FC Gütersloh FC Gütersloh SVA is the older club, having been founded in 1918 as Sport Verein Arminia. However, DJK (Deutsche Jugendkraft), founded in 1923, was generally the stronger club, a fixture in the 2nd divisions in the 1970s. In 1978, the soccer divisions of each club decided to merge and formed FC Gütersloh 1978. This was a bit of a surprise, as bad blood had existed between SVA and DFJK for quite a while. Among other things, SVA had refused to sublease the Heidewald so DJK could play in the Regionalliga in the late 1960s. Success for FCG78 was modest, but by the mid 1990s, they began climbing steadily. By the late 90s, FCG was in the 2.Liga, and by 1998 they had finished 5th, knocking on the door of the Bundesliga. However the success on the field was not matched by sound fiscal management - it became clear that the club was spending wildly and living beyond it's means.
The 1998-99 season pretty much had FCG in trouble all along. The adventure in the 2.Liga had run it's course. Unfortunately for the local fans, things soon went from bad to worse. The club was competitive on the field, but the grim budget problems could not be overcome; over 7 million DM deficit in the operating budget could not be resolved. In mid-February 2000, a judge ordered the club dissolved. All results were then annulled. The club was reconstituted as FC Gütersloh 2000, and was luckily seeded in the 4th division (they could have been sent to the bottom, like Hessen Kassel)
The club was in the news again in 2007 as they placed an advertisement in the local Nordwest-Zeitung for players. Aside from all the usual pre-requisites ("fighting spirit", etc.), the additional requirement was that "no player agents allowed." Club President Norbert Wöstmann was quoted as saying that he didn't want to deal with player agents anymore. The hope was that they could draw talented players from the eastern Westfalen region. In addition, head coach Thomas Stratos (ex-Arminia Bielefeld pro) was fired, because "he only signed expensive outsiders, and didn't give 20 year old local talents a trial." Initial feedback was some 50 responses, but we'll see if they manage to get any quality players...
| Fullname | Fußball-Club Gütersloh 2000 e.V.
| City |
Gütersloh
(Nordrhein-Westfalen). Pop: 96,000 (2002)
| Address |
Friedrich-Ebert-Str. 41, Postfach 1614, 33246 Gütersloh. | Phone: (05241) 1830 Fax: (05241) 1839 Open: M-F 1000-1230, 1400-1700 Colors |
White shirt with green trim, green pants and socks. Road uniform is
blue-white. Also green shirt, with either black or white trim.
| Nickname |
| Stadium |
Heidewaldstadion. Capacity: 12,500 (1,150 seats) | It was inaugurated in 1933 as the Adolf-Hitler-Stadion, but was used primarily by a bicycle club, who subleased to the various soccer clubs. Luckily the bikers were booted out when the stadium was renamed after the war. SVA got a long term lease. However, when rivals DJK became the top ranking club, SVA refused to let them play there. Eventually the city bought out their lease. The stadium was rebuilt in 1972, and with the stunning merger in 1978, all the arguments ended. Floodlights were added in 1998. Tickets |
Euros 6-14 (2004)
| Supporters |
"Not particularily strong", but decent. Averaged 1,085 in 2004
(Oberliga). In 2.Liga days, up to 1500 fans
made it to big
away games.
| Friends |
SpVgg Greuther-Fürth and Mainz 05, but these were in infant
stages during the 2.Liga years. Pretty much a non-starter these days.
|
Foes |
Local rivals Arminia Bielefeld and SC Verl, but nothing radical.
| Heroes |
| Zeroes |
| Beer |
See brewpub below, otherwise Veltins is a sponsor.
|
Pub Grub |
The usual snackbars in the stadium, and a couple of restaurants within
200m. Also, the Gütersloher
Brauhaus at UnterdenUlmen 9, is a
brewpub sponsor.
| The Net |
The official site is www.fcg2000.de
There used to be a couple of fan sites, but they disappeared.
| |
DJK Gütersloh SVA Gütersloh
1969-70 (II) Regionalliga West 10th Verbandsliga Westfalen/NO 2nd
1970-71 (II) Regionalliga West 8th Verbandsliga Westfalen/NO 1st
1971-72 (II) Regionalliga West 13th Regionalliga West 9th
1972-73 (II) Regionalliga West 9th Regionalliga West 16th
1973-74 (II) Regionalliga West 9th Regionalliga West 14th
1974-75 (II) 2.Bundesliga Nord 14th Verbandsliga Westfalen 1st
1975-76 (II) 2.Bundesliga Nord 19th Verbandsliga Westfalen 5th
1976-77 (III) Verbandsliga Westfalen 5th Verbandsliga Westfalen/NO 1st
1977-78 (III) Verbandsliga Westfalen/NO 8th Verbandsliga Westfalen/NO 9th
FC Gütersloh 1978
1978-79 (III) Am.Oberliga Westfalen 4th
1979-80 (III) Am.Oberliga Westfalen 6th
1980-81 (III) Am.Oberliga Westfalen 4th
1981-82 (III) Am.Oberliga Westfalen 2nd
1982-83 (III) Am.Oberliga Westfalen 6th
1983-84 (III) Am.Oberliga Westfalen 1st
1984-85 (III) Am.Oberliga Westfalen 14th
1985-86 (III) Am.Oberliga Westfalen 3rd
1986-87 (III) Am.Oberliga Westfalen 8th
1987-88 (III) Am.Oberliga Westfalen 6th
1988-89 (III) Am.Oberliga Westfalen 6th
1989-90 (III) Am.Oberliga Westfalen 15th
1990-91 (IV) Verbandsliga Westfalen 1st
1991-92 (III) Am.Oberliga Westfalen 11th
1992-93 (III) Am.Oberliga Westfalen 13th
1993-94 (III) Am.Oberliga Westfalen 9th
1994-95 (IV) Oberliga Westfalen 1st
1995-96 (III) Regionalliga West/SW 1st
1996-97 (II) 2.Bundesliga 13th
1997-98 (II) 2.Bundesliga 5th
1998-99 (II) 2.Bundesliga 15th
1999-00 (III) Regionalliga West/SW dissolved
FC Gütersloh 2000
2000-01 (IV) Oberliga Westfalen 4th
2001-02 (IV) Oberliga Westfalen 9th
2002-03 (IV) Oberliga Westfalen 3rd
2003-04 (IV) Oberliga Westfalen 8th
2004-05 (IV) Oberliga Westfalen 10th
2005-06 (IV) Oberliga Westfalen 3rd
2006-07 (IV) Oberliga Westfalen 5th
2007-08 (IV) Oberliga Westfalen
(c) Abseits Guide to Germany