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Rot-Weiss Essen is a German association football club based in
Essen Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and D ...
, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club currently plays in the 3. Liga, at the Stadion an der Hafenstraße. The team won the DFB-Pokal in 1953, and the German championship in 1955. The latter success qualified them to the first season of the
European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
.


History


Early years

The club was formed as ''SV Vogelheim'' on 1 February 1907 out of the merger of two smaller clubs: ''SC Preussen'' and ''Deutsche Eiche''. In 1910, ''Vogelheim'' came to an arrangement with ''Turnerbund Bergeborbeck'' that allowed the two clubs to field a football side. The footballers left in 1913 to set up their own club, ''Spiel- und Sportverein Emscher-Vogelheim'', which changed its name to ''Spiel und Sport 1912'' after World War I. Finally, in 1923, this side turned again to ''Turnerbund Bergeborbeck'' to create ''Rot-Weiss Essen''.


Breakthrough to the Gauliga

In 1938, ''RWE'' broke into top-flight football in the Gauliga Niederrhein, one of sixteen premier divisions formed in the 1933 re-organization of German football under the Third Reich, and came within a point of taking the division title in 1941. In 1943 they played with ''BV Altenessen'' as the combined wartime side ''KSG SC Rot-Weiß Essen/BV 06 Altenessen''. The next season this club was in turn joined by ''BVB Essen'', but played only a single match in a stillborn season as World War II overtook the country.


Rise and golden years

The club returned to first division football in the
Oberliga West Oberliga ( en, Premier league) may refer to: Association football * Oberliga (football), currently the fifth tier of the German football league system, formerly the first * DDR-Oberliga, the first tier of football in East Germany until 1990, re ...
in 1948, where a series of solid performances led to a divisional championship in 1952. The pinnacle of the club's success came with a 2–1 win over
Alemannia Aachen Alemannia Aachen () or ATSV Alemannia 1900 is a football in Germany, German football club from the western city of Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia. A long term fixture of the country's 2. Bundesliga, second division, ''Alemannia'' enjoyed a three- ...
in the 1953 DFB-Pokal final, followed by a national championship in 1955 when it beat 1. FC Kaiserslautern 4–3. The following season, Rot-Weiss became the first German side to qualify for the
European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
. Their performance tailed off after this and ''RWE'' became just another mid-table side before they were relegated in 1961. The club then played most of the 1960s as a second division side, but did manage its first appearance in the top-flight
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 ...
in 1966–67. It returned to the Bundesliga for two seasons in 1969–70, and again, for four seasons beginning in 1973–74.


Financial problems and slow decline

Between 1978 and the end of the century, Rot-Weiss was a solid second- or third-tier club, with just one season spent in the
Oberliga Nordrhein The Oberliga Nordrhein was the highest Football League in the region of Nordrhein which is part of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia from 1978 to 2008. In its last season, it was one of nine Oberligas in German football, the 4th tier of the Ge ...
(IV) in 1998–99. During this period, the club was plagued by financial problems that saw it denied a licence in 1984, 1991, and 1994, leading to relegation from the 2. Bundesliga each time as a result. Bright spots during this period included winning the German amateur championship in 1992 and an appearance in the 1994 DFB-Pokal final, which they lost 1–3 to
SV 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, Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, they are be ...
. ''RWE'' returned to the Regionalliga Nord (III) in 1999, but dropped to the Oberliga (IV) the next season. In 2004, they won promotion back to the 2. Bundesliga, but stumbled to a 17th-place finish and were relegated once again. In November 2005
Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FIFA, ...
became an honorary club member (membership number 23101940). The team reappeared in the 2. Bundesliga after winning the Regionalliga Nord in
2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
, but narrowly missed staying up when they lost the critical final match of the 2006–07 season 3–0 to
Duisburg Duisburg () is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine and the Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruhr Region, Duisburg is the 5th largest city in Nor ...
. Rot-Weiss became a fourth division side following the introduction of 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 t ...
in 2008 and a fifth division team after insolvency in 2010. They won the fifth level
NRW-Liga The Nordrhein-Westfalen-Liga (''North Rhine-Westphalia League''; NRW-Liga) was the highest football league in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) from 2008 to 2012. It was one of the eleven Oberliga groups in German football, the fifth tie ...
in 2010–11 and returned to Regionalliga West for the 2011–12 season.


Stadium

Until 2012 Rot-Weiss used to play in the
Georg-Melches-Stadion Georg-Melches-Stadion was a stadium in Essen, Germany. It was built in 1923, renovated to the former state in 1939, 1948 and 1954 and had a capacity of 30,000. Due to safety reasons this was reduced to 15,000 from 1994 onwards. It was used, mo ...
(capacity 15,000), named in honour of a former club president. In 1956, the team's home field became the first stadium in West Germany to have floodlights. Since August 2012 RWE has played in the new
Stadion Essen Stadion (Greek , Latin ''stadium'', nominative plural ''stadia'' in both Greek and Latin) may refer to: People * Christoph von Stadion (1478–1543), Prince-Bishop of Augsburg * Johann Philipp Stadion, Count von Warthausen (1763–1824), Austrian ...
(capacity 20,000). The naming rights to the stadium include
RWE AG RWE AG is a German multinational energy company headquartered in Essen. It generates and trades electricity in Asia-Pacific, Europe and the United States. The company is Europe's most climate threatening Company, the world's number two in offsh ...
.


Supporters


Rivalries

Fortuna Düsseldorf, Rot-Weiß Oberhausen and Wuppertaler SV are local rivals when they are playing in the same league (as took place in the 2007–08 season). The club's fiercest rivalry is with
FC 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 Rhi ...
, from nearby
Gelsenkirchen Gelsenkirchen (, , ; wep, Gelsenkiärken) is the 25th most populous city of Germany and the 11th most populous in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with 262,528 (2016) inhabitants. On the Emscher River (a tributary of the Rhine), it lies ...
, with whom they contest the Ruhrderby. In the past, the local derbies versus Schwarz-Weiß Essen were big events, sometimes followed by more than 30,000 fans, however since their rivals decline the rivalry has waned in importance. Although often clouded in political terms, the "reds" were
left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
and the "blacks"
right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...
, in reality there was no real distinction. The rivalry was more based on geography of the city, a north (RWE) versus south (SWE) city divide. While the reputation of northern Essen has been attached to the working class in the past decades, the south of the city is generally regarded as a wealthier area, inhabited by an upper-middle class.


Friendships

The RWE followers have a strong fan friendship with
SV 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, Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, they are be ...
, while another with
Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional footb ...
ended.


Attendance

Although mostly playing in lower divisions, the club enjoys solid fan support, with an average attendance of better than 6,000 per game.


Honours

The club's honours:


League

* German championship ** Champions: 1955 * German amateur championship ** Champions: 1992 *
Oberliga West Oberliga ( en, Premier league) may refer to: Association football * Oberliga (football), currently the fifth tier of the German football league system, formerly the first * DDR-Oberliga, the first tier of football in East Germany until 1990, re ...
** Champions:
1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...
,
1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...
* Regionalliga West (II) ** Champions:
1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...
* Regionalliga Nord (III) ** Champions: 2004, 2006 *
Oberliga Nordrhein The Oberliga Nordrhein was the highest Football League in the region of Nordrhein which is part of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia from 1978 to 2008. In its last season, it was one of nine Oberligas in German football, the 4th tier of the Ge ...
(IV) ** Champions: 1985, 1986, 1993, 1999 * Regionalliga West (IV) ** Champions:
2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
*
NRW-Liga The Nordrhein-Westfalen-Liga (''North Rhine-Westphalia League''; NRW-Liga) was the highest football league in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) from 2008 to 2012. It was one of the eleven Oberliga groups in German football, the fifth tie ...
(V) ** Champions: 2011


Cup

* DFB-Pokal ** Winners: 1952–53 *
Lower Rhine Cup The Lower Rhine Cup (German: ''Niederrheinpokal'') is a German football club Cup competition open to teams from the Lower Rhine region of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The competition is one of the 21 regional cup competitions of German foo ...
(Tiers 3–5) ** Winners: (10) 1993, 1995, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2015,
2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
,
2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...


Current squad


Notable players


Former coaches

*
Elek Schwartz Alexandru "Elek" Schwartz (23 October 1908 – 2 October 2000) was a Romanian professional footballer and coach of the Netherlands national team. With S.L. Benfica he won the national Championship and Cup trophies of 1965 and led the club into ...
(1955–1957) * Fritz Pliska (1965–1967) *
Erich Ribbeck Erich Ribbeck (born 13 June 1937) is a German former professional football player and manager, best known for coaching in the Bundesliga. In 1988, he won the UEFA Cup as manager of Bayer Leverkusen, the first title in the club's history. Club c ...
(1967–1968) *
Herbert Burdenski Herbert "Budde" Burdenski (19 May 1922 – 15 September 2001), was a German football player and coach. Biography Burdenski began his football career with the Erle 08 in Gelsenkirchen. In 1935 he was discovered playing in the local school champ ...
(1969–1971) *
Janos Bedl János or Janos may refer to: * János, male Hungarian given name, a variant of John Places * Janos Municipality, a municipality of Chihuahua ** Janos, Chihuahua, town in Mexico ** Janos Biosphere Reserve, a nature reserve in Chihuahua * Janos ...
(1971–1972) *
Horst Witzler Horst Witzler (born 18 August 1932) is a retired German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For ...
(1973) * Ivica Horvath (1975–1976) *
Diethelm Ferner Diethelm Ferner (born 13 July 1941) is a German former football coach and player. As a player, he spent eight seasons in the Bundesliga with SV Werder Bremen and Rot-Weiss Essen. He represented Germany in two friendlies. Honours and achievement ...
(1978–1979) *
Rolf Schafstall Rudolf 'Rolf' Schafstall (22 February 1937 – 30 January 2018) was a German football coach and a player. He was born in Duisburg, Germany. Schafstall died on 30 January 2018 in Krefeld Krefeld ( , ; li, Krieëvel ), also spelled Crefe ...
(1979–1981) *
Rolf Bock Rolf Bock (5 February 1937 – 17 January 2022) was a German football manager who managed Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German prof ...
(1982–1983) *
Janos Bedl János or Janos may refer to: * János, male Hungarian given name, a variant of John Places * Janos Municipality, a municipality of Chihuahua ** Janos, Chihuahua, town in Mexico ** Janos Biosphere Reserve, a nature reserve in Chihuahua * Janos ...
(1983–1984) *
Siegfried Melzig Siegfried Melzig (born 12 July 1940) is a German former football player and manager. He played as a goalkeeper for SpVgg Weisenau and SV Meppen. He managed VfL Osnabrück, Bonner SC, Bayer Uerdingen, Panionios, FC 08 Homburg, Freiburger FC, MS ...
(1984) * Horst Hrubesch (1986–1987) * Peter Neururer (1987) *
Horst Franz Horst Franz (born 17 June 1940) is a German football manager. His son Sascha Franz is also a football coach. He began his coaching career in Austria.Siegfried Melzig Siegfried Melzig (born 12 July 1940) is a German former football player and manager. He played as a goalkeeper for SpVgg Weisenau and SV Meppen. He managed VfL Osnabrück, Bonner SC, Bayer Uerdingen, Panionios, FC 08 Homburg, Freiburger FC, MS ...
(1988) *
Hans-Werner Moors Hans-Werner Moors (born 24 July 1950) is a German former professional football player, who played as a defender, and later manager. References 1950 births Living people German men's footballers TuRU Düsseldorf players SC Preu ...
(1989–1991) *
Jürgen Röber Jürgen Röber (born 25 December 1953) is a German football manager and former player. Playing career Röber's Bundesliga career lasted 12 years with a one year interruption, when he played in Canada and England. His greatest success as a playe ...
(1991–1993) *
Wolfgang Frank Wolfgang Frank (21 February 1951 – 7 September 2013) was a German football manager and player. Frank was born in Reichenbach an der Fils, and made a total of 215 appearances in the Bundesliga during his playing career, scoring 89 goals. For ...
(1994–1995) * Rudi Gores (1995–1997) * Klaus Berge (1998–1999) *
Fritz Fuchs Fritz Fuchs (born 18 October 1943, in Kaiserslautern) is a German former football coach and player. As a player, he spent six seasons in the Bundesliga with 1. FC Kaiserslautern. As a coach, his biggest success was managing FC 08 Homburg to the ...
(1999) * Klaus Berge (1999–2001) *
Harry Pleß Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...
(2001–2003) *
Holger Fach Holger Fach (born 6 September 1962) is a German football manager and former professional player. Mainly a defensive midfielder, he could also pitch in at centre back. Club career Between 1981 and 1998, Fach played 416 Bundesliga games for Fort ...
(2003) *
Jürgen Gelsdorf Jürgen Gelsdorf (born 19 January 1953) is a German Association football, football coach and former player who is currently youth teams coordinator at Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Sporting career As a player For the 1972–73 Regionalliga, 1972/73 seas ...
(2003–2005) *
Uwe Neuhaus Uwe Neuhaus (born 26 November 1959) is a German retired football player and manager who last managed Arminia Bielefeld. Coaching career 1995–2006: Early career Neuhaus was head coach of Wattenscheid 09 II from November 1995 to June 1996 and Vf ...
(2005–2006) * Lorenz-Günther Köstner (2006–2007) *
Heiko Bonan Heiko Bonan (born 10 February 1966) is a German football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of FC 99 Aa Nethetal. Playing career In the East German and (unified) German top-flight the midfielder A midfielder ...
(2007–2008) * Michael Kulm (2008–2009) *
Ralf Aussem Ralf Außem (born 1 September 1960) is a German football manager and former player who is youth team manager of 1. FC Köln. Playing career Außem made Bundesliga debut with 1. FC Köln on 24 May 1980 against Werder Bremen, though he only pla ...
(2009) *
Ernst Middendorp Ernst Middendorp (born 28 October 1958) is a German association football coach who coaches South African Premier Soccer League club Maritzburg United. Education Middendorp was born in Freren. In 1984, he enrolled in the University of Bielefel ...
(2009) *
Ralf Aussem Ralf Außem (born 1 September 1960) is a German football manager and former player who is youth team manager of 1. FC Köln. Playing career Außem made Bundesliga debut with 1. FC Köln on 24 May 1980 against Werder Bremen, though he only pla ...
(2009–2010) *
Uwe Erkenbrecher Uwe Erkenbrecher (born 14 November 1954) is a German football manager and a former player who is the current manager of MTV Gifhorn. References External links * 1954 births Living people People from Delmenhorst Footballers from Lowe ...
(2009–2010) * Waldemar Wrobel (2010–2014) * Marc Fascher (2014–2015) * Jürgen Lucas (2015) * Markus Reiter (2015) *
Jan Siewert Jan Siewert (; born 23 August 1982) is a German professional football manager and former player who played as a defensive midfielder. He became the Academy Manager at Mainz 05 in July 2020. Playing career Born in Mayen, Siewert played as a defen ...
(2015–2016) *
Sven Demandt Sven Demandt (born 13 February 1965) is a German football coach and former player. Honours * 2. Bundesliga The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of ...
(2016–2017) *
Argirios Giannikis Argiris Giannikis ( el, Αργύρης Γιαννίκης; born 9 July 1980) is a Greek professional football manager. His hail is from Neochori Trikala. Career PAS Giannina In 2019, Giannikis was appointed as the coach of PAS Giannina. In his ...
(2017–2018)


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Essen, Rot-Weiss Football clubs in Germany Football clubs in North Rhine-Westphalia Association football clubs established in 1907 Sport in Essen 1907 establishments in Germany Bundesliga clubs 2. Bundesliga clubs