DSC Arminia Bielefeld (; full name: ; commonly known as Arminia Bielefeld (), also known as ''Die Arminen'' or ''Die Blauen'' ), or just Arminia (), is a German
sports club
A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports.
Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...
from
Bielefeld
Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Detmold and the ...
, North Rhine-Westphalia. Arminia offers the sports of
football,
field hockey
Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...
,
figure skating
Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are m ...
, and
cue sports
Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as .
There are three major subdivisions o ...
. The club has 12,000 members and the club colours are black, white and blue. Arminia's name derives from the
Cheruscan chieftain
Arminius, who defeated a
Roman army
The Roman army (Latin: ) was the armed forces deployed by the Romans throughout the duration of Ancient Rome, from the Roman Kingdom (c. 500 BC) to the Roman Republic (500–31 BC) and the Roman Empire (31 BC–395 AD), and its medieval contin ...
in the
Battle of the Teutoburg Forest
The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, described as the Varian Disaster () by Roman historians, took place at modern Kalkriese in AD 9, when an alliance of Germanic peoples ambushed Roman legions and their auxiliaries, led by Publius Quinctilius ...
.
The club is most commonly known for its professional football team, which currently plays in the
2. Bundesliga
The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...
. The team mostly played in the first or second tier of the German football league system, among them 17 seasons in the
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
. Arminia's most successful years were the 1920s, the early 1980s and the middle 2000s. In 1947 and in the 1950s Arminia had sunk down to a team playing in a rather local area in the third tier (later third tiers covered larger areas).
Arminia has been playing their home games at the
Bielefelder Alm
Bielefelder Alm () is a football stadium in Bielefeld, Germany. The stadium, which has a capacity of 26 515, is owned by the football club DSC Arminia Bielefeld and mostly used for the club's matches. Formerly named Stadion Alm , it is currentl ...
Stadium since 1926. Since 2004 the stadium has been named ''SchücoArena'' through a sponsorship deal.
History
Arminia Bielefeld was founded on 3 May 1905 as ''1. Bielefelder FC Arminia''. The fourteen men who founded the club were from the local bourgeoisie. Two weeks later, the club played its first match against a team from
Osnabrück
Osnabrück (; wep, Ossenbrügge; archaic ''Osnaburg'') is a city in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population ...
. Neither the name of the opponent nor the result are known. The club was admitted to the
German Football Association in the same year and started to play in a league (in one consisting only of Arminia and three teams from Osnabrück, at first) in 1906. In 1907, local rivals ''FC Siegfried'' joined Arminia, a move which strengthened Arminia's squad. Soon other clubs from Bielefeld joined League football.
After playing on various grounds, Arminia moved to a new home at the Pottenau in 1910. Their first big achievement came in 1912, when they won the Westphalian championship after a 5–1 win over
BV 04 Dortmund in the final. The outbreak of World War I interrupted Arminia's rise to the top. In 1919, Arminia merged with ''Bielefelder Turngemeinde 1848'' to form ''TG Arminia Bielefeld''. However, the two merged teams dissolved the merger in 1922 and both parent clubs were formed again.
1922–1945
Arminia won the West German championship in 1922. Originally, they were level on points with
Kölner BC 01, but Köln fielded an ineligible player in one match. Arminia played for the first time in the German Championships but were eliminated in the quarter-finals after losing 0–5 to
FC Wacker München
FC Wacker München is a German association football club of about 200 members based in the Sendling borough of Munich, Bavaria. At their zenith in the 1920s the ''Blue Stars'' twice reached the semi-finals of the German Championship. After Worl ...
. In 1923, Arminia won their second West German championship in a dramatic way. They trailed
TuRU Düsseldorf 1–3 at half time of the final, but came from behind to win 4–3 after extra time. Arminia faced
Union Oberschöneweide in the quarter-finals of the German championships. The match ended goalless, so a replay was held. Arminia led 1–0 and suffered the equalizer in injury time. The Berlin side won the match after extra time.
Walter Claus-Oehler
Walter Claus-Oehler (7 May 1897 – 8 November 1941) was a German footballer who played as a midfielder for Arminia Bielefeld and the Germany national team.
Personal life
Claus-Oehler served as a ''Hauptmann'' (captain) in the German Army du ...
became Arminia's first player to win a cap in the
German national team. Arminia won further Westphalian titles from 1924 to 1927 but were unable to repeat their success in the West German Championships. A match between
SC Preußen Münster
SC Preußen Münster (English: Prussia Münster) is a German sports club based in Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia which is mostly recognised for its football section. The football team currently plays in Regionalliga West which is the fourth tie ...
and Arminia in November 1925 was the first football match to be broadcast on German Radio. On 30 January 1926, the club took its current name ''Deutscher Sportclub Arminia Bielefeld''. Their next piece of silverware was won in 1932 with a triumph in the Westphalian cup.
In 1933, Arminia qualified for the
Gauliga Westfalen
The Gauliga Westphalia was the highest football league in the Prussian province of Westphalia and the small Free State of Lippe from 1933 to 1945. Shortly after the formation of the league, the Nazis reorganised the administrative regions in Germa ...
, from which they were relegated after the inaugural season. Three attempts of gaining promotion failed before their return to the top flight was won in 1938. Their best performance in the Gauliga was the 1939–40 campaign, where Arminia finished second. Two years later, Arminia was one of only two teams to win a match at
Schalke 04
Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine ...
. On 25 July 1943 Arminia merged with local rivals ''VfB 03 Bielefeld''. The merger finished the 1943–44 season in last place.
Post World War II
![Arminia Performance Chart](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/Arminia_Performance_Chart.png)
After World War II, a new league with all teams who competed in the Gauliga Westfalen was formed. Arminia were relegated and failed to win re-promotion. In 1947–48, Arminia were a third division side for the first time in their history. After a dominating season in the Bezirksklasse, Arminia was docked 14 points because they fielded an ineligible player. The next season was already under way when the Landesliga (II) was expanded by two teams. Arminia took their chance, won the league and gained promotion to the
Oberliga West.
The dream lasted for only a year. Arminia beat
Schalke 04
Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine ...
4–2 at home but finished only second from the bottom. In 1954, Arminia were even relegated to the third tier, the "Landesliga Westfalen, Gruppe Ostwestfalen", a league only covering the north-eastern part of Westphalia. In 1956, Arminia qualified for a new third tier, the "Verbandsliga Westfalen, Gruppe Ostwestfalen", which encompassed a slightly larger area. Only in 1962, Arminia became a second division side again (then: 2. Liga West, covering the whole of North Rhine-Westphalia). In 1962–63, they struggled to finish in seventh place to secure a spot in the newly formed
Regionalliga West
The Regionalliga West is a German semi-professional football division administered by the Western German Football Association based in Duisburg. It is one of the five German regional football associations. Being the single flight of the Western ...
, which was situated directly below the new Bundesliga.
Arminia finished their first seasons in mid-table, but became one of the better Regionalliga teams later on. In 1966, Arminia beat
Alemannia Aachen to claim the West German Cup for the first time. A year later, forward
Ernst Kuster
Ernst is both a surname and a given name, the German, Dutch, and Scandinavian form of Ernest. Notable people with the name include:
Surname
* Adolf Ernst (1832–1899) German botanist known by the author abbreviation "Ernst"
* Anton Ernst (1975-) ...
joined the team and went on to become the club's all-time leading goal scorer. A 0–1 loss to
Wuppertaler SV
Wuppertaler SV is a German association football club located in Wuppertal, North Rhine-Westphalia. The city was founded in 1929 out of the union of a number of smaller towns including Elberfeld, Barmen, Vohwinkel, Cronenberg and Ronsdorf – e ...
on the last day of the 1966–67 season stopped Arminia entering the Bundesliga promotion play-offs. Arminia were runners-up in the 1969–70 season and won their first promotion to the Bundesliga after a 2–0 win at
Tennis Borussia Berlin
Tennis Borussia Berlin is a German football club based in the locality of Westend in Berlin.
History
The team was founded in 1902 as ''Berliner Tennis- und Ping-Pong-Gesellschaft Borussia'' taking its name from its origins as a tennis and ta ...
in the play-offs.
1970–71 Match Fixing scandal
The team had a poor start in
their first Bundesliga season, but results improved and they eventually finished 14th. However, near the end of the season it was discovered that Arminia had engaged in match-fixing; three of the ten Bundesliga games which were proven to have been manipulated through bribery directly involved Arminia. Two players at the club were banned from football for life (
Waldemar Slomiany and Jürgen Neumann). Arminia was allowed to play the
1971–72 season in the Bundesliga, but were automatically relegated to the Regionalliga as a penalty. Arminia struggled in the following seasons, but were good enough to be appointed to the newly formed
2. Bundesliga
The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...
in 1974.
Recovery, glorious early 80s and down into the Oberliga
After two seasons in mid-table, Arminia had good chances of returning to the Bundesliga in
1976–77 but they finished only as runner-up behind
FC St. Pauli
Fußball-Club St Pauli von 1910 e.V., commonly known as simply FC St Pauli (), is a German professional football club based in the St. Pauli district of Hamburg, that competes in the 2. Bundesliga.
The football department is part of a larger sp ...
. They faced
TSV 1860 München
A tab-separated values (TSV) file is a simple text format for storing data in a tabular structure, e.g., a database table or spreadsheet data, and a way of exchanging information between databases. Each record in the table is one line of the te ...
in a two-legged play-off whose winner would win promotion to the top flight. Arminia won the first match at home 4–0, but lost the second leg in Munich 0–4. A third match had to be played in
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...
which Munich won 2–0.
The team was shocked but bounced back to win promotion in
1977–78. Arminia started well and on 10 March 1979, they won 4–0 at
Bayern Munich. However, Arminia were hit by a slump and were relegated again. The club managed to keep the team together and bounced back after a record-breaking year. They won 30 of 38 matches, scored 120 goals, had a 28 match unbeaten streak and set a league record by beating
Arminia Hannover 11–0.
Arminia struggled to avoid relegation and managed to stay in the Bundesliga for five years, including two finishes in eighth place in
1982–83 and
1983–84 seasons. Furthermore, Arminia took part in the
UEFA Intertoto Cup three times. An ugly event shocked Germany when
Werder Bremen
Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen (), Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen, Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, they are best known for the ...
defender
Norbert Siegmann slashed
Ewald Lienen
Ewald Lienen (born 28 November 1953) is a German football manager and former player. He is the current technical director of FC St. Pauli.
Playing career
Lienen began his professional career at Arminia Bielefeld of the 2. Bundesliga North in 1 ...
's right
thigh
In human anatomy, the thigh is the area between the hip ( pelvis) and the knee. Anatomically, it is part of the lower limb.
The single bone in the thigh is called the femur. This bone is very thick and strong (due to the high proportion of ...
during a match. The success on the pitch did not prevent the club from suffering declining attendances which enlarged the financial problems. In
1984–85, Arminia finished third from the bottom and lost the relegation play-offs against
1. FC Saarbrücken
1. FC Saarbrücken (german: 1. Fußball-Club Saarbrücken e. V.) is a football club based in Saarbrücken, Saarland. The club plays in the 3. Liga, which is the third tier of football in Germany. The club began its existence as the football de ...
.
The team failed to gain promotion and in the fall of 1987, Arminia had debts of 4.5 million
Marks
Marks may refer to:
Business
* Mark's, a Canadian retail chain
* Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain
* Collective trade marks, trademarks owned by an organisation for the benefit of its members
* Marks & Co, the inspiration for the novel ...
. The result was a last place finish in
1987–88.
Ernst Middendorp became the new manager and assembled a young team for the new season. Arminia led the way in the
Oberliga Westfalen
The Oberliga Westfalen is the highest level football league in the region of Westphalia, which is part of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The league existed from 1978 to 2008, but was then replaced by the NRW-Liga, a new statewide league. Wit ...
but finished only second in 1988–89. They won the Oberliga a year later, but failed in the promotion play-offs to
VfB Oldenburg
VfB Oldenburg is a German association football club based in Oldenburg, Lower Saxony. In the 2022–23 season, they play in the 3. Liga, the third level of football in Germany.
History
Founded by a group of high school boys as ''FC 1897 Ol ...
and
TSV Havelse
TSV Havelse is a German association football club based in Garbsen, Lower Saxony, near Hanover.
History
The club was founded in 1912 as ''FC Pelikan-Havelse'' by a group of thirteen young men from the small village of Havelse. They took their ...
. Four dismal years followed in which the team started well but were unable to compete for the championship. In 1991, Arminia won the Westphalian Cup, a cup for Westphalian teams not playing in the First or Second Bundesliga, and beat
FSV Mainz 05 in the first round of the
DFB-Pokal
The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...
.
From Regionalliga to yo-yo-team to five consecutive seasons in the Bundesliga again
In the spring of 1994, Arminia created a relatively large media buzz by signing veteran Bundesliga players like
Thomas von Heesen
Thomas von Heesen (born 1 October 1961) is a former German football attacking midfielder, and a current coach.
Most of his professional career was spent, as a player, with Hamburger SV, with which he won several accolades, both domestic and con ...
,
Armin Eck and
Fritz Walter
Friedrich "Fritz" Walter (, ; 31 October 1920 – 17 June 2002) was a German footballer who spent his entire senior career at 1. FC Kaiserslautern. He usually played as an attacking midfielder or inside forward. In his time with the Germany an ...
. Arminia struggled at first but went on the become champions of the newly formed
Regionalliga West/Südwest
The Regionalliga West/Südwest was the third tier of the German football league system in the states of Saarland, Rheinland-Pfalz and Nordrhein-Westfalen from 1994 to 2000.
Overview
The Regionalliga West/Südwest was formed in 1994 to form a r ...
and runners-up in the
1995–96 2. Bundesliga. Arminia signed
Stefan Kuntz
Stefan Kuntz (born 30 October 1962) is a German professional football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is the head coach of the Turkey national team.
Kuntz represented the Germany national team between 1993 and 1997, rea ...
for the
1996–97 Bundesliga season, their first in 11 years and finished in 14th position.
The club wrote German football history by signing Iranian players
Ali Daei
Ali Daei ( fa, ; born 21 March 1969) is an Iranian football manager and former player. A striker, he was the captain of the Iranian national team between 2000 and 2006 and played in the German Bundesliga for Arminia Bielefeld, Bayern Munich ...
and
Karim Bagheri
Karim Bagheri ( fa, ; born 20 February 1974) is an Iranian professional football coach and former player. He played over half of his professional career for Persepolis in the Persian Gulf Pro League. He is an assistant coach for Persepolis and t ...
along with the
SK Brann
Sportsklubben Brann (commonly known as Brann, and less often as SK Brann) is a Norwegian professional football club, founded 26 September 1908, from Bergen. Brann had been in the Eliteserien, Norway's Premier Division of Football, since 1987, bar ...
icon
Geirmund Brendesæter, who enjoyed a brief spell with the club in 1997. However, after a poor run after the winter break, Arminia were relegated shortly after Brendesæter had left the club. They bounced back by winning the
1998–99 season.
Bruno Labbadia became the league's top scorer with 28 goals. The club suffered from financial problems and entered the
1999–2000 season with a smaller budget. Relegation followed again after the team became the third team in Bundesliga history to lose ten matches in a row.
Arminia struggled against relegation again the next season and avoided to drop into the Regionalliga in close season. Their fortunes turned around and Arminia won their sixth promotion to the Bundesliga in
2001–02 with
Artur Wichniarek scoring 18 goals. Arminia were almost saved the next year but a slump with only two points out of the last six matches sealed relegation again.
The team bounced back again in
2003–04 after Ghanaian striker
Isaac Boakye
Isaac Boakye (born 26 November 1981) is a former professional footballer who played as striker for most of his career in Germany, Arminia Bielefeld, VfL Wolfsburg, 1. FSV Mainz 05 and 1. FC Nürnberg. In his native land, he featured for Goldf ...
scored 14 goals in his debut season to end as the club's top goalscorer and help them go back to the Bundesliga. They were able to stay in the top flight until 2009. In 2004–05,
Patrick Owomoyela became Arminia's new record national player. Furthermore, Arminia reached the semi-finals of the
DFB-Pokal
The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...
in 2005 and 2006. In both seasons, Arminia also kept away from the relegation zone virtually the whole time (except the season's beginnings). In those years the image campaign "Aktion 5000 +" let the number of members rise above 10,000. In 2007, many Arminia fans were sad to see the old East Stand being torn down (then the last non-seater stand in the Bundesliga not being placed behind one of the goals) and also further marketing attempts alienated the fans from the Club's Management Board. From 2007 onwards, managerial sackings became more and more common and avoiding relegation became more and more difficult.
Down into the 3. Liga
Arminia played their fifth consecutive Bundesliga season in
2008–09. They finished last and were relegated to the
2. Bundesliga
The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...
. However, after finishing seventh in the 2009–10 season, their next season was fraught with managerial sackings and financial difficulties. After a poor season, picking up only 16 points and winning only four games, Bielefeld were relegated to the
3. Liga
The 3. Liga is a professional association football league and the third division in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2. Bundesliga and the fourth-tier Regionalliga.
The modern 3. Liga was formed for th ...
.
After a poor start, they ended the
2011–12 season in 13th place. They also won the
Westphalia Cup
The Westphalia Cup is a German football club Cup competition open to teams from the Westphalia region of the North Rhine-Westphalia state. The competition in its existing format is relatively new compared to many other regional cups in Germany. It ...
in a final against arch rival
SC Preußen Münster
SC Preußen Münster (English: Prussia Münster) is a German sports club based in Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia which is mostly recognised for its football section. The football team currently plays in Regionalliga West which is the fourth tie ...
. By reaching the final, they also qualified for the
2012–13 DFB-Pokal
The 2012–13 DFB-Pokal was the 70th season of the annual German football cup competition. It began on 17 August 2012 with the first of six rounds and ended on 1 June 2013 with the final at the Olympiastadion in Berlin. The defending champions w ...
, where they beat
SC Paderborn 07
Sport-Club Paderborn 07 e.V., commonly known as simply SC Paderborn 07 () or SC Paderborn, is a German association football club based in Paderborn, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club has enjoyed its greatest successes since the turn of the mille ...
, a team playing in the 2. Bundesliga, but lost in the second round in a close match against
Bayer 04 Leverkusen, a Europa League participant. On 11 May 2013, Bielefeld beat
VfL Osnabrück
VfL Osnabrück is a German multi-sport club in Osnabrück, Lower Saxony. It currently fields teams in basketball, gymnastics, swimming, table tennis, and tennis but is by far best known for its football section.
History Foundation to WW2
The c ...
1–0 to guarantee a top two finish and promotion back to the 2. Bundesliga for the
2013–14 season. That season began quite hopeful: Arminia qualified for the second round of the
DFB-Pokal
The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...
again and at the 8th matchday they had even climbed up to the 3rd rank in the league table. But after a disastrous autumn and a mediocre winter Arminia fell down onto the 17th rank and the popular coach
Stefan Krämer had to leave. His successor
Norbert Meier at first had only little more success: Arminia finished 16th in the 2. Bundesliga, and lost a playoff against
SV Darmstadt 98 on away goals after a 122nd minute (extra time) goal gave Darmstadt the victory. Arminia had to go back into the 3. Liga.
But the next season could wipe out the bitterness of that disaster: In the
2014–15 DFB-Pokal
The 2014–15 DFB-Pokal was the 72nd season of the annual German football cup competition. It began on 15 August 2014 with the first of six rounds and ended on 30 May 2015 with the final at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.
Bayern Munich were the tw ...
, as a
3. Liga
The 3. Liga is a professional association football league and the third division in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2. Bundesliga and the fourth-tier Regionalliga.
The modern 3. Liga was formed for th ...
club, Arminia reached the semi-finals by defeating three
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
teams (
Hertha BSC,
SV Werder Bremen and
VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach). They also were the top team in the 3. Liga (after a bad beginning with only four points from the first four matches) for most part of the season. After the loss against
VfL Wolfsburg
Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg () or Wolfsburg, is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of W ...
in the semi-final of the DFB-Pokal, Arminia seemed to have lost their ability to win their matches in the 3. Liga as well. Even the qualification for the 2. Bundesliga seemed to become doubtful, but was secured after a 2–2 draw against
SSV Jahn Regensburg, the last team in the league table, at the 37th matchday. Liberated from the pressure of a possible non-qualification, they also won the 3. Liga with a final 1–0 victory at the last matchday.
Recent history, 2020 promotion to Bundesliga
A stable season with a defeat in the first round of the
DFB-Pokal
The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...
, a lot of draws in the
league (especially in the beginning: eight out of ten matches; in the end Arminia reached a record of 18) and only very few goals scored at home (only eight until the 30th matchday) followed so that the 4–2 over
Greuther Fürth at the 31st matchday which secured Arminia's staying up was only Arminia's third win at home. That season's highlights probably were the draws against all three top teams away. In the league table Arminia never went deeper than rank 14 and finished 12th.
After the season, the coach
Norbert Meier was bought by
SV Darmstadt 98. A difficult
2016–17 season with two manager sackings followed. Arminia found themselves among the lowest four teams in the league table from the fourth matchday onwards, mostly on the 16th or 17th rank. On the other hand, Arminia reached the quarter final in the
DFB-Pokal
The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...
. They avoided relegation as they finished in 15th after a 6–0 win over promotion candidate
Eintracht Braunschweig and a 1–1 against
Dynamo Dresden
Sportgemeinschaft Dynamo Dresden e.V., commonly known as SG Dynamo Dresden or Dynamo Dresden, are a German association football club based in Dresden, Saxony.Grüne, Hardy (2001). Enzyklopädie des deutschen Ligafußballs 7. Vereinslexikon. Ka ...
at the last two matchdays.
The
2017–18 season turned out easier. Having gathered 10 points out of the first four matches, Arminia hardly ever left the upper half of the league table (only at the 19th matchday: rank 10) and finished on the 4th rank – though in that season's very close league table this never meant much. In that season, Arminia also made a big step in lowering its debts through an alliance of sponsors.
In November 2018, Arminia were practically free of debt but had to sell its stadium. The team faced a more difficult situation when December started: Having gained less than one point per match on average, only the weakness of the competing relegation candidates kept them up and they were already out of the
DFB-Pokal
The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...
after a 0–3 defeat at home against
MSV Duisburg
Meidericher Spielverein 02 e. V. Duisburg, commonly known as simply MSV Duisburg (), is a German association football club based in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia. Nicknamed ''Die Zebras'' for their traditional striped jerseys, the club was on ...
– another relegation candidate – in the second round. Thus, the popular coach
Jeff Saibene
Jeff Saibene (born 13 September 1968) is a Luxembourgish former professional footballer and manager of Swiss Challenge League club Neuchâtel Xamax.
Personal life
Saibene is a citizen of both Luxembourg and Switzerland and married with a Swi ...
was replaced by
Uwe Neuhaus who managed to bring back Arminia back into mid table within four matchdays and into 7th place by the last matchday.
The
2019–20 season would turn out even better. When Arminia had climbed on the 3rd rank of the league table after a 2–0 victory away against
Hannover 96 – who were originally regarded as a promotion candidate – at the 6th matchday, hardly anyone guessed they would stay in the promotion area of the league table for the rest of the season. They had just reached the second rank of the league table when they met
FC Schalke 04 in the 2nd round of the
DFB-Pokal
The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...
on 29 October. In spite of Schalke clearly dominating the match in the first 70 minutes, Arminia thrilled the supporters in the last 20 minutes by scoring two goals and only closely missing extra time. They finished the 15th matchday on 1 December on the first rank of the league table where they would stay for the rest of the season in spite of competing with
Hamburger SV
Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its football section. Though the current HSV was founded in June 1919 from a merger of three ...
and
VfB Stuttgart
Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. VfB S ...
who were originally estimated as main promotion candidates. After Arminia's 1–1 draw in Stuttgart on 9 March 2020 (25th matchday) the season was interrupted because of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
. Even this interruption didn't affect them: they finished the season with 68 points – 10 points more than VfB Stuttgart who finished 2nd.
In the
2020–21 season, they were the team with the lowest budget in the Bundesliga. After a defeat in the first round of the
DFB-Pokal
The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...
they had a quite promising start in the Bundesliga season, but from the 4th matchday onwards they could be found among the last five teams in the league table, from the 6th matchday onwards amongst the last four teams. In March, the manager
Uwe Neuhaus was replaced by
Frank Kramer. A 2–0 win over
VfB Stuttgart
Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. VfB S ...
on the final matchday secured the 15th rank and thus their spot in the
2021–22 Bundesliga
The 2021–22 Bundesliga was the 59th season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football competition. It began on 13 August 2021 and concluded on 14 May 2022. The fixtures were announced on 25 June 2021.
Bayern Munich were the defending cha ...
.
That season turned out even more difficult. They started it with three draws, but at the end of October, after only two draws out of seven matches in the league (and a defeat in the second round of the
DFB-Pokal
The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...
) they were in danger of even losing touch to the 16th rank. They started November with 1-0 win away over
VfB Stuttgart
Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. VfB S ...
, their first win in the whole Bundesliga season. That match sort of stabilized Arminias performance. They even won 2-0 away over
RB Leipzig
RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V. (), commonly known as RB Leipzig, and colloquially referred to as Red Bull Leipzig, is a German professional football club based in Leipzig, Saxony. The club was founded in 2009 by the initiative of the company Red Bul ...
in December, and after a 2-2 draw against
SpVgg Greuther Fürth
Spielvereinigung Greuther Fürth (), commonly known as Greuther Fürth (), is a German football club based in Fürth, Bavaria. They play in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of the German football league system, following relegation from the B ...
in January they climbed up to the 16th rank after having been 17th for about three months. In February they even climbed up to the 14th rank after a 1-0 win over
1. FC Union Berlin
1. Fußballclub Union Berlin e. V., commonly known as 1. FC Union Berlin () or Union Berlin, is a professional German football club in Köpenick, Berlin.
The club's origins can be traced to 1906, when its predecessor FC Olympia Oberschöneweid ...
. But this match was the last win in the season. Especially two draws and a defeat against the other relegation battlers
FC Augsburg
Fußball-Club Augsburg 1907 e. V., commonly known as FC Augsburg () or Augsburg, is a German football club based in Augsburg, Bavaria. FC Augsburg play in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system. The team was founded as ...
,
VfB Stuttgart
Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. VfB S ...
and
Hertha BSC Berlin
Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC (), and sometimes referred to as Hertha Berlin, Hertha BSC Berlin, or simply Hertha, is a German professional football club based in the locality of Westend of the borough of Charlo ...
at home and a 4-0 defeat away at
VfL Wolfsburg
Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg () or Wolfsburg, is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of W ...
, at least partially a relegation battler in that season, let them fall to the 17th rank, which meant relegation to the
2. Bundesliga
The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...
.
Colours and crest
Arminia took the club colours blue, white and black upon their foundation in 1905. The colours haven't changed though the current club colours are black, white and blue. Despite this, Arminia played their first match in an orange
kit. Arminia's home kit was blue for most of the time while their shorts and socks were white. The team that won promotion to the Bundesliga in 1970 wore a blue shirt with thick white stripes. The away kit was mostly all white while green shirts were worn in the 1990s.
The crest consists of a flag with the club's colours black, white and blue from left to right. The white part of the
flag includes the letter A for Arminia. The flag is surrounded by a
wreath
A wreath () is an assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs, or various materials that is constructed to form a circle .
In English-speaking countries, wreaths are used typically as household ornaments, most commonly as an Advent and Chri ...
of
oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
.
Stadium
![Bielefelder Alm](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Bielefelder_Alm.JPG)
Arminia played their first home matches at the ''Kesselbrink'' in downtown Bielefeld. They moved to a new ground at the ''Kaiserstraße'' (today: August-Bebel-Straße) in 1907 and to the ''Pottenau'' in 1910. In 1926, Arminia
lease
A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...
d a ground from a farmer named Lohmann. The ground didn't look like a football pitch. The club member Heinrich Pahl said that the area looks like an Alm (German for ''
alpine
Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to:
Places Europe
* Alps, a European mountain range
** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range
Australia
* Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village
* Alpine National Pa ...
grassland
A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...
''). The stadium was known as the Alm. Arminia played its first match against
Victoria Hamburg
SC Victoria Hamburg is a German association football club from the city of Hamburg. The football team is part of a larger sports club that has departments for badminton, handball, hockey, athletics, tennis, table tennis (playing as SG Victoria ...
on 1 May 1926. The first grandstands were constructed in 1954. When Arminia won promotion to the Bundesliga in 1970, the Alm underwent a general development. A main stand with seats was built and the northern and eastern stands were enlarged. The Alm had a capacity of 30,000 and
floodlight
A floodlight is a broad-beamed, high-intensity artificial light. They are often used to illuminate outdoor playing fields while an outdoor sports event is being held during low-light conditions. More focused kinds are often used as a stage ...
s were installed. In 1978, a roof was added to the main stands and the other stands were enlarged again. The stadium had a capacity of 35,000 then.
When Arminia was relegated to the Oberliga in 1988, the northern and the southern stand were torn down because both stands didn't match the new safety regulations. The eastern stand was also made smaller and a roof was added. The capacity was reduced to about 15,000. After Arminia won promotion to the Bundesliga in 1996, the main and northern stands were demolished and completely rebuilt. The same happened to the south stand in 1999. In 2004, Arminia signed a sponsorship deal with Schüco and the stadium was named ''SchücoArena''. The latest redevelopment saw the Eastern Stand being rebuilt in 2008.
The Bielefelder Alm has a capacity of 27,300, including 20,381 seats. Bielefelder Alm was a candidate to host matches of the
2011 FIFA Women's World Cup.
Supporters
![Arminia Pauli](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Arminia_Pauli.jpg)
Arminia have a large number of loyal supporters. Even in 2011–12, Arminia had an average attendance of 8,930 which was the highest in the
3. Liga
The 3. Liga is a professional association football league and the third division in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2. Bundesliga and the fourth-tier Regionalliga.
The modern 3. Liga was formed for th ...
. In 2014–15, Arminia had an average attendance of 14,540 which was the second highest in that 3. Liga season. The numbers also show the risen popularity of the 3. Liga. Arminias matches during the 2013–14 2. Bundesliga were attended by 16,890 on average. These numbers only count league matches. Arminia's matches in the 2014–15 DFB-Pokal were attended by 21,763 on average. The core of the fans can be found on the terraces of the Southern Stand.
Arminia's fans come primarily from the
Ostwestfalen-Lippe region with a
catchment area
In human geography, a catchment area is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...
of about 100 kilometers around Bielefeld. There are around 140 fanclubs, mostly from Ostwestfalen-Lippe. However, there are fanclubs in Berlin,
Stuttgart, London, Birmingham, Taunton, Austria and the Netherlands.
There is a traditional rivalry with
SC Preußen Münster
SC Preußen Münster (English: Prussia Münster) is a German sports club based in Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia which is mostly recognised for its football section. The football team currently plays in Regionalliga West which is the fourth tie ...
. The match against them in March 2012 which was the first one taking place in Bielefeld after nearly 20 years was attended by 21,203 spectators. No other match in the
3. Liga
The 3. Liga is a professional association football league and the third division in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2. Bundesliga and the fourth-tier Regionalliga.
The modern 3. Liga was formed for th ...
had such a high attendance. One year later the stadium was nearly sold out in that derby. An earlier rival was VfB 03 Bielefeld from the east of Bielefeld, but the rivalry lessened and nowadays friendly matches between Arminia and
VfB Fichte Bielefeld
VfB Fichte Bielefeld is a German association football club based in Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club was formed out of the merger of ''VfB Bielefeld 03'' and ''SpVgg Fichte Bielefeld 06/07'' on 1 July 1999.
History
Of these predec ...
, as the club nowadays is called, take place every year. Another rival is
VfL Bochum
Verein für Leibesübungen Bochum 1848 Fußballgemeinschaft, commonly referred to as simply VfL Bochum (), is a German association football club based in the city of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club has spent 35 seasons in the Bundeslig ...
, especially since the late 90s, and there were "fashion rivalries" with other clubs from the
Ruhr, because that area also belongs to Westphalia. Also the matches against
VfL Osnabrück
VfL Osnabrück is a German multi-sport club in Osnabrück, Lower Saxony. It currently fields teams in basketball, gymnastics, swimming, table tennis, and tennis but is by far best known for its football section.
History Foundation to WW2
The c ...
are a small derby. Some
SC Paderborn 07
Sport-Club Paderborn 07 e.V., commonly known as simply SC Paderborn 07 () or SC Paderborn, is a German association football club based in Paderborn, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club has enjoyed its greatest successes since the turn of the mille ...
supporters seem to consider Arminia as their main rival, but Arminia fans are unlikely to feel the same about them. There are friendly relations to the supporters of the
Hamburger SV
Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its football section. Though the current HSV was founded in June 1919 from a merger of three ...
with both clubs sharing the same colours (black, white and blue) resulting in the chant ''"Schwarz, weiß, blau – Arminia und der HSV"'' (''Black, white, blue – Arminia and HSV'') among supporters of both clubs. For many fans this friendship also involves friendly ties to
Hannover 96, whose fans share a friendship with Hamburg as well. All three clubs are sometimes dubbed the "Nordallianz" (''Northern Alliance''), despite the fact that Bielefeld (other than Hamburg and Hannover) is not located in what is considered Northern Germany.
Players
Current squad
Out on loan
Women's Team
100 Year Team
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the club's formation, a fan poll was taken to determine the club's greatest starting XI, as well as seven substitutes and a manager. The following players were chosen:
World Cup players
The following players have been selected by their country in the
World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
Finals, while playing for Arminia Bielefeld.
*
Karim Bagheri
Karim Bagheri ( fa, ; born 20 February 1974) is an Iranian professional football coach and former player. He played over half of his professional career for Persepolis in the Persian Gulf Pro League. He is an assistant coach for Persepolis and t ...
(
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
)
*
Ali Daei
Ali Daei ( fa, ; born 21 March 1969) is an Iranian football manager and former player. A striker, he was the captain of the Iranian national team between 2000 and 2006 and played in the German Bundesliga for Arminia Bielefeld, Bayern Munich ...
(
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
)
Honours
* Arminia Bielefeld has never won any major trophies, but they have won some silverware on a minor level.
League titles
*
2. Bundesliga
The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...
: (II)
**Champions:
1977–78,
1979–80,
1998–99,
2019–20
*
3. Liga
The 3. Liga is a professional association football league and the third division in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2. Bundesliga and the fourth-tier Regionalliga.
The modern 3. Liga was formed for th ...
: (III)
**Champions:
2014–15
*
Regionalliga West/Südwest
The Regionalliga West/Südwest was the third tier of the German football league system in the states of Saarland, Rheinland-Pfalz and Nordrhein-Westfalen from 1994 to 2000.
Overview
The Regionalliga West/Südwest was formed in 1994 to form a r ...
: (III)
**Champions:
1994–95
*
Oberliga Westfalen
The Oberliga Westfalen is the highest level football league in the region of Westphalia, which is part of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The league existed from 1978 to 2008, but was then replaced by the NRW-Liga, a new statewide league. Wit ...
: (III)
**Champions: 1989–90
Regional titles
*
Western German football championship
The Western German football championship (German: ''Westdeutsche Fußball Meisterschaft'') was the highest association football competition in Western Germany, in the Prussian Province of Westphalia, the Rhine Province, the northern parts of the p ...
** Winners: 1922, 1923
Cups
* West German cup winner:
** Winners: 1966, 1974
* Westphalian cup winner:
** Winners: 1908, 1932, 1991, 2012, 2013
Coaches
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bielefeld, Arminia
Football clubs in Germany
Football clubs in North Rhine-Westphalia
Association football clubs established in 1905
Multi-sport clubs in Germany
1905 establishments in Germany
Sport in Bielefeld
Bundesliga clubs
2. Bundesliga clubs
3. Liga clubs