Bochum

VfL Bochum, a German football club based in Bochum, North Rhine Westphalia, is one of the oldest sports organizations in Germany . It dates back to 1848. But, it is not Bochum’s first football club. That honor goes to Fussballklub 06, later known as SV Germania 06 Bochum. Bochumer TV, formally established on February 18, 1849, was the result of intense planning for a gymnastics club. However, the story of the club’s birth does not end here.   SuS Bochum, another football club was established in 1908. It played its first football match against VfL Hamm in 1911. In 1919, it merged with another local football club and assumed the name TuS Bochum in 1848. The old Bochum clubs played in one of the top football divisions, the Gauliga Westfalen. During the Nazi regime, the Nazis ordered the consolidation of TuS, Germania, and Turnverein Bochum 1848. The resulting club was named VfL Bochum.   The club had quality and was quite a strong football team during the days of the Second World War. But, they were no match for Schalke 04, the most prominent football team of those days. Unfortunately for VfL Bochum, it was in the same division as Schalke 04 and found itself outshined by the more prominent club. The most that the club could achieve was a couple of second place finishes.   The club gained strength after the Second World War. It resumed its games as VfL Bochum Fussballgemeinschaft 1848. It played its first season in the second division, Oberliga West. In 1953, the club grabbed the division title and advanced into the top flight.   In 1963, the Bundesliga was created. The club got a place in the third tier Amateurliga Westfalen. It achieved good results in that division and could, therefore, climb onto the Regionalliga West (II). It continued their steady climb and finally earned a place for itself in the Bundesliga in 1971. During its rise to the Bundesliga, the club also played in the finals of the 1968 German Cup.   During the late 80s, the club made another appearance in the finals of the German Cup 1988. This time it lost the Cup to Eintracht Frankfurt . After its German Cup appearance, the club has been taking elevator rides between the top and the lower divisions. Its best results could be said to be fifth place finishes in the year 1997 and 2004. By virtue of this success, the club was able to appear in the UEFA Cup tournament. They did not achieve any outstanding victories at the European level either in 1997 or 2004.   The club has trained several notable players, such as Mirko Dickhaut, Frank Fahrenhorst, Klaus Fischer, Paul Freier, Harry Fechner, Michael Frontzeck, Hermann Gerland, Dirk Helmig, Michael Hubner, Georgi Donkov, Søren Colding, Peter Madsen, Theofanis Gekas, Thordur Gudjonsson, Vahid Hashemian, Mehdi Mahdavikia, and Moharram Navidkia .   The club’s home is Rewirpower Stadion, formerly known as the Ruhr Stadion. It is considered to be one of the first modern stadiums, build for the purpose of football alone. It was constructed in 1970. The stadium is completely covered by a roof. Its capacity is 31,282, and this includes standing room for 15, 639 spectators.   Today, VfL Bochum has 5,000 members, out of which 2,200 are in the football department. The club’s other sections focus on athletics, badminton, basketball, dance, fencing, gymnastics, handball, hockey, swimming, table tennis, tennis, and volleyball.   The Club’s Current Players   Goalkeepers:  Philipp Heerwagen, Jan Laštůvka, René Renno Defenders: Matias Concha, Martin Meichelbeck, Marcel Maltritz (vice-captain), Pavel Drsek, Mergim Mavraj, Philipp Bönig, Antar Yahia, Patrick Fabian Midfielders:  Christoph Dabrowski, Tommy Bechmann, Tomasz Zdebel (captain), Jo ël Epalle, Danny Fuchs, Daniel Imhof, Ivo Iličević, Oliver Schröder, Dennis Grote, Marc Pfertzel, Mimoun Azaouagh, Heinrich Schmidtgal, David Zajas Forwards: Stanislav Šesták, Marcin Mięciel, Benjamin Auer, Marc Sand     The Club Honors   UEFA Cup: Third Round in 1997-98 UEFA Cup: First Round in 2004-05 German Cup finalists: 1968, 1988 Bundesliga UEFA Cup qualification(5th): 1996-97 and 2003-04 Bundesliga top goal scorer 1985-86: Stefan Kuntz scored 22 goals 2002-03: Thomas Christiansen scored 21 goals 2006-07: Theofanis Gekas scored 20 goals 2. Bundesliga champions: 1993-94, 1995-96, and 2005-06