SV Waldhof Mannheim

Founded in 1907, Waldhof has over 2,400 members. From 1972-78, the club was known as SV Chio Waldhof, after the main sponsor, "Chio-Chips".

Although Waldhof occasionally produced some decent players in the pre-WWII years, success as a team was modest. The best year was 1940, when they lost to powerful Schalke in the semifinals, finishing 4th.

After WWII, Waldhof started off with decent performances in the Oberliga, but by the end of the 1950s were down. Recovery really didn't begin until the mid 1970s, coinciding with the sponsorship from Chio. This eventually would lead to the amazing jump to the top level. From 1983-90, Waldhof defied the odds and played in the Bundesliga, and then for several years was a strong 2.Liga club. In 1997, disaster struct, and the club was down to 3rd class for the first time in almost 30 years. In 1998, there were merger talks with town rivals VfR Mannheim, but just when it appeared a deal had been struck, VfR members bolted.

The 1998-99 season was one of redemption for Waldhof, as they battled rivals Offenbach throughout the season, before finally pulling away and returning to the 2.Liga. Their first season back proved uneventful, as they managed to finish out of relegation. However in 2003, disaster struck. Waldhof was relegated, but financial problems made things even worse. The DFB Finance committee judged Waldhof with inproprieties, and the club was forcibly dropped down to the 4th division. At the same time, the attempted merger with local rivals VfR failed - for the 2nd time in 5 years.

Fullname Sportverein Waldhof Mannheim e.V.
City Mannheim (Baden-Württemberg). Pop: 308,000 (2002).
Address Postfach 310446, 68264 Mannheim. Alternate: Alsenweg, 68035 Mannheim
Phone: (0621) 742222

Colors Black and blue shirt, black shorts, blue socks.

Nickname

Stadium Carl-Benz-Stadion. Capacity: 27,000 (15,000 seats)
Guest fans in the west curve. Completed in 1994, fully covered. It was built on the site of the original Rhein-Neckar-Stadion, which was also known as the Stadion Mannheim. From 1924-94, home base was the Alsenweg, which is known as the Sepp-Herberger-Stadion. today. The capacity was roughly 15,200. During the Bundesliga years in the 1980s, the club played games in the Südweststadion in Ludwigshafen, that could hold up to 75,000.

Tickets 5-10 euros (2004). There is also a Family section, where you can get a reduced rate. Apparently you can catch the bus from the trainstation, as the busfare is included in the ticket price.
Supporters Averaged 3,150 in 2004 (Oberliga). "Could be better". The Fan-Initiative has about 450 members, and meets every 2nd Thursday at the club house. There is also a strange fan club, "Walhof Forever", which doesn't accept new members.
Friends Some official fan contacts with Eintracht Braunschweig.

Foes Obviously VfR Mannheim. Kaiserslautern and Offenbach have been mentioned as enemies.

Heroes About 6 German internationals. Sepp Herberger the national team coach was capped once for Waldhof in the 1920s. Otto Siffling, with 31 caps 1934-38 is the most decorated Waldhofer. However, the best player is probably superb defender Jürgen Kohler. He started out with Waldhof, gaining 4 caps, before moving on to several teams and an additional 100+ national squad appearances 1986-98.
Zeroes The club management, who not only tried to force a merger with hated local rival VfR, but insisted that the new club would be known as Waldhof.
Beer The local Eichbaum brewery has several beers, including Ur-Eich, Schwarzbier etc.
Grub and Pub

The Net A very good site with lots of detailed info is Waldhof-Online, www.waldhof-online.de , run by Marco and Michael Dinies. An official site is also available, www.waldhof-mannheim.de .

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

1963-64	(II)	Regionalliga Süd	11th
1964-65	(II)	Regionalliga Süd	4th
1965-66	(II)	Regionalliga Süd	3rd
1966-67	(II)	Regionalliga Süd	11th
1967-68	(II)	Regionalliga Süd	12th
1968-69	(II)	Regionalliga Süd	11th
1969-70	(II)	Regionalliga Süd	20th
1970-71	(III)	Amateurliga Nordbaden	1st
1971-72	(III)	Amateurliga Nordbaden	1st
1972-73	(II)	Regionalliga Süd	7th
1973-74	(II)	Regionalliga Süd	7th
1974-75	(II)	2.Bundesliga Süd	8th
1975-76	(II)	2.Bundesliga Süd	8th
1976-77	(II)	2.Bundesliga Süd	11th
1977-78	(II)	2.Bundesliga Süd	8th
1978-79	(II)	2.Bundesliga Süd	16th
1979-80	(II)	2.Bundesliga Süd	11th
1980-81	(II)	2.Bundesliga Süd	6th
1981-82	(II)	2.Bundesliga		6th
1982-83	(II)	2.Bundesliga		1st
1983-84	(I)	Bundesliga		11th
1984-85	(I)	Bundesliga		6th
1985-86	(I)	Bundesliga		8th
1986-87	(I)	Bundesliga		14th
1987-88	(I)	Bundesliga		16th
1988-89	(I)	Bundesliga		12th
1989-90	(I)	Bundesliga		17th
1990-91	(II)	2.Bundesliga		7th
1991-92	(II)	2.Bundesliga		2nd
1992-93	(II)	2.Bundesliga		4th
1993-94	(II)	2.Bundesliga		6th
1994-95	(II)	2.Bundesliga		5th
1995-96	(II)	2.Bundesliga		7th
1996-97	(II)	2.Bundesliga		15th
1997-98	(III)	Regionalliga Süd	7th	
1998-99	(III)	Regionalliga Süd	1st
1999-00	(II)	2.Bundesliga		12th
2000-01	(II)	2.Bundesliga		4th
2001-02	(II)	2.Bundesliga		9th
2002-03 (II)	2.Bundesliga		18th
2003-04 (IV)	Oberliga Baden-Wrt.	3rd
2004-05 (IV)	Oberliga Baden-Wrt.	11th
2005-06 (IV)	Oberliga Baden-Wrt.	8th
2006-07 (IV)	Oberliga Baden-Wrt.	10th
2007-08 (IV)	Oberliga Baden-Wrt.
2008-09	(IV)	Regionalliga Süd	4th
2009-10	(IV)	Regionalliga West	14th
2010-11	(V)	Oberliga Baden-Württemberg

Fullname	Sportverein Waldhof Mannheim e.V.
City	Mannheim (Baden-Württemberg). Pop: 308,000 (2002).
Address	Postfach 310446, 68264 Mannheim. Alternate: Alsenweg, 68035 Mannheim Phone: (0621) 742222
Colors	Black and blue shirt, black shorts, blue socks.
Nickname
Stadium	Carl-Benz-Stadion. Capacity: 27,000 (15,000 seats) Guest fans in the west curve. Completed in 1994, fully covered. It was built on the site of the original Rhein-Neckar-Stadion, which was also known as the Stadion Mannheim. From 1924-94, home base was the Alsenweg, which is known as the Sepp-Herberger-Stadion. today. The capacity was roughly 15,200. During the Bundesliga years in the 1980s, the club played games in the Südweststadion in Ludwigshafen, that could hold up to 75,000.
Tickets	5-10 euros (2004). There is also a Family section, where you can get a reduced rate. Apparently you can catch the bus from the trainstation, as the busfare is included in the ticket price.
Supporters	Averaged 3,150 in 2004 (Oberliga). "Could be better". The Fan-Initiative has about 450 members, and meets every 2nd Thursday at the club house. There is also a strange fan club, "Walhof Forever", which doesn't accept new members.
Friends	Some official fan contacts with Eintracht Braunschweig.
Foes	Obviously VfR Mannheim. Kaiserslautern and Offenbach have been mentioned as enemies.
Heroes	About 6 German internationals. Sepp Herberger the national team coach was capped once for Waldhof in the 1920s. Otto Siffling, with 31 caps 1934-38 is the most decorated Waldhofer. However, the best player is probably superb defender Jürgen Kohler. He started out with Waldhof, gaining 4 caps, before moving on to several teams and an additional 100+ national squad appearances 1986-98.
Zeroes	The club management, who not only tried to force a merger with hated local rival VfR, but insisted that the new club would be known as Waldhof.
Beer	The local Eichbaum brewery has several beers, including Ur-Eich, Schwarzbier etc.
Grub and Pub
The Net	A very good site with lots of detailed info is Waldhof-Online, www.waldhof-online.de , run by Marco and Michael Dinies. An official site is also available, www.waldhof-mannheim.de .