Association Sportive de Strasbourg is a French

football club A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all- ...

from the city of

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

in the

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

region of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It was formed in 1920 by the union of FV Straßburg, a German club founded in 1890 when the city was part of the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

, and Strasbourger FC Donar, founded in 1899. The team has played in both French and German football leagues, as the political fortunes of the region have changed.

History

''Fussball Klub Straßburg'' was founded on 19 May 1890 and played in the VSFV (Verband Süddeutscher Fussballvereine or Federation of South German Football Teams). A merger with ''FC Celeritas Straßburg'' on 24 December 1898 led to the team being renamed ''Fussball Verein Straßburg''. The club won the league title in 1899 with a 4:3 victory over '' Karlsruher FV''. The two teams played a re-match in the following year's final, but the result has been lost to history. That same year ''FV'' became one of the founding members of the

German Football Association The German Football Association (german: Deutscher Fußball-Bund ; DFB ) is the governing body of football in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB has jurisdiction for the German football league system and is in charge of t ...

(Deutscher Fussball Bund or German Football Association) at

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

. In 1902 the club's second team captured the VSFV second division title. From 1909 to 1912, the club played in the tier-one

Südkreis-Liga The Südkreis-Liga (English: ''Southern district league'') was the highest association football league in the German Kingdom of Württemberg, Grand Duchy of Baden, the Province of Hohenzollern and Alsace-Lorraine from 1908 to 1918. The league wa ...

. The team's performance fell off over the next decade, but by 1917 ''Straßburg'' had resurfaced in the league playoff rounds, losing the 1917 final to '' Stuttgarter Kickers'' and going out in the semi-finals in 1918. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Strasbourg was ceded to France as part of the territory of Alsace-Lorraine and ''FV Straßburg'' was removed from the German football scene in 1920 to play in the French leagues, first as ''Strasbourger FV'', and following a union that same year with ''Strasbourger FC Donar'' (established 22 November 1899), as ''Association Sportive de Strasbourg''. During the interwar period ''AS Strasbourg'' played in the top flight regional Division d'Honneur Alsace and regularly delivered top-three finishes there. They participated in the league championship in 1926, 1927, and 1928, coming away as winners in 1926. After re-organization of French football leagues in 1932 ''Strasbourg'' played in lower divisions. The region was conquered and held briefly by Germany during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and ''FV Straßburg'' was one of several former German sides that returned to play in that country's football competition. Once again playing as ''Sportverein Straßburg 1890'' the club made a single season appearance in the top flight

Gauliga Elsaß The Gauliga Elsaß was the highest football league in the region of Alsace (German: Elsaß, the old orthography of Elsass) from 1940 to 1945. The Nazis reorganised the administrative region and the Alsace became part of the Gau Baden-Elsaß. Ove ...

in 1940–41. They won promotion back to the weakened Gauliga in 1944 but the division collapsed as conflict overtook the area. The club resumed play as the ''Association Sportive de Strasbourg'' in late 1944 and enjoyed some success as a French amateur side through the 60s. Their latest honours, nearly a quarter century old, are a fourth division national title and a Coupe d'Alsace win in the early 80s. In addition to fielding a football team, the club also has athletics and basketball departments.

Honours

* Southern German football championship: 1899, 1900 * South German II division champions: 1902 * French IV division champions: 1982 * Alsace champions: 1926, 1961, 1966, 1970 * Coupe d'Alsace (Alsace Cup): 1954, 1965, 1966, 1983 * Bas-Rhin champions: 1956

Notable players

* Goalkeeper Eberhard Illmer was the club's only international while a German team. He played his only match for Germany on 4 April 1909, as they beat Switzerland 1–0 in a friendly. * In 1919, English coach Fred Pentland took charge of the club as it was rebuilt after the First World War. The following year he coached

at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

before embarking on a successful career in Spanish football. * Between 1920 and 1932, five players from the club played for France. Émile Scharwath was the most successful of these, gaining seven caps in 1932. * From 1932 to 1950 Strasbourg native and former club player

Ivo Schricker Ivo Wolfgang Eduard Schricker (18 March 1877 – 10 January 1962) was a German footballer and the third General Secretary of the FIFA, serving from 1932 to 1951 upon his resignation. Biography Ivo Schricker was son of a privy councilor in Strasbo ...

served as Secretary-General of

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

, football's worldwide governing body.

References

* Grüne, Hardy (2001). Vereinslexikon. Kassel: AGON Sportverlag

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strasbourg, AS Football clubs in Strasbourg Association football clubs established in 1890 Football clubs from former German territories 1890 establishments in Germany Football clubs in France fr:Association sportive de Strasbourg