Wormatia Worms

VfR Wormatia 08 Worms

Full name	Verein für Rasenspiele Wormatia Worms 08 e.V.
Founded	23 May 1908;116 years ago (1908-05-23)
Ground	EWR-Arena
Capacity	5,624 [1]
President	Florian Natter [2]
Head coach	John Antuna (interim) [3]
League	Oberliga Rheinland-Pfalz/Saar
2023–24	Oberliga Rheinland-Pfalz/Saar, 5th of 20
Website	http://www.wormatia.de
Home colours Away colours colours

VfR Wormatia 08 Worms is a German association football club that plays in Worms, Rhineland-Palatinate. The club and its historical predecessors were regular participants in regional first-division football competition until the formation of the national top-flight Bundesliga in 1963.

History

Logo used until 2010

SC Wormatia was formed on 23 May 1908 and renamed VfL Wormatia Worms in 1921 just before merging with VfR Wormatia Worms in 1922. VfR was the product of the 1919 merger of Union 08 and Viktoria 1912. Both VfL and VfR were playing in the Kreisliga Hessen (I). ^[4]

The combined side played in the Bezirksliga Rheinhessen-Saar earning mid-table results. In 1927, SC joined the Bezirksliga Main-Hessen and enjoyed first- and second-place finishes in that league's Gruppe Hessen. German football was re-organized under the Third Reich into sixteen Gauligen, or regional upper class leagues, in 1933. Wormatia found themselves playing in the Gauliga Südwest (I) where they continued to play well, capturing the division title three times. The side was merged into Reichsbahn TuSV Worms in 1938 and then played on under that name. The Gauliga Südwest was broken up into a two divisions in 1941 and the club went to the Gauliga Hessen-Nassau, playing there for only a couple of seasons before the end of World War II and the collapse of league play.

Historical chart of Wormatia league performance

The club re-emerged as VfR Wormatia Worms after the war and joined the Oberliga Südwest (I) earning finishes in the upper half of the table in its first decade of play there, but only once advancing into the national championship rounds. That performance slipped somewhat in the years leading up to the formation of the Bundesliga, Germany's first professional league, in 1963. In the late 1960s, Wormatia became one of the first clubs to display advertising on its jerseys. Wormatia was seeded into the second division Regionalliga Südwest (2. Bundesliga after 1973) where, except for two seasons in the mid-1970s, the club played until 1981. The club's best results came in 1965, when it finished second and played in the Bundesliga promotion rounds, and in 1979, when it earned a third-place finish in the 2. Bundesliga.

The 1979 season was full of drama for Wormatia. At the mid-way point of the season the side led the 2.Bundesliga Süd as the Herbstmeisterschaft, or Autumn champions. Their second round German Cup match against Hertha BSC Berlin was called at 1–1 when the lights in Berlin's Olympiastadion failed and Worms then lost the subsequent re-match 0–2. The league championship remained within the club's grasp almost to the last, but crucial points were lost in drawing two of the season's final three matches. All of this took place against a background of steadily growing financial problems.

After struggling to avoid relegation through several poor seasons, the team finally slipped to the tier III Amateur Oberliga Südwest in 1982. A return to the 2. Bundesliga after a first-place finish in 1986 was frustrated when the club was denied a license because of its weak financial state. Wormatia continued to play third-division football until another financial crisis in 1994 drove them down to the Verbandsliga Südwest (V). The team returned to the Oberliga Südwest (IV) in 1998 and played there until 2008, when it qualified for the new Regionalliga West (IV) formed after the introduction of the 3. Liga. Finishing in the relegation zone at the end of its first season there, the club was saved from being sent down by the withdrawal of 12th-placed FSV Oggersheim from the league. Worms improved the following year and was moved to the Regionalliga Süd (IV) from 2010 to 2012. At the end of the 2011–12 season, the club became part of the new Regionalliga Südwest (IV). They finished in a relegation position in 2014, but were spared from dropping back down to the Oberliga by the insolvency of SSV Ulm, but were relegated in 2019.

Honours

The club's honours:

League Bezirksliga Main-Hessen (I) Champions: 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931 Gauliga Südwest/Mainhessen (I) Champions: 1936, 1937, 1939 Oberliga Südwest (I) Runners-up: 1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1955 Regionalliga Südwest (II) Runners-up: 1965 Oberliga Südwest (III) Champions: 1986 Amateurliga Südwest (III) Champions: 1976, 1977 Verbandsliga Südwest (V) Champions: 1998

Cup South West Cup (Tiers III-VII) Winners: 1976, 1988, 1992, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2018

Current squad

As of 11 November 2018 ^[5]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   GER Luca Pedretti 3 DF   FRA Jean-Yves M'voto 4 DF   GER Tevin Ihrig 5 DF   GER Stefano Maier 6 MF   GER Vincent Haber 7 MF   GER Julian Marquardt 8 MF   GER Maximilian Fesser 9 FW   GER Daniel Kasper 10 MF   GER Fatih Köksal 11 FW   PLE Alexander Shehada 14 MF   BRA Henrique

No. Pos. Nation Player 15 MF   GER Jannik Marx 16 FW   GER Marlon Ludwig 17 MF   GER Sandro Loechelt 18 DF   GER Pascal Nicklis 20 MF   GER Luca Fabio Manganiello 21 GK   GER Leon Guth 23 DF   GER Ager Saady 24 DF   GER Simon Ludwig 26 DF   GER Elias Holzemer 27 DF   GER Philipp Sonn 31 MF   GER Evzi Saiti

Former players

• Walter Schuberth

Recent seasons

The recent season-by-season performance of the club: ^{[6] [7]}

Season	Division	Tier	Position
1999–2000	Oberliga Südwest	IV	7th
2000–01	Oberliga Südwest		16th
2001–02	Oberliga Südwest		15th
2002–03	Oberliga Südwest		3rd
2003–04	Oberliga Südwest		3rd
2004–05	Oberliga Südwest		8th
2005–06	Oberliga Südwest		4th
2006–07	Oberliga Südwest		3rd
2007–08 [a]	Oberliga Südwest		3rd ↑
2008–09	Regionalliga West		16th
2009–10	Regionalliga West		17th
2010–11	Regionalliga Süd		12th
2011–12	Regionalliga Süd		4th
2012–13	Regionalliga Südwest		12th
2013–14	Regionalliga Südwest		16th
2014–15	Regionalliga Südwest		5th
2015–16	Regionalliga Südwest		9th
2016–17	Regionalliga Südwest		6th
2017–18	Regionalliga Südwest		13th
2018–19	Regionalliga Südwest		16th ↓
2019–20 [b]	Oberliga Rheinland-Pfalz/Saar	V	7th
2020–21 [b]	Oberliga Rheinland-Pfalz/Saar		1st
2021–22	Oberliga Rheinland-Pfalz/Saar		3rd ↑
2022–23	Regionalliga Südwest	IV	16th ↓
2023–24	Oberliga Rheinland-Pfalz/Saar	V	5th
2024–25	Oberliga Rheinland-Pfalz/Saar

1. With the introduction of the Regionalligas in 1994 and the 3. Liga in 2008 as the new third tier, below the 2. Bundesliga, all leagues below dropped one tier. ^[8]
2. Season abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Key

↑ Promoted

↓ Relegated

Former coaches

The managers of the club: ^{[9] [10]}

1920–1969	1970–1989	1990–2009	2010–present
Engelhardt (1920–1921) Peter Hartmann (1922–1923) Karl Willnecker (1923–1924) Ludwig Müller (1924–1926) Ludwig Philipp (1926–1931) Fritz Pölsterl (1931–1932) Curtis Booth (1932–1934) Ludwig Müller (1934–1939) Ferdinand Fabra (1939) Ludwig Müller (1945–1948) Fritz Fries (1949) Toni Kugler (1949–1953) Karl Striebinger (1953–1954) Ludwig Müller (1954–1957) Willibald Kreß (1957–1959) Karl Winkler (1959–1960) Paul Böhme (1960–1961) Radoslav Momirski (1961–1964) Nandor Lengyel (1964–1965) Manfred Neidig (1965–1966) Helmut Schneider (1966–1967) Karl-Heinz-Schmal (1967–1969)	Fritz Schollmeyer (1970) Virgil Popescu (1970) Walter Schlipp (1970) Milan Nikolić (1970–1972) Otmar Calder (1972) Radoslav Momirski (1972–1974) Slavko Stojanović (1974) Karl-Heinz-Schmal (1975–1976) Lothar Buchmann (1976) Bernd Hoss (1976–1977) Werner Kern (1977–1978) Eckhard Krautzun (1978) Özcan Arkoç (1979) Gerd Dier (1979) Bernd Fischer (1979–1980) Horst-Dieter Strich (1981) Slobodan Jovanovic (1981) Josef Stabel (1981–1983) Klaus Gleim (1983) Heiner Ueberle (1983–1987) Gerd Menne (1987–1988) Peter Klag (1988) Horst-Dieter Strich (1988) Peter Klag (1989) Stefan Lottermann (1989)	Eckhard Krautzun (1989–1990) Peter Klag (1990) Peter Unger (1990) Günter Braun (1990) Reinhard Meier (1990–1991) Heiner Ueberle (1991–1992) Peter Klag (1992) Gerd Dier (1992–1993) Harald Braner (1993) Hans Scheffel (1993–1995) Alexander Raab (1995) Heinz-Jürgen Schlösser (1995–1996) Engelbert Klag (1996–1997) Demir Hotić (1997–1999) Robert Jung (1999–2001) Lutz Hofmann (2001) Günther Birkle (2001) Peter Rubeck (2001–2002) Dirk Anders (2002–2004) Max Reichenberger (2004) Stefan Ertl (2004–2005) Alois Schwartz (2005–2007) Bernhard Trares (2007–2009) Jürgen Klotz (2009) Sascha Koch (2009) Jürgen Klotz (2009–2010)	Volker Kühr (2010) Ronny Borchers (2010–2012) Stefan Emmerling (2012–2013) Hans-Jürgen Boysen (2013–2014) Sascha Eller (2014–2015) Steven Jones (2015–2019) Kristjan Glibo (2019–2022) Maximilian Mehring (2022) Peter Tretter (2023–2024)

References

1. "Daten & Fakten". Wormatia Worms (in German). Retrieved 24 October 2024.
2. Mannshausen, Stefan (3 July 2024). "Wormatia-Präsident: "Wir wollen uns breiter aufstellen"". Wormser Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 24 October 2024.
3. Schröder, Torben (24 October 2024). "Wormatia Worms in der Rolle des Jägers". Mittelhessen (in German). Retrieved 24 October 2024.
4. Grüne, Hardy (2001). Enzyklopädie des deutschen Ligafußballs 7. Vereinslexikon. Kassel: Agon-Sportverlag. ISBN   978-3-89784-147-5.
5. "Wormatia Worms Squad". Archived from the original on 12 November 2018. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
6. Das deutsche Fußball-Archiv Archived 5 September 2019 at the Wayback Machine (in German) Historical German domestic league tables
7. Fussball.de - Ergebnisse Archived 18 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine (in German) Tables and results of all German football leagues
8. "Official DFB article on the 3rd Bundesliga and Regionalliga" (in German). DFB. Archived from the original on 23 October 2007. Retrieved 8 December 2007.
9. "Trainer". Archived from the original on 31 October 2012. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
10. Wormatia Worms .:. Trainer von A-Z Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine (in German) Weltfussball.de, accessed: 23 December 2011

External links

• Official website (in German)
• The Abseits Guide to German Soccer
• Das deutsche Fußball-Archiv historical German domestic league tables (in German)
• Wormatia Worms at Fussballdaten.de
• Wormatia Worms at Weltfussball.de