FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt

Rot-Weiß Erfurt

Full name	Fußballclub Rot-Weiß Erfurt e.V.
Founded	26 January 1966; 58 years ago (1966-01-26)
Ground	Steigerwaldstadion
Capacity	18,611
President	Lars Fuchs[1]
Coach	Fabian Gerber
League	Regionalliga Nordost
2022–23	Regionalliga Nordost, 3rd of 18
Website	https://www.rot-weiss-erfurt.de
Home colours Away colours

FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt is a German association football club based in Erfurt, Thuringia.

The club has roots that go back to a cricket club founded in 1895. As they broadened their interests they came to be called Sport Club Erfurt. The club was a founding member of the German Football Association in 1900 and in 1904 they joined the Verband Mitteldeutscher Ballspielvereine (Central German Football League). The side won the league championship in 1908–09 and advanced as far as the semi-final of the national round where they lost to the eventual champion. While Erfurt did manage to play for a number of seasons in the premier level Gauliga Mitte, formed after 1933, they failed to earn any honours.

In the aftermath of World War II, the Allies banned all organizations, including sport and football clubs. In 1946, the Soviet occupation authorities permitted the organization of five district sports clubs in Erfurt. SG Erfurt West encompassed the area of the city once served by SC Erfurt 1895 and VfB Erfurt and drew footballers who had played for these clubs. Success came quickly with an appearance in the 1948 Thüringer final, followed by a title in 1949. A quick series of name changes went hand-in-hand with a series of failed cup and final appearances: as SG Fortuna Erfurt in 1949, KWU Erfurt in 1950, and BSG Turbine Erfurt in 1951. In 1954 and 1955, Turbine captured consecutive East German national titles, but then slipped back into the pack and out of tier I for the first time in 1959. The team moved up and down between the first and second divisions through the 1960s, being relegated three times, but always winning immediate promotion. Like other East German clubs at the time, they suffered as the best players were routinely chosen to play for clubs with politically powerful sponsors.

East German football underwent major changes in 1965 with the creation of dedicated football clubs in the place of broadly generalised sports clubs. The number one football sides of SC Turbine Erfurt and BSG Optima Erfurt were merged in 1966 and revived the name FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt, while the more junior sides stayed with their original clubs. The name (Rot-Weiß meaning the two colours red and white) was unusual for its time in that the club did not have a name that honoured a socialist virtue. In 1980, Rot-Weiß Erfurt appeared in the East German Cup final, losing 3–1 to Carl Zeiss Jena.

German reunification and the merger of the leagues of East and West Germany in the early 1990s brought exciting times to Rot-Weiß. A third-place finish in the NOFV-Oberliga in 1990–91 earned them a spot in the 2. Bundesliga, as well as qualification for the UEFA Cup. They eliminated Groningen in the first round, and went out against the eventual winners Ajax in the second round. This fixture made them the last side to appear internationally for East Germany.

Through the 1990s and into the new millennium, Rot-Weiß remained a tier three side. They had a close call in 2001 when they avoided relegation only because SSV Ulm 1846 was denied a licence due to financial difficulties. During this period of time, the club went through to the regional cup final seven times. They came away as Thuringian cup winner each time which qualifies for the nationwide German cup (DFB-Pokal), although they never advanced beyond the first round. In 2004, the club was promoted to the 2. Bundesliga, but finished last and was relegated back to Regionalliga Nord (III). In 2008, Erfurt finished in seventh place in Regionalliga Nord (III) and therefore qualified for the new nationwide 3. Liga. They played at this level until they were relegated to the Regionalliga Nordost (IV) in 2018.

On 4 February 2020, the club ceased operations due to financial difficulties, and as a result, withdrew from the Regionalliga Nordost,^[2] with all their results being annulled and all further matches cancelled.^[3] The club formed a new team and organisation, playing in the Oberliga in the 2020/21 season; their first home game against FC Grimma was sold out.^[4]

• DDR-Oberliga:
  • Winners: 1953–54, 1954–55
  • Runners-up: 1950–51
• Soviet Zone championship:
  • Runners-up: 1948–49

• FDGB-Pokal:
  • Runners-up: 1949–50, 1979–80
• DFV-Toto-Sonderrunde (de)
  • Winners: 1974

• Verband Mitteldeutscher Ballspiel-Vereine:
  • Champions: 1908–09
• Thuringia Cup: (tiers III–VII)
  • Winners: 1993–94, 1997–98, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05^‡, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2016–17
  • Runners-up: 1995–96, 1996–97, 2003–04^‡, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2015–16
• ^‡ Won by reserve team.

As of 15 September 2024^[5]

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 Lorenz Otto 2 DF  GER Ben-Luca Moritz 3 MF  GER Til-Linus Schwarz (captain) 6 DF  GER Maxime Awoudja 7 FW  GER Andy Trübenbach 10 MF  GER Marco Wolf 11 FW  GER Dennis Lerche 13 FW  NGA Obed Chidindu Ugondu 16 DF  GER Pablo Santana Soares 17 FW  GER Lars Kleiner 18 MF  GER Robbie Felßberg 19 FW  TUR Ömer Uzun

No. Pos. Nation Player 20 GK  GER Pascal Manitz 21 DF  GER Robin Fabinski 23 FW  GER Philip Aboagye 27 MF  GER Benny Boboy 28 FW  GER Maxime Langner 29 FW  COD Yesua Motango (on loan from Türkgücü München) 30 DF  GER Jeremiaha Maluze 33 DF  GER Lucas Zeller 34 MF  JPN Hinata Gonda 39 GK  GER Emmanuel Mensah 77 MF  USA Dominic Duncan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  ENG Ayooluwa Adesida (at Türkspor Dortmund until 30 June 2025)

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  ALB Milot Ademi (at SV Wilhelmshaven until 30 June 2025)

• 1964–1966: Helmut Nordhaus
• 1966–1970: Martin Schwendler
• 1970–1971: Gerhard Bäßler
• 1971–1973: Siegfried Vollrath
• 1973–1978: Gerhard Bäßler
• 1978–1982: Manfred Pfeifer
• 1982–1984: Siegmar Menz
• 1984–1987: Hans Meyer
• 1987–1988: Manfred Pfeifer
• 1988–1989: Wilfried Gröbner
• 1990–1991: Lothar Kurbjuweit
• 1991–1991: Rüdiger Schnuphase
• 1991–1992: Josip Kuže
• 1992–1995: Klaus Goldbach
• 1995–1995: Horst Kiesewetter
• 1995–1997: Frank Engel
• 1997–1997: Hans-Günter Schröder
• 1997–1997: Rudi Gores
• 1997–2000: Jürgen Raab
• 2000–2000: Frank Engel
• 2000–2001: Hans-Ulrich Thomale
• 2001–2002: Jens Große
• 2002–2003: Michael Feichtenbeiner
• 2003–2003: Alois Schwartz
• 2003–2005: René Müller
• 2005–2005: Ján Kocian
• 2005–2008: Pavel Dotchev
• 2008–2008: Heiko Nowak
• 2008–2009: Karsten Baumann
• 2009: Henri Fuchs
• 2009–2010: Rainer Hörgl
• 2010: Henri Fuchs
• 2010–2012: Stefan Emmerling
• 2012–2013: Alois Schwartz
• 2013–2015: Walter Kogler
• 2015: Christian Preußer
• 2016–2017: Stefan Krämer
• 2017: David Bergner
• 2017–2018: Stefan Emmerling
• 2018–2019: Thomas Brdarić
• 2019–2020: Robin Kruger
• 2020–2022: Goran Miscevic
• 2022–present: Fabian Gerber

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

Year	Division	Tier	Position
1999–2000	Regionalliga Nordost	III	7th
2000–01	Regionalliga Süd		15th
2001–02	Regionalliga Süd		5th
2002–03	Regionalliga Süd		9th
2003–04	Regionalliga Süd		2nd ↑
2004–05	2. Bundesliga	II	18th ↓
2005–06	Regionalliga Nord	III	14th
2006–07	Regionalliga Nord		11th
2007–08	Regionalliga Nord		7th
2008–09	3. Liga		10th
2009–10	3. Liga		9th
2010–11	3. Liga		5th
2011–12	3. Liga		5th
2012–13	3. Liga		13th
2013–14	3. Liga		10th
2014–15	3. Liga		12th
2015–16	3. Liga		8th
2016–17	3. Liga		14th
2017–18	3. Liga		20th ↓
2018–19	Regionalliga Nordost	IV	5th
2019–20	Regionalliga Nordost		18th ↓
2020–21	NOFV-Oberliga Süd	V	Abd-3rd

• 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.

Key

↑ Promoted

↓ Relegated

The club's reserve team, FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt II, most recently in the tier five NOFV-Oberliga Süd. It first played at this level from 2005 to 2007, and again since 2008 with a third place in 2012 as its best result.^[6][8] At the end of the 2015–16 season the team was withdrawn from competition.^[9]

The team also made a losing appearance in the 2004 Thuringia Cup final but won the competition in the following year. This win allowed the team qualification for the 2005–06 DFB-Pokal where it lost 0–8 to Bayer 04 Leverkusen.

• Official website
• Abseits Guide to German Soccer