Chemnitzer FC

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Chemnitzer FC

Full name

Chemnitzer Fussball-Club e.V.

Nickname(s)

Die Himmelblauen (Sky Blues)

Founded

1920

Ground

Stadion an der Gellertstrasse

Capacity

12,680

League

Oberliga NOFV Süd (IV)

2005-06

Regionalliga Nord (III), 19th, (relegated)





Home colours





Away colours

Chemnitzer FC is a German football club based in Chemnitz, Saxony. The origins of the club go back to its establishment as Polizei-Sportverein Chemnitz in 1920.

1 History
2 Honours
3 Notable players
4 Team roster
5 Stadium
6 External links

[edit] History

After the re-organization of German football into sixteen Gauliga, or top flight divisions, under the Third Reich, PSV Chemnitz played in the Gauliga Sachsen. The club performed well, generally finishing in the upper half of the league table and capturing their division in 1935 and 1936. In 1942 the club was re-named SG Ordnungspolizei Chemnitz. World War II eventually took a toll as the team fell out of first division play after a ninth place finish in 1943 and the country's football descended into chaos as it was overtaken by the war.

In the aftermath of the conflict most organizations in Germany, including sports and football clubs, were dissolved by the Allied occupation authorities. The side was re-established in 1945 as SG Chemnitz Nord and then, as was common in East German football at the time, it underwent a number of name changes: BSG Fewa Chemnitz (1948); BSG Chemie (1951); and BSG Chemie Karl-Marx-Stadt (1953), in step with the change of the city's name under the communist government. In 1956 the football club was attached to the larger centralized sports club SC Motor Karl-Marx-Stadt, which was in turn re-named SC Karl-Marx-Stadt (1963). The football department was once again separated from the sports club as FC Karl-Marx-Stadt in 1966 under a government plan to establish a number of centres throughout the country intended to identify and develop talent in support of a strong national side. When the city re-claimed its original name in 1991 the team followed suit to become Chemnitzer FC.

After joining the DDR-Liga in 1963 the club generally earned uninspiring results, most often finishing in the lower half of the league table. It managed a surprising East German championship win in 1967, and were losing finalists in the East German Cup (FDGB Cup) in 1969, 1983 and 1989. The club enjoyed its best turn internationally in 1989 advancing through two preliminary rounds to the quarter final of the UEFA Cup where it went out 1:2, 0:1 against Juventus. In 1990 the team finished as East German vice-champions, second to Dynamo Dresden on goal differential. After German re-unification in 1990, Chemnitz was seeded into the 2.Bundesliga beginning with the 1992 season and played there until being relegated in 1997. The team advanced to the semi-final round of the German Cup in 1993. It played in the Regionalliga (III), was promoted to the 2.Bundesliga in 1999. Since then the importance of a club has faded. It was relegated back to Regionalliga (III) in 2001 and to IV division in 2006.

[edit] Honours

East German champions: 1967
East German vice-champions: 1990
East German Cup (FDGB Cup) finalists: 1969, 1983, 1989
German Cup semi-finalist: 1993
Saxon Cup (Sachsenpokal) champions: 1997, 1998, 2006

[edit] Notable players

Eberhard Vogel, 74 GDR caps, 1962-76
Rico Steinmann, 23 GDR caps, 1986-90
Michael Ballack, came up through Chemnitz's junior system and debuted with the 1998 Kaiserslautern side that claimed the Bundesliga title in the same year that it returned from relegation – the only club to ever accomplish the feat

[edit] Team roster

As of January 4, 2006

Goalkeepers Sebastian Klömich Ralf Sommerfeldt	Defenders Tobias Becker Mike Baumann Michael Gasser Frantisek Hrzan Sascha Thönelt Danny Troschke	Midfielders Yakubu Adamu Christian Kunert Gerard Sambou Stefan Schumann David Sieber Borislav Tomoski Marco Wölfel	Forwards Felix Bachmann Danilo Hänel Steffen Kellig Marcel Schlosser Bakary Sinaba

[edit] Stadium

Chemnitzer FC plays in the club-owned Stadion an der Gellertstraße which has a capacity of 12,680 spectators (~540 seats). Until 1990 the facility was officially known as "Dr. Kurt-Fischer-Stadion", or locally as the "Fischerwiese". During its 2.Bundesliga seasons the club also made use of the larger Chemnitzer Sportforum, which has a capacity of over 19,000.