Kickers Offenbach


GERMAN CUP 1970

Offenbach is a well known team in Germany, partially because of strong fan support. They also have had to live down a somewhat more recent surly reputation from the bribery scandals of the early 1970s. Rebuilding the club has taken time, and despite continued fan support, success on the field has been modest.

Success was modest in the early years, but finally in the Nazi era, things began to pick up, with decent results in the Gauliga. The best season was probably 1942, when they made it to the semifinals of the national championship, although they were clobbered 0-6 by Schalke.

After WW-II, things quickly got back to normal. In 1949 they were beaten by eventual champions Mannheim in the semifinals, and in 1950 OFC played in the championship, losing 1-2 to VfB Stuttgart. Subsequent years in the regional Oberliga were not bad but they were not able to make too many waves. A drop in form also led Offenbach not receiving an invite to the new Bundesliga, leading to a few years of 2nd division play.

1970 was a glorious year for Offenbach. Finishing 1st in the Regionalliga Süd, the Kickers also won their promotion qualifying group, thereby gaining the top flight for the first time. The season also ended nicely, as Offenbach defeated 1.FC Köln 2-1 in the DFB Cup final to take their first ever trophy. Unfortunately, the subsequent season ended in a nightmare, as Kickers went down on a single goal difference. The day after relegation from the Bundesliga in 1971, OFC president Horst Gregorio Canellas called a press conference and played taped phone conversations that proved that there had been bribery attempts of players in the league. This was the opening shot of the Bundesligaskandal, which shook the foundations of German soccer, and took several years to recover. Eventually, several players were banned and clubs punished. Canellas himself was kicked out of office and declared persona-non-grata. Undoubtedly he would have kept his mouth shut if Offenbach hadn't been relegated, so most folks recognize him as a scumbag. But his whistleblowing did have the effect of leading to reforms in German football, and that was a good thing.

Despite the drop from the top, Kickers were soon back in the Bundesliga by the mid 70s for another 4 seasons. Then after falling, they were a mainstay of the 2.Liga, even making it back to the Bundesliga in 1983. However, financial problems began to effect the club, and in 1985 they were penalized points, and dropped to the 3rd division. The same thing happened in 1989, and OFC would be down in the 3rd division for several years and finally 4th division.

In 1997, OFC was in a decisive playoff against FC Memmingen for promotion to the Regionalliga. Losing 3-2 in the 89th minute, under suspicious circumstances the floodlights "failed" and the game was suspended. A completely new match was "replayed", and Offenbach won 2-0, making the return to pro ranks.

The 1998-99 season fell short in the league, as Offenbach was beaten out by Waldhof. But redemption came in the promotion playoffs, as they defeated Eintracht Trier 2-0, and then won 2-1 at VfL Osnabrueck, thereby gaining promotion into the 2.Liga. However, despite the fan support, KO was quickly deflated and relegated back down to the 3rd division.

The Kickers seem condemned to be an elevator club these days, bouncing between the 2nd and 3rd divisions.

Fullname Offenbacher Fußball-Club Kickers 1901 e.V.
City Offenbach am Main (Hessen). Pop: 118,500
Address Bieberer Straße 282, 63071 Offenbach
Phone: (069) 9819010 Fax: (069) 98190150
e-mail: info@ofc.de
Colors Red and white.
Nickname
Stadium Bieberer Berg. Capacity: 31,500 (8200 seats)
This legendary stadium was built in 1921, and has several renovations. In 1968, floodlights were added, which at the time were considered Europe's best.
Tickets 8.50-20 euros (2004)
Supporters Despite many reverses, fan support is very strong. Approx. 60 registered fan clubs. The official fan reps can be contacted at e-mail: fanbeauftragte@ofc.de
Friends
Foes Eintracht Frankfurt isn't too popular :)
Heroes Siggi Held, capped 6 times in the late 60s, then another 35 with Dortmund. Erwin Kostedde, a goal scoring forward from the 1970s, was perhaps the first black player capped for Germany.
Zeroes Horst Canellas, the ex-president. Not because he was a whistle blower, but because he was certainly involved in the whole mess.
Beer Henninger is a sponsor. From Frankfurt, but what the hell.
Pub Grub
The Net The official site is www.ofc.de

Recent History:
--------------

1963-64	(II)	Regionalliga Süd	3rd
1964-65	(II)	Regionalliga Süd	3rd
1965-66	(II)	Regionalliga Süd	2nd
1966-67	(II)	Regionalliga Süd	1st
1967-68	(II)	Regionalliga Süd	2nd
1968-69	(I)	Bundesliga		18th
1969-70	(II)	Regionalliga Süd	1st
1970-71	(I)	Bundesliga		17th
1971-72	(II)	Regionalliga Süd	1st
1972-73	(I)	Bundesliga		7th
1973-74	(I)	Bundesliga		10th
1974-75	(I)	Bundesliga		8th
1975-76	(I)	Bundesliga		17th
1976-77	(II)	2.Bundesliga Süd	3rd
1977-78	(II)	2.Bundesliga Süd	5th
1978-79	(II)	2.Bundesliga Süd	6th
1979-80	(II)	2.Bundesliga Süd	8th
1980-81	(II)	2.Bundesliga Süd	2nd
1981-82	(II)	2.Bundesliga 		3rd
1982-83	(II)	2.Bundesliga 		2nd
1983-84	(I)	Bundesliga		17th
1984-85	(II)	2.Bundesliga		19th
1985-86	(III)	Am.Oberliga Hessen	1st
1986-87	(III)	Am.Oberliga Hessen	1st
1987-88	(II)	2.Bundesliga		8th
1988-89	(II)	2.Bundesliga		15th	license withdrawn
1989-90	(III)	Am.Oberliga Hessen	3rd
1990-91	(III)	Am.Oberliga Hessen	3rd
1991-92	(III)	Am.Oberliga Hessen	7th
1992-93	(III)	Am.Oberliga Hessen	1st
1993-94	(III)	Am.Oberliga Hessen	2nd
1994-95	(III)	Regionalliga Süd	15th
1995-96	(IV)	Oberliga Hessen		3rd
1996-97	(IV)	Oberliga Hessen		2nd
1997-98	(III)	Regionalliga Süd	2nd
1998-99	(III)	Regionalliga Süd	2nd
1999-00	(II)	2.Bundesliga		17th		
2000-01	(III)	Regionalliga Süd	10th
2001-02	(III)	Regionalliga Süd	8th
2002-03	(III)	Regionalliga Süd	8th
2003-04	(III)	Regionalliga Süd	13th
2004-05	(III)	Regionalliga Süd	1st
2005-06	(II)	2.Bundesliga		11th
2006-07 (II)    2.Bundesliga		14th
2007-08 (II)    2.Bundesliga		15th
2008-09 (III)	3.Liga			7th
2009-10	(III)	3.Liga			7th
2010-11 (III)   3.Liga			7th			
2011-12 (III)   3.Liga

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