SV Arminia Hannover (Germany)

SV Arminia Hannover is a football club from the Lower Saxony city of Hanover in Germany, who were formed on May 1st 1910, as FC Arminia Hannover by a dozen high school students, business apprentices, and clerks. Games for the first two years were played at Waterlooplatz, before the team moved to Schwarzer Platz, on the parade ground of the Uhlan Regiment.

Membership of the Norddeutschen Fußball-Verband, North German Football Association, was obtained while Arminia had to play in a silver grey kit with the letters "FCA" (FC Arminia) on the chest, as the FA had a ruling that only one club could wear the same colours. Green had already been allocated to Fußsportverein 1897.

In 1913, the club merged with BV Hannovera 1898 to form Hannoverscher Sportverein 1896, choosing blue as their club colours. Promotion to the Stadtliga was achieved in 1915 before a merger with Rugby-Verein Merkur in 1918 saw the club become SV Arminia-Merkur, with Merkur's Bischofsholer Damm ground being adopted as the club's home.

In 1920, the club took up its present title and went on to be crowned as Norddeutsche Fußballmeisterschaft (Northern Champions) that same year, defeating Borussia Harburg 2-1 after extra-time. Titania Stettin ended hopes of the German title in their quarter-final tie. Other sports departments were added to the club's portfolio over the next decade.

The club attracted the attention of fans on a matchday by hoisting a flag in Kröpcke Square in the city centre. Under the English trainer, the former Blackburn Rovers and England player William Townley, the club reached the quarter finals of the German Championship in 1933 before losing to eventual champions Fortuna Düsseldorf.

Under the rule of the Third Reich, German football was divided into sixteen regional top-flight Gauligas, with Arminia being placed in Gauliga Niedersachsen as local rivals Hannover 96 began to take prominence. Despite this, Arminia finished runners-up in 1933-34 and again in 1936-37.

They were later moved into the Gauliga Südhannover-Braunschweig for the 1942-43 season. The team generally finished towards the top of the table, with third place being achieved in their debut, which was backed up in 1943-44, where the highlight was an 11-1 derby victory over Hanover 96.

SV Arminia was dissolved on October 2nd 1945, and was re-founded as SV Bischofshol, before the previous title was restored before the year ended. Defender Josef Posipal, who would later win the World Cup with West Germany, was the star player of the day, with fans taking great delight when 96 were relegated from Oberliga Nord in 1947-48 as Arminia finished sixth.

Oberliga Nord was one of five top tiers at the time, where Arminia never managed to finish higher than mid-table. A 10-2 victory in the snow against Hamburger SV was the highlight of the period, along with the goals of Fritz Apel. 1955-56 saw the team finish third before they were relegated the following season.

The Blues reached the final of the German Amateur Championship in 1959-60, which they lost 2-3 to FC Singen 04 in Offenburg.  The 1960-61 Amateuroberliga Niedersachsen season saw Arminia miss out on promotion back to the Oberliga after a 4-1 defeat to Bremer SV. They were not to be denied, going up the following season.

Their home game against Hamburger SV was moved to Niedersachsenstadion, where a crowd of 62,000 attended. The Bundesliga was formed in 1963, but Arminia failed to be elected. Instead, they took up a place in Regionalliga Nord, one of the five regional divisions that formed the second-tier.

Third place, under trainer Horst Witzler, was achieved in their debut season, but future international Lothar Ulsaß, along with other star players, were released as the club was in debt. The league title was won in 1966-67 after owner Paul Georg Berghoff invested heavily in the team, adopting the slogan "Either we become champions, or we surrender our license."

The side fell short in the promotion playoffs, but retained the Regionalliga Nord title, topping the table for the first time on the final matchday, before the side performed poorly in the playoffs. Berghoff died in 1968, which led to the club slipping back into mediocrity. Meanwhile, a new club, OSV Hannover, put pressure on Arminia from 1971.

2. Bundesliga, a competition that Arminia campaigned for, was introduced for the 1974-75 season. Despite this, the club were not invited to join. Trainer Gerd Bohnsack was appointed as the goals of Karl-Heinz Mrosko took the side to runners-up in the third-tier Oberliga Nord.

The team won the league title in 1975-76 and won promotion to 2. Bundesliga Nord, where they were placed in the Nord Division, following success in the play-off group. The goals of Mrosko secured the side a mid-table finish before Arminia narrowly escaped relegation in 1977-78. 

Arminia were relegated back to Oberliga Nord at the end of the 1979-80 season, a campaign in which three trainers tried to keep the club up. On the penultimate matchday, Arminia lost 11-0 to Arminia Bielefeld, the heaviest defeat in the history of the 2. Bundesliga. To add to their woes, the club also had a debt of 1.1 million DM.

A runners-up place in 1981-82 led to the playoffs, where hopes of promotion were diminished by BV 08 Lüttringhausen in Münster. In 1986-87, Arminia again finished runners-up despite many internal disputes off the pitch, with the playoffs ending in disappointment. FC 08 Homburg were defeated in the 1989-90 DFB Pokal to offer cheer to the supporters.

By 1990, the club were facing bankruptcy as gates dropped and the team struggled on the pitch as they dropped down to the Verbandsliga Niedersachsen. Promotion to the newly created Oberliga Niedersachsen/Bremen was achieved in 1993-94, but another setback was just around the corner.

Due to Sportfreunde Ricklingen's promotion to the Regionalliga, Arminia was relegated as the city's third-place team in 1995-96. Rainer Behrends took the side to the Oberliga runners-up spot a year later to share the Regionalliga Nord platform in the 1997-98 season with neighbours and eventual champions Hannover 96. 

Rivals 96 were defeated 4-3 in front of 9,925 spectators, while a drop back down to the Oberliga Nord Staffel Niedersachsen/Bremen came at the conclusion of the 1999-00 campaign. Several top third league positions followed, while the financial situation gradually improved. 

Oberliga Nord was cut to just one division for the 2004-05 season as Arminia continued to sit comfortably in the league. However, despite finishing outside the relegation places in 2006-07, the club did not receive a license for the following season, as financial issues recurred, and were forced to drop down to the fifth-tier Niedersachsenliga West.

In 2008-09, the Blues were relegated to the sixth-tier Bezirksoberliga Hannover due to league downsizing. The side went straight back up before suffering another relegation. Arminia won the Landesliga title in 2009-10 and 2013-14, with the latter success leading to promotion to the fifth-tier Oberliga Niedersachsen.

A couple of lower table finishes came before seventh was achieved in 2017-18 as Jovan Hoffart led the scoring for the team. There was a slight improvement to sixth in 2018-19 with Leon Heesmann assisting the goals tally with Murat Salar as coach.

Arminia were perched above the relegation zone when the COVID-19 pandemic halted proceedings on the 2019-20 campaign. Onur Capin top-scored under coach Skerdi Dejzade. A fifth place was achieved in 2021-22 before Semir Zan took over the trainer responsibilities, as his side narrowly avoided relegation.

Henrik Larsen was employed to take charge of the team, which avoided relegation on goal difference in 2023-24 despite the fans staying loyal. Their patience was tested the following season as Arminia went down a level to the Landesliga 

SV Arminia Hannover will play in Landesliga Hannover in the 2025-26 season.

My visit

Monday 30th January 2017

It was a cold day when I arrived in Hanover, as I was nearing the end of a marathon football trip across the north of England and Germany over the previous week. The train had deposited me from an overnight stay in Darmstadt, via Frankfurt, to Hanover.

I’d done a bit of sightseeing before I jumped onto a U Bahn 6 train from Kröpcke, which dropped me virtually outside the Rudolf-Kalweit-Stadion. I wasn’t sure what was in store, so my immediate thought was one of disappointment.

I then realised that I was looking at the tennis club with an athletic track next door. Once I walked through the open gate to the stadium, I was made up, despite it being in a state of hibernation during the winter break.

It was a fine old stadium with a large bank of open terracing on two sides. A magnificent Main Stand stood behind more open terracing, with a clubhouse behind. The road end had no spectator accommodation. The place was well-worn, but oozing history and atmosphere.

I took plenty of time and went to various vantage points and even took a seat in the lovely old stand while I worked out my plans to head to the ground of HSC Hannover.

The Rudolf-Kalweit-Stadion was a fantastic stadium, and I wished Arminia all the best in regaining their former glories and seeing large crowds once again. I took another train all the way to Hannover Vier Grenzen in search of my next venue.