MSV Duisburg

MSV Duisburg

Full name	Meidericher Spielverein 02 e. V. Duisburg
Nickname(s)	Die Zebras (The Zebras)[ citation needed ]
Founded	1902;122 years ago (1902)
Ground	MSV-Arena
Capacity	31,514[ citation needed ]
Manager	Dietmar Hirsch
League	Regionalliga West
2023–24	3. Liga, 18th of 20 (relegated)
Website	http://www.msv-duisburg.de
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Meidericher Spielverein 02 e. V. Duisburg, commonly known as simply MSV Duisburg (German pronunciation: [ʔɛmʔɛsfaʊˈdyːsbʊɐ̯k] ), is a German association football club based in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia. Nicknamed Die Zebras for their traditional striped jerseys, the club was one of the original members of the Bundesliga when it was formed in 1963, although they are now playing in the fourth tier of German football.

History

Historical chart of MSV Duisburg league performance

Bernard Dietz

Early years

The club was founded in 1902 as Meidericher Spielverein, in Meiderich, which later became part of Duisburg. In 1905, they fused with the club Sportclub Viktoria Meiderich. ^[1]

In 1910, MSV played in the West German A-Klasse for the first time, and in 1914, won promotion to the 'Zehnerliga' (top level of the West German championship) for the first time, after winning every game in the 13/14 season, scoring 113 goals and conceding only 12. ^[1]

In 1929, they won the first Niederrhein championship and were runner up in the West German championship, qualifying for the national championship for the first time. They won the Niederrhein championship again in 1931 and 1932, and appeared in the 1931 German championship again after finishing third in the West German championship. ^{[1] [2] [3]} The club would not qualify for either the German championship or the West German championship again. ^[2]

Meiderich became city champions in 1946, and in 1949 were placed in the new West German second division. The club earned promotion to the top-flight Oberliga West in 1951, and though they were relegated in 1955, they would return immediately and participate in the Oberliga West until the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963.

Early years of the Bundesliga (1960s)

Former logo of MSV Duisburg

The club was surprisingly chosen to be a member of the new national league, the Bundesliga, for the inaugural 1963–64 season. Despite not being a big name or coming from a big city, Meiderich were chosen as they were the strongest club from the populous Lower Rhine region; this decision was controversial, and Alemannia Aachen challenged the decision in court. ^{[4] [5]}

The club signed young coach Rudi Gutendorf for the first Bundesliga season, replacing the highly regarded Willi Multhaup. He convinced the board to sign World Cup-winner Helmut Rahn, and developed a tactical system later compared to Dutch total football, whereby every player contributed in both attack and defence. ^[6] Gutendorf's team shocked the Bundesliga by finishing second, six points behind champions 1. FC Köln, and conceding the fewest goals in the league. ^[7] This remains the club's highest ever league finish. ^{[4] [8]}

In 1966, they finished with a club record 70 goals scored in the league, including the Bundesliga's biggest ever away win, 9–0 against Tasmania Berlin. They also reached the DFB-Pokal final, losing to Bayern Munich. ^{[1] [9]} This was the last season played under the old name of Meidericher SV, as the club renamed itself MSV Duisburg in 1967, having received financial support from the city of Duisburg. ^[10]

European campaigns and relegation to the Oberliga (1970s, 1980s)

In 1976, MSV Duisburg reached the DFB-Pokal final for the second time, but lost to Eintracht Frankfurt. They then made their first appearance in the UEFA Cup, losing in the second round to Levski-Spartak Sofia on away goals. ^{[11] [12]} This season was also notable for the performances of defender and captain Bernard Dietz, who played every minute of the league season and was voted by Sport Bild as one of the league's best players. Dietz would achieve this three more times, being named the Bundesliga's best outfield player in 1978, and captaining Germany to victory at UEFA Euro 1980 while still at Duisburg. ^[13]

Duisburg finished 9th in 1976–77, their first top-half finish since 1970–71, and then 6th in the 1977–78 Bundesliga, qualifying for the 1978–79 UEFA Cup. ^{[1] [3]} The club eliminated Lech Poznań, Carl Zeiss Jena, RC Strasbourg and Budapest Honvéd to reach the semi-final, where they were beaten by Borussia Mönchengladbach. ^[14] Despite their success in Europe, Duisburg only narrowly avoided relegation, having been in the relegation zone during the winter break. ^[15] In the 1981–82 season, the club was relegated from the Bundesliga for the first time, finishing last. ^[16]

Four years later, Duisburg were relegated again, finishing last in the 2. Bundesliga with only 15 points from 38 games. For their final game, they managed a crowd of just 600 fans. ^{[17] [18]} The club spent three years in the third-tier Oberliga Nordrhein, before returning to the 2. Bundesliga in 1989. During their time in the regional leagues, Duisburg also won the German amateur championship by beating Bayern Munich II. ^[1]

Between the Bundesliga & 2. Bundesliga (1990s, 2000s)

In their second season back in the second-tier, Duisburg finished runner up to Schalke 04, returning to the Bundesliga for the first time in nearly a decade. However, they would immediately be relegated back and would develop a reputation for 'yo-yoing' between the top two leagues. ^[19] In 1993, with former player Ewald Lienen as coach, they again won promotion from the 2. Bundesliga. ^[1] Lienen's Duisburg led the Bundesliga as late as February as a newly promoted team, becoming the first team to ever top the table with a negative goal difference; they eventually finished 9th, and were relegated again the following season. ^{[9] [20]}

Friedhelm Funkel brought the club back into the Bundesliga in 1996 and achieved three successive top-half finishes, also reaching the 1998 DFB-Pokal final. As in 1966, Duisburg lost to Bayern Munich. ^[21] Duisburg qualified for the 1998–99 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, but were heavily beaten by K.R.C. Genk, in the club's final European appearance to date. ^[1] In March 2000, with his team bottom of the table, Friedhelm Funkel was sacked; the club was relegated at the end of the season. ^[22]

The new 31,500-capacity MSV-Arena, was completed during the 2004–05 season, in which Duisburg once again won promotion after five years in the 2. Bundesliga. ^{[1] [23]} In December 2005, promotion-winning coach Norbert Meier was infamously sacked after 'one of the most bizarre incidents in Bundesliga history,' where he headbutted 1. FC Köln player Albert Streit during a game and pretended to have himself been attacked. ^{[24] [25]}

Duisburg finished last in the 2005–06 Bundesliga, won promotion back in 2006–07, and then finished last again in 2007–08. ^{[1] [3]}

Financial troubles (2010s, 2020s)

MSV Duisburg Anniversary logo used in the 2022–23 season

In 2011, MSV Duisburg surprisingly reached their fourth DFB-Pokal Final. Schalke won the match 5–0, the joint-biggest winning margin in a DFB-Pokal final. ^{[19] [26]}

After five years in the 2. Bundesliga, Duisburg were demoted to the 3. Liga in 2013 despite finishing 11th, after having their license application denied by the league for financial reasons. The possibility of the club becoming insolvent was raised by club officials. ^{[27] [28]}

Duisburg earned promotion back to the 2. Bundesliga for the 2015–16 season, but lasted only one season, losing to Würzburger Kickers in the relegation playoff; there were again concerns over whether the club would be granted a license. ^[29] Duisburg won the 3. Liga for the first time in 2016–17 and finished in the top half of the 2. Bundesliga in 2017–18. ^{[30] [31]} The following year they were relegated back to the 3. Liga. ^{[3] [32]}

The club was reportedly under threat of insolvency again in 2022. ^[33]

For the first time in the club's history, MSV Duisburg will play in the fourth tier of German professional football, Regionalliga West, starting with the 2024–25 season. ^[34]

Recent seasons

Year	Division	Tier	Position
1963–64 [35]	1. Bundesliga	I	2nd
1964–65	1. Bundesliga		7th
1965–66	1. Bundesliga		8th
1966–67	1. Bundesliga		11th
1967–68	1. Bundesliga		7th
1968–69	1. Bundesliga		12th
1969–70	1. Bundesliga		15th
1970–71	1. Bundesliga		7th
1971–72	1. Bundesliga		14th
1972–73	1. Bundesliga		10th
1973–74	1. Bundesliga		15th
1974–75	1. Bundesliga		14th
1975–76	1. Bundesliga		10th
1976–77	1. Bundesliga		9th
1977–78	1. Bundesliga		6th
1978–79	1. Bundesliga		13th
1979–80	1. Bundesliga		14th
1980–81	1. Bundesliga		12th
1981–82	1. Bundesliga		18th ↓
1982–83	2. Bundesliga	II	11th
1983–84	2. Bundesliga		3rd
1984–85	2. Bundesliga		13th
1985–86	2. Bundesliga		20th ↓
1986–87	Oberliga Nordrhein	III	2nd
1987–88	Oberliga Nordrhein		1st
1988–89	Oberliga Nordrhein		1st ↑
1989–90	2. Bundesliga	II	10th
1990–91	2. Bundesliga		2nd ↑
1991–92	1. Bundesliga	I	19th ↓
1992–93	2. Bundesliga	II	2nd ↑
1993–94	1. Bundesliga	I	9th
1994–95	1. Bundesliga		17th ↓
1995–96	2. Bundesliga	II	3rd ↑
1996–97	1. Bundesliga	I	9th
1997–98	1. Bundesliga		8th
1998–99	1. Bundesliga		8th
1999–2000	Bundesliga		18th ↓
2000–01	2. Bundesliga	II	11th
2001–02	2. Bundesliga		11th
2002–03	2. Bundesliga		8th
2003–04	2. Bundesliga		7th
2004–05	2. Bundesliga		2nd ↑
2005–06	Bundesliga	I	18th ↓
2006–07	2. Bundesliga	II	3rd ↑
2007–08	Bundesliga	I	18th ↓
2008–09	2. Bundesliga	II	6th
2009–10	2. Bundesliga		6th
2010–11	2. Bundesliga		8th
2011–12	2. Bundesliga		10th
2012–13	2. Bundesliga		11th ↓↓
2013–14	3. Liga	III	7th
2014–15	3. Liga		2nd ↑
2015–16	2. Bundesliga	II	16th ↓
2016–17	3. Liga	III	1st ↑
2017–18	2. Bundesliga	II	7th
2018–19	2. Bundesliga		18th ↓
2019–20	3. Liga	III	5th
2020–21	3. Liga		15th
2021–22	3. Liga		15th
2022–23	3. Liga		12th
2023–24	3. Liga		18th ↓
2024–25	Regionalliga West

Key

↑ Promoted

↓ Relegated

Honours

League

• Bundesliga
  • Runners-up: 1963–64
• 2. Oberliga West (II): 1950–51^{[ citation needed ]}
• 3. Liga (III): 2016–17
• Oberliga Nordrhein (III): 1987–88, 1988–89 ^{[ citation needed ]}

Cup

• DFB-Pokal
  • Finalists: 1965–66, 1974–75, 1997–98, 2010–11

International

• Intertoto Cup: 1974, 1977, 1978 ^{[ citation needed ]}

Regional

• Bezirksliga Niederrhein (I): 1928–29, 1930–31, 1931–32^{[ citation needed ]}
• Lower Rhine Cup (Tiers III–below): 1988–89, 2013–14, 2016–17 ^{[ citation needed ]}

Amateur/Youth teams

• German amateur championship (III): 1986–87^{[ citation needed ]}
• German Under 19 championship: 1971–72, 1976–77, 1977–78^{[ citation needed ]}

Current squad

As of 6 September 2024 ^[36]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   GER Maximilian Braune 2 DF   GER Moritz Montag 5 DF   GER Tobias Fleckstein 6 DF   GER Franko Uzelac 7 MF   GER Jakob Bookjans 8 MF   GER Jonas Michelbrink 9 FW   LBN Malek Fakhro 11 FW   GER Jihad Boutakhrit 13 FW   GER Gerrit Wegkamp 14 FW   GER Luis Hartwig 17 DF   GER Mert Göckan 18 FW   GER Steffen Meuer

No. Pos. Nation Player 19 MF   GER Leon Müller 20 FW   SUI Kilian Pagliuca 21 FW   GER Jannik Zahmel 22 GK   GER Kevin Kunz 23 MF   GER Jan-Simon Symalla 27 DF   GER Can Coşkun 28 MF   GER Florian Egerer 29 DF   GER Joshua Bitter 32 DF   GER Batuhan Yavuz 33 MF   GER Jesse Tugbenyo 37 MF   GER Patrick Sussek 42 DF   GER Alexander Hahn (captain)

Manager history

• Hermann Lindemann (1955–1957)
• Rudi Gutendorf (1963–1965)
• Wilhelm Schmidt (1965)
• Hermann Eppenhoff (1965–1967)
• Gyula Lóránt (1967–1968)
• Robert Gebhardt (1968–1970)
• Rudolf Fassnacht (1970–1973)
• Willibert Kremer (1973–1976)
• Rolf Schafstall (1976)
• Otto Knefler (1976–1977)
• Carl-Heinz Rühl (1977–1978)
• Rolf Schafstall (1978–1979)
• Heinz Höher (1979–1980)
• Friedhelm Wenzlaff (1980–1981)
• Kuno Klötzer (1981–1982)
• Siegfried Melzig (1982–1983)
• Luis Zacarías (1983–1985)
• Günter Preuß (1985)
• Helmut Witte (1985–1986)
• Friedhelm Vos (1986)
• Detlef Pirsig (1986–1989)
• Willibert Kremer (1989–1992)
• Uwe Reinders (1992–1993)
• Ewald Lienen (1993–1994)
• Hans Bongartz (1994–1996)
• Friedhelm Funkel (1996–2000)
• Josef Eichkorn (2000)
• Wolfgang Frank (2000)
• Josef Eichkorn (2000–2001)
• Pierre Littbarski (2001–2002)
• Bernard Dietz (2002–2003, caretaker)
• Norbert Meier (2003–2005)
• Heiko Scholz (2005, caretaker)
• Jürgen Kohler (2006)
• Heiko Scholz (2006, caretaker)
• Rudi Bommer (2006–2008)
• Heiko Scholz (2008, caretaker)
• Peter Neururer (2008–2009)
• Uwe Speidel (2009, caretaker)
• Milan Šašić (2009–2011)
• Oliver Reck (2011–2012)
• Ivica Grlić (2012, caretaker)
• Kosta Runjaić (2012–2013)
• Karsten Baumann (2013–2014)
• Gino Lettieri (2014–2015)
• Iliya Gruev (2015–2018)
• Torsten Lieberknecht (2018–2020)
• Gino Lettieri (2020–2021)
• Uwe Schubert (2021, caretaker)
• Pavel Dochev (2021)
• Uwe Schubert (2021, caretaker)
• Hagen Schmidt (2021–2022)
• Torsten Ziegner (2022–2023)
• Engin Vural (2023)
• Boris Schommers (2023–2024)
• Uwe Schubert (2024, caretaker)
• Dietmar Hirsch (2024–)

Women's section

Main article: MSV Duisburg (women)

Club culture

The club mascot is a Zebra, coming from the club nickname 'die Zebras' – it is named 'Ennatz', after the nickname for club legend Bernard Dietz. ^{[37] [38]}

As of 2022, ^[update] the club has 8,638 members. ^[39]

Tatort , a popular crime series in Germany, features an episode entitled Zweierlei Blut  [ de ] (lit. 'Blood of Two Kinds') which deals with a murder in the MSV Duisburg hooligan scene.^{[ citation needed ]} In one scene, Inspector Horst Schimanski is beaten to a pulp and dragged naked into the centre circle of the Wedaustadion.^{[ citation needed ]}

References

1. Presseabteilung, MSV Duisburg- (27 April 2024). "Historie". MSV Duisburg (in German). Retrieved 1 May 2024.
2. "Germany - Championships 1902-1945". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
3. Dings, Wolfgang Berndsen und Klaus. "Die Spielklassenzugehörigkeit des". msv-archiv.de. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
4. Reng, Ronald (2015). Matchdays: The Hidden Story of The Bundesliga. Simon & Schuster. pp. 23–29. ISBN   978-1-4711-3647-4.
5. Wangerin, Dave (1993). The Fussball Book. Dave Wangerin. p. 7. ISBN   0-9522452-0-5.
6. Simpson, Paul; Hesse, Uli (2013). Who Invented the Stepover? And other crucial football conundrums. Profile Books. pp. 42–43. ISBN   978-1781250068.
7. "Bundesliga 1963/64 - Tabelle | 30. Spieltag". kicker (in German). Retrieved 1 May 2024.
8. "Meidericher SV | Vereinshistorie". kicker (in German). Retrieved 1 May 2024.
9. "Bundesliga club-by-club historical guide: MSV Duisburg". bundesliga.com - the official Bundesliga website. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
10. ""Aber wir haben den Krieg gewonnen"". Der Spiegel (in German). 2 June 1974. ISSN   2195-1349 . Retrieved 1 May 2024.
11. "Spielschema | Eintracht Frankfurt - MSV Duisburg 1:0 | Finale | DFB-Pokal 1974/75". kicker (in German). Retrieved 1 May 2024.
12. "The UEFA Cup 1975/76 - MSV Duisburg (FRG)". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
13. Brügelmann, Matthias (2018). 55 Jahre Bundesliga (1963-2018) (in German). Axel Springer Sport Verlag. pp. 77–93. ISBN   978-3-667-11326-9.
14. "The UEFA Cup 1978/79 - MSV Duisburg (FRG)". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
15. "Hin- und Rückrundentabelle | 34. Spieltag | Bundesliga 1978/79". kicker (in German). Retrieved 1 May 2024.
16. "Bundesliga 1981/82 - Tabelle | 34. Spieltag". kicker (in German). Retrieved 1 May 2024.
17. "2. Bundesliga 1985/86 - Tabelle | 38. Spieltag". kicker (in German). Retrieved 1 May 2024.
18. Wangerin, Dave (1993). The Fussball Book. David Wangerin. p. 175. ISBN   0-9522452-0-5.
19. "Duisburg's dream – DW – 05/21/2011". dw.com. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
20. "Bundesliga 1993/94 - Tabelle | 22. Spieltag". kicker (in German). Retrieved 1 May 2024.
21. "Salous Aus war das Ende". kicker (in German). Retrieved 1 May 2024.
22. "Bundesliga: Duisburg beurlaubt Trainer Funkel". Der Spiegel (in German). 24 March 2000. ISSN   2195-1349 . Retrieved 1 May 2024.
23. "MSV Duisburg | Stadion | 3. Liga 2023/24". kicker (in German). Retrieved 1 May 2024.
24. UEFA.com (8 December 2005). "Duisburg fire troubled Meier". UEFA.com. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
25. "Meier headbutt puts Pardew into perspective". ESPN.com. 30 May 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
26. "Bisherige Sieger". DFB - Deutscher Fußball-Bund e.V. (in German). 27 November 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
27. "Duisburg face mandatory drop – DW – 05/29/2013". dw.com. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
28. "Duisburg denied league license – DW – 06/19/2013". dw.com. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
29. "MSV Duisburg bangt um Lizenz - Ilia Gruev spricht von Wiederaufstieg". SPORT1 (in German). Retrieved 1 May 2024.
30. "3. Liga 2016/17 - Tabelle | 38. Spieltag". kicker (in German). Retrieved 1 May 2024.
31. "2. Bundesliga 2017/18 - Tabelle | 34. Spieltag". kicker (in German). Retrieved 1 May 2024.
32. "MSV Duisburg | Vereinshistorie". kicker (in German). Retrieved 1 May 2024.
33. Germany, RevierSport, Essen. "MSV Duisburg: Drohende Insolvenz? Was der SLR-Ausstieg bedeuten würde". RevierSport online (in German). Retrieved 1 May 2024.
34. "Waldhof Mannheim punktet und besiegelt den Abstieg des MSV Duisburg". RevierSport online (in German). Retrieved 5 May 2024.
35. 30 Jahre Bundesliga, DFB special edition booklet
36. Team
37. Presseabteilung, MSV Duisburg- (27 April 2024). "Legenden". MSV Duisburg (in German). Retrieved 1 May 2024.
38. Mediengruppe, FUNKE. "Deutschlands größte Regionalzeitung waz.de". waz.de (in German). Retrieved 1 May 2024.
39. Presseabteilung, MSV Duisburg- (27 April 2024). "MSV-BILANZ | Die Zahlen zum Geschäftsjahr 2021/22". MSV Duisburg (in German). Retrieved 1 May 2024.

External links

• Official website