align="left"| Hessenliga

| 5th

align="center"

| 2011–12

| align="left"| Hessenliga

| 12th

align="center"

| 2012–13

| align="left"| Hessenliga

| 13th

align="center"

| 2013–14

| align="left"| Hessenliga

| style="background:#ffcccc"| 18th ↓

align="center"

| 2014–15

| align="left"| Verbandsliga Hessen-Süd

| rowspan=2| VI

| 13th

align="center"

| 2015–16

| align="left"| Verbandsliga Hessen-Süd

| 17th ↓

align="center"

| 2016–17

| align="left"| Gruppenliga

| VII

|

class="wikitable" align="center"

| style="background:#ddffdd"| ↑ Promoted

| style="background:#ffcccc"| ↓ Relegated

{{col-end}}

  • With the introduction of the Regionalligas in 1994 and the 3. Liga in 2008 as the new third tier, below the 2. Bundesliga, all leagues below dropped one tier. Also in 2008, the majority of football leagues in Hesse were renamed, with the Oberliga Hessen becoming the Hessenliga, the Landesliga becoming the Verbandsliga, the Bezirksoberliga becoming the Gruppenliga and the Bezirksliga becoming the Kreisoberliga.

Current squad

{{updated|24 January 2025|{{Cite web |url=http://www.ofc.de/profis/mannschaft.html |title=Mannschaft/Offenbacher Kickers |access-date=7 October 2024 |archive-date=15 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170815235536/http://www.ofc.de/profis/mannschaft.html |url-status=live }}}}

{{Fs start}}

{{Fs player|no= 1|nat=GER|name=Johannes Brinkies|pos=GK}}

{{Fs player|no= 3|nat=GER|name=Maximilian Rossmann|pos=DF}}

{{Fs player|no= 5|nat=GER|name=Alexander Sorge|pos=DF}}

{{Fs player|no= 6|nat=GER|name=Daniel Dejanović|pos=MF}}

{{Fs player|no= 7|nat=GER|name=Stephan Mensah|pos=FW}}

{{Fs player|no= 8|nat=GER|name=Onur Ünlüçifçi|pos=MF}}

{{Fs player|no= 9|nat=KVX|name=Valdrin Mustafa|pos=FW}}

{{Fs player|no=10|nat=AZE|name=Dimitrij Nazarov|pos=MF}}

{{Fs player|no=11|nat=GER|name=Boubacar Barry|pos=FW}}

{{Fs player|no=13|nat=GER|name=Noel Knothe|pos=DF}}

{{Fs player|no=14|nat=SVN|name=Kristjan Arh-Česen|pos=DF}}

{{Fs player|no=16|nat=GER|name=Angelo Tramontana|pos=GK}}

{{Fs player|no=17|nat=GER|name=Marc Wachs|pos=MF}}

{{Fs player|no=18|nat=GER|name=Lucas Becker|pos=GK}}

{{Fs player|no=19|nat=GER|name=Jan Urbich|pos=FW}}

{{Fs mid}}

{{Fs player|no=20|nat=GER|name=Irwin Pfeiffer|pos=FW}}

{{Fs player|no=21|nat=GER|name=Ron Berlinski|pos=FW}}

{{Fs player|no=22|nat=GER|name=Matija Damjanovic|pos=GK}}

{{Fs player|no=23|nat=GER|name=Sascha Korb|pos=DF}}

{{Fs player|no=24|nat=GER|name=Ouassim Karada|pos=DF}}

{{Fs player|no=26|nat=BIH|name=Almin Mesanovic|pos=MF}}

{{Fs player|no=27|nat=GER|name=Jayson Breitenbach|pos=DF}}

{{Fs player|no=29|nat=GER|name=Keanu Staude|pos=FW}}

{{Fs player|no=30|nat=GER|name=Jannes Wulff|pos=MF}}

{{Fs player|no=31|nat=MOZ|name=Ronny Marcos|pos=DF}}

{{Fs player|no=32|nat=GER|name=Vincent Moreno Giesel|pos=DF}}

{{Fs player|no=34|nat=GER|name=Jens Mühlig|pos=DF}}

{{Fs player|no=36|nat=GER|name=Luca Horst|pos=MF}}

{{Fs player|no=37|nat=GER|name=Tom Reuter|pos=MF}}

{{Fs end}}

Coaches

The managers of the club:[http://www.weltfussball.de/teams/kickers-offenbach/9/ Kickers Offenbach .:. Trainer von A-Z] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230222015434/https://www.weltfussball.de/teams/kickers-offenbach/9/ |date=22 February 2023 }} {{in lang|de}} weltfussball.de, accessed: 5 December 2011

class="wikitable"

! Name

! Period

Franz Nagy

| 1922

Rudolf Keller

| 1926

Mac Pherson

| 1927

Rudolf Keller

| 1928

Paul Oßwald

| 1946–1958

Bogdan Cuvaj

| 1958–1962

Hans Merkle

| 1962–1964

Radoslav Momirski

| 1964–1965

Kurt Baluses

| 1965 – Feb. 1968

Kurt Schreiner

| Mar. – Jun. 1968

Paul Oßwald

| Jul. 1968 – Nov. 1969

Kurt Schreiner

| Dec. 1969

Willi Keim

| Dec. 1969

Zlatko Čajkovski

| Jan – Jul. 1970

Kurt Schreiner

| Aug. 1970

Aki Schmidt

| Sep. 1970

Rudi Gutendorf

| Sep. 1970 – Feb. 1971

Kuno Klötzer

| Feb. 1971 – Jun. 1972

Gyula Lóránt

| Jul. 1972 – Mar. 1974

Otto Rehhagel

| Apr. 1974 – Dec. 1975

Zlatko Čajkovski

| Jan. – Oct. 1976

Udo Klug

| Nov. 1976 – Jun. 1978

Horst Heese

| Jul. 1978 – Jun. 1980

Franz Brungs

| Jul. 1980 – May 1982

Lothar Buchmann

| Jun. 1982 – Mar. 1984

Hermann Nuber

| Mar. 1984 – Jun. 1984

Fritz Fuchs

| Jul – Dec 1984

Horst Heese

| Dec 1984 – Jun 1985

Wilfried Kohls

| Jul 1985 – Jun 1986

Franz Brungs

| Jul 1986 – May 1987

Robert Jung

| May 1987 – Jun 1987

Dieter Renner

| Jul 1987 – Mar 1989

Nikolaus Semlitsch

| Mar 1989 – Dec 1989

Hans-Günter Neues

| Dec 1989 – Apr 1990

Kurt Geinzer

| Apr 1990 – Jun 1992

Lothar Buchmann

| Jul 1992 – Oct 1994

Valentin Herr

| Oct 1994 – Apr 1995

Wilfried Kohls

| Maz 1995 – Jun 1995

Wolfgang Uschek

| Jul 1995 – Dec 1995

Ronny Borchers

| Jan 1996 – Apr 1997

Wilfried Kohls/Jörg Hambückers

| Apr 1997 – Jun 1997

Hans-Jürgen Boysen

| Jul 1997 – Oct 1999

Peter Neururer

| Oct 1999 – Aug 2000

Dragoslav Stepanovic

| Aug 2000 – Sep 2000

Knut Hahn

| Sep 2000 – Oct 2000

Wilfried Kohls

| Oct 2000 – Oct 2000

Knut Hahn

| Nov 2000 – Nov 2000

Dieter Müller/Oliver Roth

| Nov 2000 – Dec 2000

Ramon Berndroth

| Dec 2000 – Aug 2003

Lars Schmidt

| Aug 2003 – Mar 2004

Hans-Jürgen Boysen

| Mar 2004 – Jan 2006

Wolfgang Frank

| Jan 2006 – Oct 2007

Jørn Andersen

| Nov 2007 – May 2008

Hans-Jürgen Boysen

| May 2008 – Oct 2009

Steffen Menze

| Oct 2009 – Feb 2010

Wolfgang Wolf

| Feb 2010 – Feb 2011

Thomas Gerstner

| Feb 2011 – May 2011

Arie van Lent

| May 2011 – Feb 2013

Rico Schmitt

| Feb 2013 – Jan 2016

Oliver Reck

| Jan 2016 – Jun 2018

Daniel Steuernagel

| Jul 2018 – Sep 2019

Steven Keßler

| Sep 2019 – Dec 2019

Angelo Barletta

| Dec 2019 – Dec 2020

Sreto Ristić

| Jan 2021 – Jun 2022

Alexander Schmidt

| Jul 2022 – Sep 2022

Ersan Parlatan

| Oct 2022 – Apr 2023

Christian Neidhart

| Jul 2023 –

Source: Book "Kickers Offenbach – die ersten hundert jahre" ("Kickers Offenbach – the first hundred years")

Notable players

Honours

The club's honours:

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

=League=

=Cup=

=Reserve team=

=Regional=

=Youth=

{{col-end}}

Kickers Offenbach II

{{main|Kickers Offenbach II}}

Kickers second team played in the Amateurliga Hessen (III) from 1971–74 until being disbanded after the 1973–74 season. The reconstituted side reappeared in the Amateuroberliga Hessen (III) in 1984, but were sent down after the relegation of the senior side from the 2. Bundesliga. The amateur's next appearance of note was in the Oberliga Hessen (IV) in 1999 in a campaign that ended in relegation after a 15th-place finish. In 2008–09, it returned to the Hessenliga and finished in fourth place. After six seasons in the league the team finished 18th in the Hessenliga in 2014 and was relegated to the Verbandsliga.[http://www.weltfussball.de/teams/kickers-offenbach-ii/ Kickers Offenbach II at Weltfussball.de] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111018070849/http://www.weltfussball.de/teams/kickers-offenbach-ii/ |date=18 October 2011 }} {{in lang|de}} accessed: 5 December 2011

=Recent managers=

Recent managers of the team:[http://www.weltfussball.de/teams/kickers-offenbach-ii/9/ Kickers Offenbach II .:. Trainer von A-Z] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140718182535/http://www.weltfussball.de/teams/kickers-offenbach-ii/9/ |date=18 July 2014 }} {{in lang|de}} weltfussball.de, accessed: 5 December 2011

class="wikitable"

! Manager

! Start

! Finish

align="center"

| align="left" | Steffen Menze

| 1 July 2005

| 30 June 2006

align="center"

| align="left" | Ramon Berndroth

| 1 July 2006

| 30 June 2008

align="center"

| align="left" | Steffen Menze

| 1 July 2008

| 30 June 2009

align="center"

| align="left" | Jürgen Baier

| 1 July 2009

| 30 June 2010

align="center"

| align="left" | Günter Stiebig

| 1 July 2011

| 30 June 2013

align="center"

| align="left" | Alexander Conrad

| 1 July 2013

| Present

References

{{Reflist}}