Spvgg Feuerbach 1883 eV (Germany)

Sportvereinigung Feuerbach 1883 e. V. to give the club their full title, is an amateur football club based in the German city of Stuttgart. The football section is one of twenty different sporting sections at a club with over 6,000 members.

The club has a long and interesting history.

FC Viktoria Feuerbach was formed on the 8th November 1898. They merged with FVgg Stern-Germania Feuerbach in October 1919 to become SV 1898 Feuerbach.

In 1933 the club became members of the Gauliga Württemberg, one of sixteen leagues in the country along with Stuttgarter Kickers and VfB Stuttgart. The club were relegated in 1935-36, but fought back to win promotion back to the Gauliga for the 1938-39 campaign.

Feuerbach's spell lasted just twelve months before dropping back down to the regional Bezirksligen before winning back their status at the first attempt.The final season of the competition saw the teams split into three groups, where Feuerbach won Staffel 2.

On the 30th November 1946 several other clubs came under the clubs banner; while the football team played in Württemberg Landesliga, the highest amateur level until they were relegated in 1954-55.

Following the introduction of the Bundesliga in 1964 Der Roter Teufel; the Red Devil, progressed to the fourth tier Viertklassigkeit. However they had a brief return to the Amateurliga Nordwürttemberg in 1967

The 2007-08 campaign saw Feuerbach relegated from the seventh national level Landesliga Staffel II in bottom place to the Bezirksliga where they consolidated for a couple of seasons before producing a fourth place finish in 2010-11.

There then followed two seasons towards the relegation zone which was improved upon in 2013-14. Twelve months later Feuerbach found themselves in the relegation play-off in which they defeated Spvgg Cannstatt to retain their status.

The next two seasons saw a slight improvement prior to 2017-18 when another close call with the drop was averted. Fifth place through the goals of Amir Limani and Michael Müller saw a marked improvement in 2018-19 for the side coached by Rocco Cesarano.

Feuerbach were once again in fifth when the 2019-20 season was halted owing to the Coronavirus after Erdinc Bozoglu had finished top scorer for the team. 

Spvgg Feuerbach 1883 will play in the Bezirksliga Württemberg in the 2020-21 season.

My visit

Sunday 16th August 2015

After arriving in Stuttgart at least a day later than I had originally planned, I had a few hours to kill before my double header match action in the afternoon. Not one wishing to leave stone unturned I decided to visit some local clubs. I had no idea of the standard of grounds I would come across.

The weather was worse than I expected when I left the hotel, but I convinced myself that I’d be fine. I made my way to Wilhelmsplatz in the centre of Bad Canstatt and caught the U13 U Bahn tram service to Sportpark Feuerbach and within yards of alighting I was outside the fine clubhouse at the Wilhelm-Braun-Sportpark.

The park had lots of indoor sports facilities as well as several grass pitches and one clay surface with railings around it and dug outs. There was a hard standing path around the pitch. There were only basic facilities around the other pitches.

However, it would appear on my return home that I missed the main pitch inside the stadium which was surrounded by a running track with a few steps of terracing down one side. I will be visiting Stuttgart again in the future and will put my slight error right!

I went back to the tram stop and took a ride to Feuerbach rail station and took the S Bahn to Alexanderstrasse in the town centre to change for a U Bahn service towards Untertürkheim.

SG 07 Untertürkheim (Germany)

SG 07 Untertürkheim is an amateur football club from the district of the same name in the southern German city of Stuttgart.

The club was formed in 1907 as Viktoria 07 Untertürkheim by Otto Felber, Karl Merz and Hermann Huttenlocher along with twelve other pioneers. Two years later Viktoria was dissolved with the football section operating under Turnerbund Untertürkheim.

In 1924 the first team won the district title and were promoted to the Kreisliga The Victoria name had returned but in 1933 the club became Sportvereinigung 07 Untertürkheim.

Following the end of World War II SG 07 were placed in the Württemberg Oberliga. Many sporting sections flourished at the club. In 1957 the club became Sportgemeinschaft 07 Untertürkheim.

2007 saw the club celebrate their centenary as well as their fiftieth anniversary at their Bruckwiesenweg home. By 2015 the club had dropped to one of the many Step 9 leagues in German football.

The 2006-07 season saw the club celebrate their centenary as well as their fiftieth anniversary at their Bruckwiesenweg home with the team finishing ninth in Bezirksliga Stuttgart, one of numerous eighth level divisions in the national system.

Untertürkheim finished as league runners-up in 2008-09 prior to a season of struggle and then relegation in 2010-11 to Kreisliga A3 where fourth place was achieved in 2011-12 which was improved on by one place twelve months later.

The 2013-14 campaign saw Untertürkheim crowned as A3 champions. However, the jump back to the Bezirksliga proved too steep as the team was relegated after one season. A runners-up spot in Kreisliga A1 followed in 2015-16.

The teams reward was a play-off against TSV Bernhausen which was lost 5-3 at Bruckwiesenweg. A third place in 2016-17 was replicated the following season before a mid table finish was accrued in 2018-19.

That campaign was led by head coach Theo Fringelis who was in charge in 2019-20 when the Coronavirus ended the season with Untertürkheim top of the league through the goals of Sideris Papadopoulos and Stefan Schlick, awaiting to see if they would be promoted. 

SG 07 Untertürkheim will play in the Stuttgart Kreisliga in the 2015-16 season.

My visit

Sunday 16^th August 2015

It was an awful Sunday morning in Stuttgart, but the weather wasn’t going to stop me visiting some local football clubs rather than lounging around. Admittedly I was getting some rather strange looks in my old 1980’s England shirt and no jacket, but I was past caring.

I had intended to see the grounds I was visiting on the previous Friday, but plans ran array. I meant to make up for lost time. Unfortunately, although I knew SG 09 were located within a few minutes’ walk I was struggling to suss out the streets. The map app on my IPhone was slowly reacting and the rain was drenching the screen. At last I got my bearings.

I arrived at the Bruckwiesenweg ground to find it locked; but fortunately there were plenty of views inside of the 3G pitch surrounded by a rail and hard standing. On the road side a two storey clubhouse had a smart covered balcony with accompanying flower pots for patrons.

A car park stood between the road and the ground. While a very basic venue, it offered all the club required as well as a pitch to bring in money throughout the week.

I headed back towards the S Bahn, only to wait for quite a while without sign of a train. Instead I went downstairs and caught a tram on the U Bahn 13 service, which took me most of the way to my next venue; Stuttgart-Munster.

TSVgg Stuttgart-Münster (Germany)

TSVgg Stuttgart-Münster is a sports club from the Münster district of Stuttgart in Germany. The club has sections for athletics, pentanque, badminton, health sports, handball, ski & hiking, dance, table tennis, fitness, volleyball as well as football. The club were formed in 1875.

Münster progressed as C-Klasse champions in 1918-19 on the start of a fine run of honours for the team. The B-Klasse title was collected in 1920-21 prior to winning A-Klasse in 1923-24 to progress to the Kreisliga whose title was lifted in 1928-29.

The club reached the Bezirksklasse, the second highest in Württemberg winning the league championship in 1941-42, 1942-43 and 1945-46 before a fourth title followed in 1948-49. Münster reached the 2. Amateurliga before dropping back to A-Klasse.

The A-Klasse title was lifted in 1953-54 to offer a brief reappearance in 2. Amateurliga. The 1960’s saw the team drop down a couple of levels before climbing back to finish as A-Klasse runners-up in 1971-72.

A-Klasse was won in 1977-78 as Münster climbed to the Landesliga. The team continued at similar levels of competition until the 2003-04 campaign when they finished fifth in the national ninth tier Kreisliga A1 where an improvement of one place was achieved on 2005-06.

The league title was won in 2008-09 with Münster finishing their first Bezirksliga campaign for many years in mid table prior to climbing to fifth in 2010-11 and then becoming champions in 2011-12 to climb to the seventh tier Landesliga where they were placed in Staffel 2.

However, the step up proved too severe as the team returned to the Bezirksliga after just one season. A runners-up birth in 2014-15 elevated Münster into the play-offs where they fell just short. Relegation was avoided on goal difference in 2016-17.

The warning wasn’t heeded as the team went down in bottom place twelve months later despite the goals of Bernhard Kreis. There wasn’t much improvement in 2018-19 under coach David Biedemann as Rene Weinhardt top scored in the Kreisliga A1 season.

Münster were just outside the relegation places when the 2019-20 season was halted owing to the COVID-19 pandemic under player-coach Sascha Rauhut.

TSVgg Stuttgart-Münster will compete in the Kreisliga A Staffel 1 Stuttgart in the 2020-21 season.

My visit

Sunday 16^th August 2015

I had a morning to fill in Stuttgart before heading to a couple of matches later in the day. My research of the local football set up and the transport system highlighted a few venues it was easy to call in at. I was totally blind as to what standard the grounds would be.

The rain was falling heavily and I was on my penultimate ground of four before I needed a change of shirt. My England 1982 retro top was soaked and I’d foolishly gone out without another layer.

The U Bahn line 14 dropped me at Münste Viadukt, which was just a few yards from the entrance to the Stadion am Viadukt Rasen. As I approached it soon became apparent that players were turning up for a game.

The large car park backed up to the near goal. Behind it was a tremendous multiple storey old brick clubhouse with changing facilities on the bottom floor. The pitch was surrounded by a rail. 

Down one side there was just a small space before the fence separated the ground from Neckartalstrasse. The far side had a small banking with covered facilities towards the far end. I didn’t have time to explore but it looked like they could include the traditional catering facilities.

Having left the ground to walk back to the station I was passed by a couple of players getting off a train from the other direction all ready for their match. I looked up and was astounded by the size of the huge EnBW steam energy plant built over the transport tunnel and into the hill.

I headed on to the next venue; that of near neighbours Stuttgart-Canstatt.

On returning home I found out that the game I would have seen if I’d hung around was a friendly game between Stuttgart-Münster II and ASV Botnang II, which ended in a 5-2 win for the visitors.

SV Stuttgarter Kickers II (Germany)

SV Stuttgarter Kickers II was the reserve team of SV Stuttgarter Kickers from southern Germany. The team was usually made up of players between the ages of eighteen and twenty three with a sprinkling of older experienced players, being the link between the clubs youth and first team.

The team was formed in 1969. They originally started playing in the highest level of the  three tiered Amateurliga Nordwürttemberg, where they remained until 1974. Kickers II suffered a couple of relegations before the league was disbanded in 1978. 

The team joined the four tiered Verbandsliga Württemberg where they remained until 1987. A couple of runners-up places in 1982 and 1983 were their best return. Three seasons were spend in the Landesliga before returning to the Verbandsliga in 1990.

Promotion to the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg came in 1990-91 but the side lasted just one season at the elevated level before suffering consecutive relegations dropping back to the Landesliga, as the club as a whole hit a slump.

Promotion back to the Verbandsliga came in 1995-96 with a further elevation to Oberliga Baden-Württemberg arriving in 1999-00 with the team finishing just outside the relegation zone in 2003-04 prior to a big improvement twelve months later.

A series of safe mid table finishes ensued before another narrow squeak with relegation occurred in 2009-10 which was improved upon with sixth place the following season. A demotion was escaped on goal difference in the 2011-12 campaign.

Kickers second string had a reprieve in 2012-13 after originally finishing in the drop zone which occurred again in 2014-15, with the side continuing to dice with relegation. In 2016-17 the team finished bottom without a single point after being deducted twelve points for an offence.

That was enough for the club call it a day on their second team.

My visit

Stuttgarter Kickers II 1 FC 08 Villingen 1 (Sunday 16^th August 2015) Oberliga Baden-Württemberg (att: 160)

My planned weekend trip to Stuttgart had hit a few snags; not least when I missed my flight and ended up in Strasbourg and arriving in my intended destination over a day late, but this match did not let me down.

I had scoured the fixture list in the weeks leading up to my adventure hoping for a Sunday morning or lunchtime kick off. The football Gods were looking down on me. Kickers II not only played at a decent level, but their 2pm kick off would allow me to get to the main event of the weekend; the Bundesliga clash between VfB Stuttgart and 1.FC Koln in plenty of time.

I must confess to being a bit weary when I got off the U7 tram at Waldau. I was pretty sure I knew where the reserve venue of Bezirkssportanlage was, but I didn’t expect to be able to see into it when I emerged up the station steps. That was most handy! I walked down the path down the side to the gate where a lady was taking admission.

If ever I needed a nudge towards plenty of exercise and sleep, this was surely it. I was charged the reduced admission price of €5. I can only hope that my sky blue Scarborough shirt was mistaken for a Kickers top and I was given the subsidy as a regular. I could but hope!

Admission to the basic venue came with a free teamsheet. The arena had a running track around the excellent playing surface. The only permanent structure was the long low changing rooms and offices block. This had a overhang to offer a little bit of cover. Those already inside were favouring this place. 

Most supporters were wearing the black and white of the visitors from Villengen. Despite the decent support, some with flags, the teams took to the field in virtual silence. I got my fix by hoofing the misplaced shots of the Kickers hopefuls back onto the pitch after they’d been blazed high and wide of the goal.

Once the game had commenced I decided it was time for some much needed food. I went for the traditional sausage in a bun along with a coffee. It came to €4, and very good it was too.

I expected a decent level of football both from the young hosts looking to impress and perhaps get a game at senior level. Villingen were also up to the task. The pace was fast, with the greasy surface assisting play. The youngish referee; Simon Karcher  of Karlsruhe also seemed pretty good if a little on the dramatic side.

Emmanuel Apler came close for Kickers with a shot across the goal in the early stages. Visiting custodian Daniel Miletic earned his corn with a fine double save while Villingen striker Omar Jatta looked to cause problems to the home rearguard.

Half time seemed to come round quickly, which was perhaps the indication that it had been decent fare. During the interval I went for a walk around the rest of the Waldau site, including a look at Kickers home stadium and the home of SV Eintracht Stuttgart 1896 e,V.

On my return I decided to have a wander around the pitch. As I got behind the far curve, I saw the opening goal. It was a fine effort from Kickers Luca Lippert as he lobbed Miletic from thirty yards to the joy of his team mates. A Daniel Kaiser free kick came close to making it 2-0.

I made my way to the top curve, where many free loaders stood on the path outside the ground and spectated. What a shame they deemed €7 to be too much to help their local club. I sat on a wall behind the goal.

It was as though the action followed me. Joso Kobas in the home net made a fine stop before he was beaten by a clever header by Jatta that looped over him. Villingen pushed on for a winner and the Kickers goal led a charmed life on several occasions.

Both sides spurned good chances to seal a win the closing stages. A fine passing movement from the Kickers side set up unmarked midfielder Marco Koch with an open goal four yards out. Somehow he put it wide. The polite crowd were doing their best to stifle laughter. The shaking of heads broke down the language barrier. It was as bad a miss as I can remember seeing.

Not to be outdone, Gianluca Serpa volleyed wide when free eight yards out at the back post for the balck and whites. It would have been a terrible miss if it had not been for the earlier calamity overshadowing it.

Not long after, the referee blew for full time. I headed off to Waldau to take the U Bahn into town to change for a service to the evening game.

SF Eintracht Freiburg (Germany)

Sportfreunde Eintracht Freiburg, to give the clubs its full name, are a sports club from Freiburg im Breisgau in the south of Germany, close to the French border.

The football club was formed on the 11th April 1911 as Hertha Freiburg playing games at Fedderstraße. The club moved its base to Exerzierplatz between 1918 and 1937 as mergers took place.

A further move to Grenzstraße was made before the club was dissolved in 1946 to be reformed as FC Sportfreunde Betzenhausen following the merger of the old club with Alemannia Zähringen. In 1950 the club became known as FC Sportfreunde 1911 Freiburg during a spell in residence at Waldkircher Straße.and then Meßplatz.

In 1951 a move was made to Weststadion on Grenzstraße. The club rose to the Amateurliga Südbaden in the 1960’s. In 1976 a further merger took place, this time with SV Eintracht DJK Freiburg to become FC Sportfreunde DJK Freiburg. In 1979 the team qualified for the DFB-Pokal German Cup.

During the 1970’s the club added different sporting departments to its portfolio. In 1972 gymnastics began, with skiing and hiking being added in 1977. Handball arrived a year later, followed by volleyball in 1980 and finally tennis in 1981.

In 1987 the football team returned to the lower ranks of the district game, before the club had yet another merger on the 1st July 2004 as FC Sportfreunde DJK joined with SV Eintracht Freiburg to become Sportfreunde Eintracht Freiburg.

Eintracht finished the 2004-05 campaign in tenth place in Kreisliga A Staffel 2 from where they improved to fifth place in 2007-08. Moved across to Staffel 3 for 2008-09, the team were crowned as champions to go up to Bezirksliga Freiburg.

However, Eintracht went back down at the end of the 2010-11 season, but the team regrouped to win Staffel 2 of the Kreisliga at the first attempt. This time the club consolidated their Bezirksliga position for a couple of seasons before dropping back down in 2014-15.

Worse was to follow as Eintracht suffered a second successive demotion before winning the Kreisliga B Staffel 2 title in 2016-17. A sixth place back in the higher Kreisliga grade followed in 2017-18 as Kevin Klein, Kevin Kuhn and Peter Gerspach supplied the goals for Wolf Haller’s team.

Jonas Gorges banged in the goals as Eintracht improved to fourth in 2018-19 before the team led the table when the Coronavirus halted the 2019-20 season. The club were left waiting to find out whether their endeavours would be rewarded with promotion.

SF Eintracht Freiburg will play in the Kreisliga A Staffel Baden-Württemberg in the 2015-16 season.

My visit

Saturday 15^th August 2015

It was a beautiful Saturday morning as I arrived in Freiburg from my overnight stay in Karlsruhe. I was visiting the Baden-Württemberg region of Germany on a weekend football adventure and my lunchtime match was SC Freiburg against VfL Bochum.

As I had the best part of two hours to kill, it would have been negligent of me not to have a look at the local football scene.

As with all cities in the father land, the transport system connected and was comprehensive. Within a few minutes of putting my bag in a station locker I was on board the U1 tram service and soon alighting at the Runzmattenweg stop.

My earlier research was bang on and the brief notes I’d jotted down soon had me on Berliner Allee before turning right at Lehenerstraße and Grenzstraße for the Weststadion. The gates were locked as the groundman cut the turf, but the metal wire perimeter fences on all sides gave me good views and photo opportunities.

All the facilities were down the Grenzstraße side. A smart elevated stand straddled the half way line with further buildings for players and the club continuing up the touchline, including the bar. The far side had a few steps of open terracing. The rest of the ground was surrounded by open flat standing, with a small practise pitch behind the south goal.

I made my way back via Lehenerstraße and Runzmattenweg to the tram stop. Luck was on my side as the U13 service was waiting as I arrived so I could continue to my next venue.

Freiburger FC (Germany)

Freiburger FC is a football club from the city of Freiburg im Breisgau in southern Germany, who were one of the founding clubs in the DFB (German FA) in 1900 after being formed in 1897.

By 1898-99 Freiburger were already Süddeutsche Meisterschaft; Southern German Champions after hammering 1. FC Pforzheim 6-1 in the final. The popularity of the club grew allowing the team to play at the military Exerzierplatz to accommodate crowds.

A second South German title followed in 1906-07 when 1. FC Nürnberg were defeated 4-2 which allowed the team to compete in the national championships. VfB Leipzig were beaten before Viktoria 89 Berlin were overcome 3-1 in front of 3,000 fans at the Stadion am Kanal in Frankenthal to be crowned as champions of Germany.

The club also went on to play in The Torneo Internazionale Stampa Sportiva the following season. This was one of the first ever international football clubs. It also featured Piemonte F.C, Juventus, FC Servette, Torino, FC Ausonia Milano and US Parisienne.

These achievements were to be the highest point in the clubs history, even though they were the dominant club in the city for a couple more decades. In 1915-16 the Kreisliga Südwest title was won, but the season was localised and affected by the outbreak of war. Another championship was collected in 1919-20.

The club moved into the newly built Möslestadion in 1922 prior to joining Bezirksliga Baden, whose title was won in 1929-30. Freiburger were moved to the Gauliga Baden, one of sixteen top grade leagues introduced by the Third Reich in 1933. The team’s best performance was third place in 1933-34, 1938-39 and 1943-44.

Following the end of World War Two the cub had to be reformed as Fortuna Freiburg becoming members of 2. Oberliga Süd; which was one of the second tier divisions in the newly formed state of West Germany.

A couple of relegations occurred but the team fought back as the club was renamed Freiburg FC in November 1949. The wooden stand at Möslestadion burned down as the club lost many artefacts including their title winning pennant of 1907.

FFC were champions in 1955-56 in the season that they attracted the attendance record on the 9th December, when the match between the Freiburger FC and 1. FC Nürnberg attracted 25,000 spectators as Bayern München had to be satisfied with a runners-up place.

The promotion proved a step too far as the team was relegated after just one season. FFC finished third in the renamed II. Division Süd in 1958-59 before fifth place in 1962-63 was enough to win a place in the second tier Regionalliga Süd after the introduction of the Bundesliga under coach Hans Wendlandt.

SC Freiburg, who would go on to become the major club in the city, were still playing at the Amateurliga Südbaden level. FFC generally occupied a mid table place at the seasons end with a sixth place in 1969-70 and 1971-72 about the best outcome.

After a close shave the previous season the team was relegated in 1973-74 to 1. Amateurliga Südbaden where they came up against SC Freiburg. Third place was achieved in 1975-76 with Wolf-Dieter Siebert coaching the side.

Georg Gawliczek was coach as Freiburg FC won the Amateurliga Südbaden title to go up to 2. Bundesliga Süd. Several coaches took turns in charge of the team: Norbert Wagner, Milovan Beljin, Anton Rudinsky and Bernd Hoss.

2. Bundesliga was streamlined to one division in 1981-82 as FFC’s run ended following the earlier death of chairman Rolf Jankovsky and consequent cutting of the playing budget after the club was only given its license under strict conditions.

Back in Oberliga Baden-Württemberg fans rallied round to save the club from bankruptcy. Local rivals SC Freiburg were heading in the opposite direction in 2. Bundesliga and drawing in new support. A league title cheered the FFC faithful at Möslestadion in 1983-84 under coach Lutz Hangartner.

The team missed out on going up in the promotion round and then finished as league runners-up in 1985-86 after Ulrich Bruder had taken over as coach. The same position was achieved in 1987-88 before the club underwent a large turnover of coach’s as the team was relegated to Verbandsliga Südbaden in 1989-90.

Promotion back to the fifth tier Oberliga Baden-Württemberg came in 1990-91 with Freiburger’s comeback season ending in fourth place after the appointment of coach Uwe Ehret. However, the team went back down in bottom place at the conclusion of the 1993-94 campaign as more coach’s came and went.

The timing couldn’t be worse as a reorganisation of German league football took place meaning that FFC were demoted to what was now the seventh level Bezirksliga Südbaden. Ehret returned to oversee promotion to Landesliga Südbaden in 1998-99.

Another promotion to the Verbandsliga came in 1999-00 before SC Freiburg made the cash strapped club an offer that they couldn’t afford for Möslestadion. FFC moved across the city to take up residence at Schönberg Stadion as tenants to Blau-Weiß Wiehre.

Former SC Freiburg player Maximilian Heidenreich took over as coach in January 2001. He stabilised the playing side of the club as the team finished fourth in 2007-08. Despite this and being the longest ever serving coach at the club he was fired in April 2008.

Once again Freburger found themselves in financial trouble, this time through rental charges at Schönberg Stadion. The club had long negotiations with the city council and acquired Dietenbachpark Stadion as their new home.

A sponsorship deal with Ganter brewery was brokered to rename their ground Freiburg Stadion. At the same time the club dropped another level in the national league system after the introduction of 3. Liga before being relegated in 2008-09 down to Landesliga 2.

New coach Ralf Eckert led his charges to third place in 2009-10 which was replicated the following season. As runners-up in 2011-12 Freiburger won promotion following a decider against SC Offenburg. Back in Verbandsliga Südbaden the team consolidated before winning the title in 2013-14.

In the fifth tier Oberliga Baden-Württemberg FFC initially secured their status before being relegated in 2015-16. The side regrouped and ended as Verbandsliga runners-up in 2016-17. In the play-offs FV Fortuna Heddesheim were overcome but promotion was denied after a home defeat to TSG Backnang in front of 2,000 fans.

The play-offs were reached in 2017-18 thanks to the goals of Marco Senftleber and Mike Enderle. FV Fortuna Heddesheim were beaten once again before the team again fell at the final hurdle, this time away to TSV Ilshofen.

For the third successive season FFC finished runners-up in 2018-19. Again, Heddesheim were dispatched but this time there was no mistake in the final as FSV Hollenbach were defeated 5-1 away from home for Freiburger to climb back to Oberliga Baden-Württemberg.

In October 2019 coach Eckert resigned after ten years in charge to be replaced by Joschua Moser-Fendel. The team were in eighth in the fifth tier league when the 2018-19 season was halted owing to the COVID-19 pandemic with Nicolas Stein top scoring.

Freiburger FC will play in Oberliga Baden-Württemberg in the 2020-21 season.

My visit

Saturday 15^th August 2015

While heading to the lunchtime kick off in 2. Bundesliga between SC Freiburg and VfL Bochum I ensured I arrived early so that I could call in a couple of local grounds. Freiburg seemed a neat enough city from what I’d seen in calling in at the home of SF Eintracht Freiburg.

The U3 tram took me from Runzmattenweg to Rohrgraben where I walked down the street and into the vast Dietenbachpark. This really was a beauty of a park with nice walks, a small allotment, small rivers and a large lake Dietenbachsee.

Although I’d forgotten to jot down directions I did remember to walk to the left of the BMX Bahn to find my destination. Fortunately this came into view just as I was about to take a long pretty but fruitless walk around the lake. I was soon back on track with a football pitch in view.

The first pitch I saw was the training ground with an artificial surface, which turned out to be alongside the main pitch. I crossed a brook and found a gate open to the FFC complex. The smartly red painted clubhouse was on top of a small hill with a beer garden at the rear.

Walking towards the main pitch, a couple of marquees were erected to offer cover. There was a catering outlet and club shop, with the changing rooms underneath the club rooms. Between the two pitches was a basic style cover on the half way line for spectators. There was also a small open flat area around the pitch for fans between the perimeter fencing and pitch railing.

I headed back in the same direction to leave the groundsman to get on with cutting the pitch. It seemed a lot quicker to the tram now that I knew exactly where I was going. I would certainly return to the venue, hopefully with added spectator facilities as the fine old club carries on its fight back up the leagues.