Rot-Weiss Ahlen


LR Ahlen is perhaps an example of the positive side of combining two small clubs with limited resources. What they have achieved in a short period of time is quite remarkable.

LR Ahlen was founded only in 1996, after a merger between TuS Ahlen (founded 1945) and Blau-Weiss. TuS especially was hard-up, and had just been sent down to the Kreisliga in 1991. They were basically rescued with the resources of the company LR International. (Beauty and Health products). Hence the "LR", although officially with the club it stands for "Leichtathletik und Rasensport." Then came the merger with Blau-Weiss a couple of years later.They immediately made a splash by romping home in Oberliga, and followed it up with a strong performance in the Regionalliga. In 1997, the decided to "buy" their way to the top, bringing in several players with Bundesliga experience. They were announced as heavy favorites, and chided as "The Millionarios". The season turned out to be a flop. Although they ended with a respectable 6th place, they were never in contention. The "millionaires" were for the most part fired, and the club decided to live within it's means.

The 1998-99 season has to be viewed as a moderate success, when viewed in that light. Ahlen really didn't contend for the title, but were basically in the top half of the table the whole season. The next year saw Ahlen rise to new heights. Although Saarbruecken pretty much had a stranglehold on the title, Ahlen fought off the favored SpFr Siegen to win the coveted 2nd spot. They then crowned the achievement by drawing southern runnerup Pfullendorf and defeating northeast champ Union Berlin in playoffs to gain promotion to the 2.Liga.

The initial season in the 2nd division proved to be quite interesting. Ahlen at first sucked, but then new coach Peter Neururer brought new life into the club, and they embarked upon a great run at midseason. They even challenged briefly for promotion, and finished as Westphalia's top club.

After the relegation in 2006, the main sponsor LR withdrew. The members therefore renamed the club to Rot-Weiss Ahlen

Full Name Leichtathletik und Rasensport Ahlen e.V.
City Ahlen (Nordrhein-Westfalen). Pop: 55,000 (2002)
Address August-Kirchner-Straße 14, 59229 Ahlen
Phone: (02382) 701358
Colors Red-White horizontal striped jerseys and socks, red shorts.
Nicknames
Stadium Wersestadion. Capacity: 11,000 (2,000 seats)
This new stadium was built in 1999 to meet new DFB standards, at a cost of about 11 million DM. Previously, the club had played in the Glückaufkampfbahn, (Capacity: 6,000), which had been built in 1945 by miners.
Tickets Range from Euro 6.00-20.00, with kids getting in for as little as 2.50. (2006)
Supporters Averaged about 5,300 in 2004 (2.Liga). A couple of fan clubs, die Rot-Weisse Zipfelmütze and Laute Rasseln. Since the late 1990s, a few more have sprung up. In 2002, the club recognized about 22 different groups.
Friends
Foes Given the proximity, rivalry with Arminia Bielefeld and FC Gütersloh.
Heroes
Zeroes
Beer Hmm. Given their sponsor, they probably have to settle for Aloe vera and mudbaths.
Pub Grub
The Net An official page at www.lrahlen.de

 

Recent History: -------------- TuS Ahlen 1966-67 (III) Verbandsliga Westfalen-NO 5th 1967-68 (III) Verbandsliga Westfalen-NO 8th 1968-69 (III) Verbandsliga Westfalen-NO 12th 1969-70 (III) Verbandsliga Westfalen-NO 10th 1970-71 (III) Verbandsliga Westfalen-NO 7th 1971-72 (III) Verbandsliga Westfalen-NO 11th 1972-73 (III) Verbandsliga Westfalen-NO 12th 1973-74 (IV) Verbandsliga Westfalen-NO 3rd 1974-75 (IV) Verbandsliga Westfalen-NO 9th 1975-76 (IV) Verbandsliga Westfalen-NO 8th 1976-77 (IV) Verbandsliga Westfalen-NO 2nd 1977-78 (IV) Verbandsliga Westfalen-NO 16th 1978-79 (IV) Verbandsliga Westfalen-NO 14th 1992-93 (VII) Bezirksliga Westfalen 1st 1993-94 (VI) Landesliga Westfalen 1st 1994-95 (V) Verbandsliga Westfalen-NO 1st 1995-96 (IV) Oberliga Westfalen 1st LR Ahlen 1996-97 (III) Regionalliga West/SW 4th 1997-98 (III) Regionalliga West/SW 6th 1998-99 (III) Regionalliga West/SW 6th 1999-00 (III) Regionalliga West/SW 2nd 2000-01 (II) 2.Bundesliga 6th 2001-02 (II) 2.Bundesliga 8th 2002-03 (II) 2.Bundesliga 12th 2003-04 (II) 2.Bundesliga 12th 2004-05 (II) 2.Bundesliga 13th 2005-06 (II) 2.Bundesliga 17th Rot-Weiss Ahlen 2006-07 (III) Regionalliga Nord 13th 2007-08 (III) Regionalliga Nord 1st 2008-09 (II) 2.Bundesliga 10th 2009-10 (II) 2.Bundesliga 18th 2010-11 (III) 3.Liga 15th bankruptcy, forcibly relegated 2011-12 (V) NRW-Liga (Oberliga)


(c) Abseits Guide to Germany: www.abseits-soccer.com