Extreme Football Tourism: AUSTRIA: SK Vorwärts Steyr (1935-1944, 1945-2000, 2001-) / FG Steyr (1944)

Stadion an der Volksstrasse "Vorwärts-Stadion", Steyr (SK Vorwärts Steyr)

Austria, state: Upper Austria

26 IV 2024 / SK Vorwärts Steyr - UVB Vöcklamarkt 0-0 / Regionalliga Mitte (= AUT level 3)

Timeline

1919 / Foundation of a first football club in Steyr, Steyrer Fussballklub (FK) Vorwärts, with the inaugural celebrations taking place at the local casino; as such, Vorwärts is one of the oldest clubs in Upper Austria. The first official match is played away at Linzer ASK Siegfried (2-2).
1920 / Steyrer FK Vorwärts, possibly already at this stage officially renamed Sportklub (SK) Vorwärts Steyr, settles at a ground at Volksstrasse, the so-called Industrieplatz, but this is not the exact location of the later Vorwärts-Stadion. Also in 1920, Vorwärts clinches the title in the Upper Austrian State League (Oberösterreichische Landesliga) – with Austria lacking a national league pyramid at this stage, there is no opportunity for the club to gain promotion to a higher level. Vorwärts goes on to clinch the same title in 1921, 1922, and 1923.
1923 / Vorwärts meets its local rivals SK Freiheit Steyr, founded in 1921, on the pitch for the first time, losing the encounter 3-1. SK Freiheit Steyr takes on the new name SK Amateure Steyr later in 1923.
1926 / In the increasingly pillarised Austrian society of the 1920s, Vorwärts changes its allegiance, abandoning the official Austrian Football Association and joining the newly founded socialist football association VAFÖ (Verband des Arbeiter-Fussballer Österreichs). Being placed in VAFÖ’s Upper Austrian State League, Vorwärts deprives itself of derby encounters against local rivals SK Amateure Steyr, LASK Linz, and Welser SC – with all of those clubs remaining ÖFB members. With most of the strongest teams remaining in the ÖFB, Vorwärts condemns itself to an isolated existence within the ranks of VAFÖ.
1932 / SK Vorwärts Steyr clinches the VAFÖ’s nationwide cup competition.
1934 / After Austria’s chancellor Dollfuss being murdered by Nazi thugs in February 1934 and Austria descending into a state of near-civil war, all civil society organisations in Austria not affiliated to the government are banned – and as such, the VAFÖ has to cease its activities. SK Vorwärts Steyr also folds, even having to give up its pitch, the Industrieplatz, to SK Amateure Steyr, but the club is refounded in May 1934 as Österreichischer Sportklub (ÖSK) Steyr, joining the ÖFB that same year and being placed in Upper Austria’s Division 1 East.
1935 / Clinching the title in Upper Austria’s Division 1 East, ÖSK Steyr wins promotion to Upper Austria’s State League – with a nationwide division still not having been organised, this amounts to the club’s return to the highest ÖFB level after an absence of nine years. In the summer of 1935, the club takes on its old name SK Vorwärts Steyr, while also moving slightly northwards to a new pitch at Volksstrasse – the exact location of the current Vorwärts-Stadion.
1938 / In the year of the German occupation of Austria, Vorwärts clinches Upper Austria’s Statal Cup.
1940 / Vorwärts wins the title in the Upper Danube League.
1944 / Due to a lack of players in both clubs due to many members having been called up into the German army, SK Vorwärts Steyr and SK Amateure Steyr conclude a merger, resulting in the foundation of Fussballgemeinschaft (FG) Steyr. Also in 1944, FG Steyr wins the title in the Upper Danube League, but amid growing chaos in the latter stages of World War II, the club ceases all activities at the end of the same year.
1945 / Refoundation of SK Vorwärts Steyr and SK Amateure Steyr as separate clubs.
1946 / Vorwärts wins the title in Upper Austria’s State League – organised anew after having been abolished by the Germans upon their occupation of Austria in 1938.
1949 / Winning the title in Upper Austria’s State League, 6 points ahead of closest followers Welser SC, SK Vorwärts Steyr is admitted to the newly founded Statal League A (Staatsliga A), the first-ever nationwide football competition in Austria. Also in 1949, the club reaches the final of the nationwide cup, losing the encounter, played in Vienna, against FK Austria Wien (5-2).
1950 / In the first Statal League A season, Vorwärts finishes in a shared eighth position with Floridsdorfer AC, with the first seven positions all occupied by teams from Vienna.
1951 / Finishing eleventh of thirteen teams in Statal League A, 3 points short of derby rivals LASK and safety, Vorwärts descends into Statal League B (Staatsliga B) along with 1. Wiener Neustädter SC and FS Elektra Wien.
1953 / SK Amateure Steyr abandons the Industrieplatz at Volksstrasse, initially settling at Rennbahn and later moving to the current Lauberleite.
1954 / Finishing in eleventh place in Statal League B, SK Vorwärts drops back into Upper Austria’s State League, by now the third tier of Austria’s league pyramid.
1955 / Runaway champions in Upper Austria’s State League, 8 points ahead of closest followers SV Stickstoff Linz, Vorwärts manages an immediate return to Statal League B. In the following season, the club manages a respective sixth place at that level.
1959 / In a reorganisation of the league pyramid, several Regional Leagues (Regionalligen) are created to replace Statal League B. As such, SK Vorwärts is placed in Regionalliga Mitte, the regional league for the central parts of Austria.
1964 / In Regionalliga Mitte, Vorwärts suffers a humiliating 7-1 defeat in the derby encounter with SK Amateure Steyr.
1969 / Finishing in twelfth place in Regionalliga Mitte, 1 point short of SV Phönix Hönigsberg and safety, SK Vorwärts drops back into Upper Austria’s State League, by now the third tier of the league pyramid – along with local rivals SK Amateure Steyr and bottom club Klagenfurter AC.
1970 / Champions in Upper Austria’s State League, 1 point ahead of SK Amateure Steyr, SK Vorwärts manages an immediate return to Regionalliga Mitte.
1974 / In a reorganisation of the league pyramid, a National League (Nationalliga) is created as a new second tier between top-flight Bundesliga and the State Leagues, with the Regional Leagues being abolished; with Vorwärts finishing in eighth place in Regionalliga Mitte, the club is automatically placed in Upper Austria’s First State League for the new season.
1975 / Vorwärts wins the title in Upper Austria’s First State League, 1 point ahead of SV Traun. As such, the club qualifies for the promotion play-offs against the champions of the other statal leagues, in which it is eliminated in the qualifying round against SV Sankt-Veit/Glan (3-1 aggr.).
1979 / Clinching the title in Upper Austria’s First State League (Erste Landesliga Oberösterreich), 2 points ahead of Union Wels, Vorwärts qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which it defeats SV Flavia Solva by the narrowest of margins (0-0 aggr. and penalty shoot-out) to win promotion to the Second Division – as the National League has meanwhile been renamed.
1980 / Finishing in joint thirteenth place in the Second Division, with an equal number of points as 1. Wiener Neustädter SC, but with an inferior goal difference (-24 vs. -4), SK Vorwärts is relegated along with SV Heid Stockerau and Favoritner AC, being placed in Upper Austria’s State League for the new season due to the temporary abolition of Regionalliga Mitte.
1982 / Winning the title in Upper Austria’s State League, Vorwärts qualifies for the promotion play-offs, in which it secures promotion to the Second Division along with SV Spittal an der Drau at the expense of ASK Voitsberg. In the following year, the club manages a respectable sixth place in the Second Division.
1986 / The Vorwärts-Stadion undergoes a complete renovation, leading to the current set-up with two covered stands – of which one terrace – and two open terraces. The ground’s capacity is estimated at 7,000 (later reduced to 5,800 due to security reasons).
1988 / Finishing in third place in the regular Second Division season, SK Vorwärts Steyr qualifies for a play-off round with the bottom four teams of the Bundesliga and the top four teams of the Second Division. In those play-offs, the club finishes in third place, enough to secure promotion to the Bundesliga for the new season – incidentally heralding the return of Vorwärts to the top level of Austrian football after an absence of 37 years. Spectacularly, the club secures the signing of former Ballon d’Or winner, striker Oleg Blochin from FK Dinamo Kiev; 35 years old by then, Blochin, who won 101 caps for the Soviet Union (35 goals) and played in the 1982 and 1986 editions of the World Cup, was the first Soviet footballer to be given permission by authorities in Moscow to move abroad and have a professional career in Western Europe. Also in 1988, Vorwärts midfielder Daniel Madlener is the first-ever player of the club to be called up for the Austrian national team.
1989 / In its first Bundesliga season, SK Vorwärts stays up after finishing in ninth place in the regular competition and saving its skin in the play-off rounds. Having played 41 matches (9 goals) for Vorwärts, Oleg Blochin leaves the club, signing a contract for Cypriot side Aris FC Limassol. Also in 1989, legendary coach Otto Barić joins Vorwärts, staying at the helm of the club until 1991.
1991 / SK Vorwärts Steyr finishes in seventh place in the Bundesliga, the best-ever result in club history. In the summer of 1991, the club takes part in the Mitropa Cup, being eliminated in the group phase by AC Torino and Veszprém FC.
1992 / SK Vorwärts repeats the result of the previous season, finishing in seventh position in the Bundesliga. In the summer of 1992, the club takes part in the Intertoto Cup, finishing in third place in a group of four, behind Siófoki Bányász SE and AC Sparta Praha, but ahead of Lausanne-Sports. That summer, Vorwärts signs Czechoslovak international striker Ivo Knoflíček, who participated in the 1990 World Cup, from VfL Bochum. Also in 1992, Vorwärts player Walter Waldhör is called up for the Austrian national team.
1993 / Having played 22 matches (2 goals) for Vorwärts in the 1992-93 season, Ivo Knoflíček leaves the club, signing for FK Benešov in Czechia.
1995 / In an attempt to qualify for the UEFA Cup, SK Vorwärts takes part in the Intertoto Cup, surprisingly finishing in first place in a group with Eintracht Frankfurt, FC Spartak Plovdiv, PAE Iraclis Salonica, and FK Panerys Vilnius. In the round of last 16, however, the club is eliminated by RC Strasbourg (4-0). Also in 1995, Steyr’s municipal authorities have to save the club from bankruptcy with a guarantee of 15 million schillings.
1996 / Due to most of the squad having left the club in the summer of 1995, SK Vorwärts Steyr is unable to hold its own in the top flight, finishing bottom of the table with just 6 points from six draws. As such, the club descends into the Second Bundesliga after eight consecutive seasons in the Bundesliga.
1997 / Runners-up in the Second Bundesliga, 5 points behind champions SC Austria Lustenau, Vorwärts qualifies for a promotion play-off against the bottom club in the Bundesliga, SCN Admira Wacker, losing the encounter (7-3 aggr.) and thus ultimately missing out on an immediate return to the top division.
1998 / In spite of financial difficulties, which nearly lead to the club not being granted permission to play professional league football, SK Vorwärts clinches the title in the Second Bundesliga, 4 points ahead of closest rivals SV Spittal an der Drau, thus managing a return to top flight football after an absence of two seasons.
1999 / SK Vorwärts Steyr suffers relegation from the Bundesliga following a painful 2-0 home defeat against LASK Linz – thus finishing second-last and dropping back into the First Division, the second tier of the league pyramid, along with bottom club SV Spittal an der Drau. In the new season, the club’s board finds itself in dire straits, only being able to pay their players’ salaries after an ultimatum. By now, the club’s debt is over 50 million schillings.
2000 / On January 11th, 2000, Vorwärts’ permission to play professional league football is withdrawn due to the club’s huge debts. Bankruptcy is unavoidable, but due to the Raiffeisen Bank acting as a guarantor by taking over the ownership of the stadium, the club is given a lifeline. Subsequently, merger talks with SK Amateure Steyr to form a projected FC Steyr lead to nothing, upon which Vorwärts starts a period of over one year of inactivity to plan a return as a competitive club in non-league.
2001 / After 1,5 year of inactivity, SK Vorwärts Steyr re-starts in Upper Austria’s Second Division East, the eighth and lowest tier of Austria’s football pyramid. In its first season, the club finishes in second place.
2003 / Champions in Upper Austria’s Second Division East, Vorwärts wins promotion to First Division East. The match in which the club clinches the title, a home game against ASK Sankt-Valentin, is attended by some 5,000 spectators.
2005 / Champions in Upper Austria’s First Division East, Vorwärts accedes to the so-called Bezirksliga, the sixth tier of the Austrian football pyramid.
2006 / Champions in Upper Austria’s Bezirksliga East, Vorwärts accedes to Upper Austria’s Second State League.
2007 / A renovation of the Vorwärts-Stadion is undertaken. Also in 2007, the home game against Sportunion Weisskirchen draws 7,000 spectators to the stadium, a record since Vorwärts’ withdrawal from professional league football in 2000. Also in 2007, former Austrian international player Kurt Russ is signed as the club’s new manager, but he is sacked in March 2008 following heavy pressure to do so being put on the club’s board by the local fan community.
2009 / Runners-up in Upper Austria’s Second State League East in the two previous seasons, Vorwärts now wins the title in that division, thus acceding to the First State League, i.e. the fourth tier of the Austrian league pyramid.
2010 / Defeating SV Gmunden in the final (3-0), SK Vorwärts Steyr wins the Upper Austrian Statal Cup. As such, the club is seeded for the nationwide cup for the 2010-11 season, going on to eliminate D2 clubs SKN Sankt Pölten and WAC before suffering elimination at the hands of SK Sturm Graz (0-1 A.E.T.) in a home game attended by 7,000 spectators.
2011 / Winning the title in Upper Austria’s First State League, Vorwärts accedes to Regionalliga Mitte, i.e. the third tier of the Austrian league pyramid.
2012 / Finishing in fourteenth place in Regionalliga Mitte, Vorwärts is retrograded to Upper Austria’s State League.
2013 / Coached by Adam Kensy, Vorwärts wins the title in Upper Austria’s State League, thus managing an immediate return to Regionalliga Mitte. Also in 2013, the club clinches the Upper Austrian Statal Cup.
2018 / Coached by Gerhard Scheiblehner, Vorwärts finishes in third place in Regionalliga Mitte, acceding to the Second Division – marking the return of the club to professional league football after an absence of eighteen years.
2020 / In the best season since the club’s restart in 2001, SK Vorwärts finishes in seventh place in the Second Division.
2023 / Finishing in fourteenth place in the Second Division, losing the decisive last home game against FC Admira Wacker Mödling (0-3), Vorwärts drops back into Regionalliga Mitte after five seasons.