Association Sportive de Strasbourg is a French

football club In association football, a football club (or association football club, alternatively soccer club) is a sports club that acts as an entity through which association football teams organise their sporting activities. The club can exist either as ...

from the city of

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

in the

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

region of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It was formed in 1920 by the merging of ''two different club'', which FV Straßburg, a ''German'' club founded in 1890 when the city was part of the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

, and Strasbourger FC Donar, founded in 1899. The team has ''played'' in ''both

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

football league system'', 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 Karlsruher Fußball-Verein e. V. is a German association football club that plays in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg. Established on 17 November 1891, KFV was a founding member of the German Football Association (Deutscher Fussball-Bund) in ...

''. 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 ( ; DFB ) is the governing body of Association football, football, futsal, and beach soccer in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB has jurisdiction for the German football league system and ...

(Deutscher Fussball Bund or German Football Association) at

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

. 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 Stuttgarter Kickers is a German association football club that plays in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, founded on 21 September 1899 as FC Stuttgarter Cickers. The club currently plays in the Regionalliga Südwest, the fourth tier of German footb ...

'' and going out in the semi-finals in 1918. After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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 The Southern German football championship () was the highest association football competition in the southern Germany, established in 1898. The competition was disbanded in 1933 with the rise of the Nazis to power. While no senior Southern German ...

: 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 Eberhard is an old Germanic name meaning the strength or courage of a wild boar. People First name *Eberhard of Friuli (815–866), Duke and key figure in the Carolingian Empire *Eberhard of Béthune (died 1212), Flemish grammarian *Eberhard I, Du ...

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 Frederick Beaconsfield Pentland (29 July 1883 – 16 March 1962) was an English football player and coach. Pentland played club football in the Football League for Blackpool, Blackburn Rovers and Middlesbrough, in the Southern Football League f ...

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 (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

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 Stras ...

served as Secretary-General of

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

, 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