SV Meppen
Encyclopedia
SV Meppen is a German association football club
playing in Meppen, Lower Saxony
. The club was founded on 29 November 1912 as Amisia Meppen and joined Männer-Turnverein Meppen on 8 February 1920 to form TuS Meppen 1912. The football branch left TuS Meppen in 1921 to create a separate club called Sport Verein Meppen 1912 e.V. SV Meppen spent a total of 11 years in the 2.Bundesliga.
Generally, the side ended up mid-table there with their best finishes being 7th in 1994 and 6th in 1995. Meppen played their way into the final eight of the 1997 DFB-Pokal
competition on the strength of a memorable 6–1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt
. The club's eleven year run on the professional circuit ended in 1998 and they began a slide that landed them in the Oberliga Nord (V) where they have played the last half dozen seasons burdened by on-going financial problems. During the new century SV Meppen was passed throw to the Niedersachsenliga (5th division). But the SV rises again in 2011. They won the Niedersachsenliga championship and advanced to the Regionalliga Nord to continue their march back to the 2nd Bundesliga. In a 2011 pre-season friendly match against Werder Bremen they were humiliated 13-1 on the 6th of July in front of their own fans.
Stadion" two years later. In 1992 the stadium was re-named "Emsland
-Stadion". A sponsorship deal in 2005 currently has the stadium branded as "Vivaris Arena Emsland". The stadium's largest ever crowd of 18,000 spectators watched SV Meppen play a 1982 friendly against FC Barcelona
and their famous Argentinian
striker Diego Maradona
. Today the stadium has a capacity of 16,500.
The club played eleven consecutive seasons in the 2. Bundesliga
from 1988 to 1998. In 404 games there, the team scored 495 goals, with a record of 124 wins, 139 draws, and 141 losses placing them 27th in the all-time 2. Bundesliga table.
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...
playing in Meppen, Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
. The club was founded on 29 November 1912 as Amisia Meppen and joined Männer-Turnverein Meppen on 8 February 1920 to form TuS Meppen 1912. The football branch left TuS Meppen in 1921 to create a separate club called Sport Verein Meppen 1912 e.V. SV Meppen spent a total of 11 years in the 2.Bundesliga.
History
The footballers have had a relatively a quiet history playing in III and IV level circles, winning their first title of any sort when they claimed the Amateurliga Lower Saxony (IV) championship in 1961. They claimed a second title there in 1968 and then qualified for the Regionalliga Nord (III) in 1972. After league re-structuring in 1974 the team played in the Oberliga Nord (III) where they won the championship in 1987 and then emerged out the promotion playoffs to join the 2.Bundesliga to became one of the league's original "Kult" clubs.Generally, the side ended up mid-table there with their best finishes being 7th in 1994 and 6th in 1995. Meppen played their way into the final eight of the 1997 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...
competition on the strength of a memorable 6–1 victory over 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 :...
. The club's eleven year run on the professional circuit ended in 1998 and they began a slide that landed them in the Oberliga Nord (V) where they have played the last half dozen seasons burdened by on-going financial problems. During the new century SV Meppen was passed throw to the Niedersachsenliga (5th division). But the SV rises again in 2011. They won the Niedersachsenliga championship and advanced to the Regionalliga Nord to continue their march back to the 2nd Bundesliga. In a 2011 pre-season friendly match against Werder Bremen they were humiliated 13-1 on the 6th of July in front of their own fans.
Stadium
The "Vivaris Arena Emsland" is located in northern Meppen on Lathener Strasse. Construction on the site was finished in 1924 and the stadium was named "HindenburgPaul von Hindenburg
Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg , known universally as Paul von Hindenburg was a Prussian-German field marshal, statesman, and politician, and served as the second President of Germany from 1925 to 1934....
Stadion" two years later. In 1992 the stadium was re-named "Emsland
Emsland
Landkreis Emsland is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany named after the river Ems. It is bounded by the districts of Leer, Cloppenburg and Osnabrück, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia , the district of Bentheim and the Netherlands .- History :For a long time the region of the Emsland was...
-Stadion". A sponsorship deal in 2005 currently has the stadium branded as "Vivaris Arena Emsland". The stadium's largest ever crowd of 18,000 spectators watched SV Meppen play a 1982 friendly against FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
and their famous Argentinian
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
striker Diego Maradona
Diego Maradona
Diego Armando Maradona is a retired Argentine football player and widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time. Over the course of his professional club career Maradona played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and Newell's Old Boys, setting...
. Today the stadium has a capacity of 16,500.
Squad 2011 - 2012
Records
- Amateurliga Niedersachsen (IV) champions: 1961, 1968
- OberligaOberliga (football)The Oberliga is currently the name of the fifth tier of the German football leagues. Before the introduction of the 3rd Liga in 2008, it was the fourth tier...
Nord (III) champions: 1987 - Niedersachsenliga champions: 2011
The club played eleven consecutive seasons in the 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...
from 1988 to 1998. In 404 games there, the team scored 495 goals, with a record of 124 wins, 139 draws, and 141 losses placing them 27th in the all-time 2. Bundesliga table.
Literature
- Hans Vinke: Die Meppen-Story, Geschichte eines Fußball-Phänomens, 1997, ISBN 3-927099-56-2