Extreme Football Tourism: WEST GERMANY: SG Eintracht Gelsenkirchen (1967-1973, 1997-2017) / STV Eintracht Gelsenkirchen-Horst (B) (1973-1978) / SV Fortuna Gelsenkirchen (1978-1997) / SG Eintracht Gelsenkirchen 07/12 (2017-)

Südstadion, Gelsenkerken = Gelsenkirchen Ückendorf (SG Eintracht Gelsenkirchen 07/12, formerly SG Eintracht Gelsenkirchen / B ground of STV Eintracht Gelsenkirchen-Horst / SV Fortuna Gelsenkirchen)

FR Germany, state: North-Rhine Westphalia = Noordrijn-Westfalen = Nordrhein-Westfalen

21 VII 2024 / SG Eintracht Gelsenkirchen 07/12 - Firtinaspor Herne 1990 III 5-3 / Pre-season friendly

Timeline

1910 / Foundation of a football club in Gelsenkirchen, SV (Sportverein) Union Gelsenkirchen, as a merger of two smaller clubs, Viktoria Gelsenkirchen-Neustadt and Germania Ückendorf. SV Union Gelsenkirchen settles on a pitch at Dessauer Straße.
1911 / Foundation of a football club in Gelsenkirchen, SV (Sportverein) Rheinelbe, as a merger of two smaller clubs, SuS (Spiel und Sport) Leithe and Viktoria Ückendorf. SV Rheinelbe is renamed SV Alemannia Gelsenkirchen soon after World War I. Alemannia’s ground is situated on a plot of land on the Rheinelbe company grounds in the southwest of Ückendorf.
± 1914 / In 1913 or 1914, SV Union Gelsenkirchen accedes to the so-called A-Klasse, the top division in the western reaches of the German Empire at the time, winning promotion from the District Championship (Bezirksmeisterschaft). It should be noted that it would not be until 1963 that a nationwide league was introduced in (West) Germany, the Bundesliga, with just regional championships being in place until that time. The outbreak of World War I in 1914 heralds the end of regular football championships in Germany for the following years.
1919 / Following the end of World War I, SV Union Gelsenkirchen is placed in WSV Division 2 (WSV or Westdeutscher Spielverband being the league association organising football in the western parts of the Weimar Republic) as a result of a reconstruction of the league pyramid.
1922 / Following the title in the so-called Emscherkreismeisterschaft (Emsch District Championship), SV Union Gelsenkirchen accedes to Division 1, the WSV top flight.
1923 / After thirteen years of using the pitch at Dessauer Straße, which is retained for lower team football and training sessions in subsequent years, SV Union Gelsenkirchen settles at the newly built Sportplatz am Südpark, a ground constructed in the immediate vicinity of the Rheinelbe colliery in Ückendorf. The finances required to build the stadium, which has a maximum capacity of 28,000, are brought together by a group of Ückendorf merchants. The Sportplatz am Südpark is inaugurated in April 1923 with a gala match in which Union entertains SpVgg Fürth, losing the encounter 0-2 in front of a crowd of 16,000 – allegedly an attendance figure never attained again in the 43 years of the existence of the ground.
1931 / Following the disqualification of local rivals FC Schalke 04, which had paid money to some of its players – which was illegal in the Weimar Republic at the time – SV Union Gelsenkirchen wins the title in Group B of the so-called Ruhrgauliga (‘Ruhr District League’), having finished with an equal number of points as Schwarz-Weiß Essen and defeating these rivals in a tie-break match. Following that, Union goes on to defeat Ruhrgauliga Group A winner SV Germania 06 Bochum 4-0 to crown itself Ruhr District Champions (Ruhrbezirksmeister). As such, the club qualifies for the nationwide title play-offs with seven other clubs, finishing bottom in a group of four in the group stage.
1933 / In a reconstruction of the league pyramid, SV Union Gelsenkirchen fails to qualify for the newly formed top division, the so-called Gauliga (‘District League’), being placed in the second tier of the pyramid.
1934 / SV Alemannia Gelsenkirchen, of which the pre-war history has not been preserved as well as that of Union, concludes a merger with Blau-Weiß Gelsenguß, leading to the foundation of SC Alemannia-Gelsenguß Gelsenkirchen.
1937 / SC Alemannia-Gelsenguß Gelsenkirchen changes its name to become BSC Gelsenguß Gelsenkirchen.
1938 / SV Union Gelsenkirchen misses out on promotion to the Gauliga by a whisker, finishing 1 point behind champions SC Preußen Münster in the promotion play-offs.
1939 / Finishing with an equal number of points as rival clubs Sportfreunde Siegen and MBV Linden 05 in the promotion play-offs, BSC Gelsenguß Gelsenkirchen wins promotion to the Gauliga Westfalen on goal difference.
1940 / SV Union Gelsenkirchen wins promotion to the Gauliga Westfalen.
1941 / In the best season in club history, BSC Gelsenguß Gelsenkirchen finishes in second place in the Gauliga Westfalen, 14 points behind champions FC Schalke 04. Meanwhile, SV Union Gelsenkirchen finishes in last place in that same division – suffering a humiliating 1-7 home defeat at the hands of FC Schalke 04 in the process – thus dropping back into the second division.
1942 / BSC Gelsenguß Gelsenkirchen changes its name, reverting to the old denomination SV Alemannia Gelsenkirchen.
1945 / Following the end of World War II, SV Union Gelsenkirchen has to rebuild its grounds, the Südstadion as well as the club’s B pitch at Dessauer Straße, practically from scratch, as both have suffered heavily from Allied bombing raids on the Ruhr Area.
1947 / With Union as well as Alemannia having been placed in the Landesliga, the highest level of the football pyramid in the western parts of Germany, following the resumption of league football after the war, both clubs miss out on qualification for the Oberliga West, the new top flight league, in 1947.
1949 / In spite of narrowly missing out on the title in Landesliga Staffel 2, being defeated 3-2 A.E.T. in a tie-break match against SpVgg Herten, SV Alemannia Gelsenkirchen qualifies for the newly formed Division 2 West.
1950 / With both clubs being marred by financial difficulties, SV Union Gelsenkirchen and SV Alemannia Gelsenkirchen decide to conclude a merger, resulting in the foundation of SG (Sportgemeinschaft) Eintracht Gelsenkirchen. Henceforth, first team football is played at Union’s Sportplatz am Südpark. The merger talks were initiated at the instigation of the WFV, the Westphalian Football Association (Westfalischer Fussballverband).
1955 / Having been placed in the Landesliga following yet another reconstruction of the football pyramid – the Landesliga being the third tier below the Oberliga and Division 2, created in 1949 – SG Eintracht Gelsenkirchen clinches the title in the Landesliga Westfalen Gruppe West, with the decisive point being obtained in a goalless draw against VfL 03 Bielefeld at the Glückauf-Kampfbahn. Due to the winner as well as the runner up in the Landesliga Westfalen Gruppe Ost, SV Bergisch Gladback 09 and Stolberger SV, declining to fight for promotion to Division 2, SG Eintracht Gelsenkirchen wins promotion to this level unopposed.
1958 / Two of Eintracht’s youth academy players, 20-year-old Heinz Hornig and 21-year-old Hans Nowak, are lured away by FC Schalke 04. Between 1958 and 1973, Hornig, an attacking player, defends the colours of FC Schalke 04, Rot-Weiß Essen, 1. FC Köln, and R Daring Club Molenbeek, while also winning seven caps for the West German national team – and being an unused sub in that country’s 1966 World Cup campaign in England, in which West Germany wins the silver medal behind the host nation. Defender Hans Nowak, on the other hand, wears the shirt of FC Schalke 04, FC Bayern München, and Offenbacher FC Kickers 1901 before hanging up his boots in 1969; like Hornig, Nowak was called up for the West German national team, winning fifteen caps.
1959 / SG Eintracht Gelsenkirchen finishes in third place in Division 2 West, 6 points behind champions Schwarz-Weiß Essen.
1963 / In a new reconstruction of the West German football pyramid, which sees the introduction of the first-ever nationwide top flight, the Bundesliga, a new second tier is put in place as well, the so-called Regionalliga. SG Eintracht Gelsenkirchen misses out on qualification for the Regionalliga, though, due to suffering a 2-1 away defeat at Duisburger SpV, resulting in the club slipping to tenth position in Division 2 West and the promotion place going to Arminia Bielefeld. For the 1963-64 season, Eintracht is placed in the Verbandsliga Westfalen I, the third tier of the football pyramid.
1964 / SG Eintracht Gelsenkirchen clinches the title in Verbandsliga Westfalen I, following three tie-break matches against Dortmunder SC 95 – the decisive 2-0 win being obtained in the third match, played at a neutral venue in Castrop-Rauxel. Following that, the club plays a set of play-offs, going on to win promotion to Regionalliga West with Homberger SV at the expense of SV Schlebusch.
1967 / Eintracht’s ground, the Sportplatz am Südpark – inaugurated 44 years previously – has to make way for housing in a new to be built residential area, In der Esch. In 1967, the club moves into the newly built Südstadion. Originally intended by local authorities as a municipal sports field (Bezirkssportanlage) with a planned capacity of 10,000, the plans were changed once it was clear that Eintracht would be the main user of the facilities – and a stadium of 21,680 places (1,680 seats on the main stand, the remainder of the ground consisting of open terracing) is constructed. The ground is inaugurated with a gala match between SG Eintracht Gelsenkirchen and a Gelsenkirchen Amateur XI (2-0) in front of a crowd of some 2,000. In the following years, Eintracht’s derby encounters in the Regionalliga against opponents such as VfL Bochum, Wuppertaler SV, and Rot-Weiß Essen draw crowds of some 15,000 to the new stadium.
1969 / In an attempt to stave off relegation, SG Eintracht Gelsenkirchen signs Willi Kraus, a player who had lost his professional football work permit after being caught in a burglary. During his short spell at Eintracht, though, Kraus is again caught red-handedly and jailed. Following the 1968-69 season, the club finishing bottom in Regionalliga West, SC Viktoria Köln, files a lawsuit against Eintracht, arguing that the points obtained by the club in matches in which Kraus was on the pitch, should be deducted. In the end, Viktoria wins the case, resulting in Eintracht being deducted 6 points and suffering relegation to the Landesliga instead of Viktoria.
1970 / Runaway champions in Verbandsliga Westfalen I, SG Eintracht Gelsenkirchen goes on to defeat SC Westfalia 04 Herne in the final of the Westphalian championship (2-1). In the ensuing play-offs, Eintracht defeats Sterkrade 06/07, resulting in the club returning to Regionalliga West after just one year. In the following season, Eintracht manages a respectable fifth place in this division.
1973 / With the introduction of a nationwide 2. Bundesliga as the new second tier of the football pyramid being due in the summer of 1974 – and with Eintracht being keen to qualify for this new division – SG Eintracht Gelsenkirchen concludes a merger with STV (Spiel- und Turnvereinigung) Horst-Emscher, resulting in the foundation of STV Eintracht Gelsenkirchen-Horst. Henceforth, first team football is usually played at Horst’s Fürstenbergstadion, with the Südstadion remaining in use for the occasional first team match – but mainly for lower team football and training sessions. The attempt to join forces falters at the very beginning, though, as many of Eintracht’s players leave the club immediately after the merger.
1974 / Finishing third-last in Regionalliga West, STV Eintracht Gelsenkirchen-Horst descends into the Verbandsliga Westfalen I, the third tier of the football pyramid.
1978 / Finishing in twelfth place in the Verbandsliga Westfalen I, STV Eintracht Gelsenkirchen-Horst misses out on promotion to the newly created Oberliga Westfalen, the new third tier of the football pyramid. Generally speaking, the merger between SG Eintracht Gelsenkirchen and STV Horst, concluded five years previously, can be considered a failure – as most of Eintracht’s supporters as well as virtually all of its staff had left the merger club by the second half of the 1970s. Following the 1977-78 season, STV Eintracht Gelsenkirchen-Horst reverts to its old name STV Horst-Emscher. As such, all references to the former SG Eintracht Gelsenkirchen have been erased. The Südstadion in Ückendorf is taken over by SV Fortuna Gelsenkirchen, a non-league club founded in 1930.
1980 / SV Fortuna Gelsenkirchen wins promotion to the Landesliga, holding out at that level for two seasons before dropping out in 1982.
1997 / Merger talks between SV Fortuna Gelsenkirchen, ETuS Gelsenkirchen, DJK Arminia Ückendorf 1910, and SW Gelsenkirchen Süd to create one strong youth academy under the legendary name Eintracht Gelsenkirchen fail, upon which the board of SV Fortuna Gelsenkirchen – the sole users of the Südstadion – decides to go it alone and take on the name SG Eintracht Gelsenkirchen, the rights to which having had to be purchased from its rightholder. The new SG Eintracht starts its life in Kreisliga A, the level of SV Fortuna in its last season under that name.
2001 / Clinching the title in Kreisliga A, SG Eintracht Gelsenkirchen wins promotion to the Bezirksliga (‘District League’), the seventh tier of the football pyramid.
2003 / Runners-up in Bezirksliga Gruppe 13 behind champions Karadeniz Herne, SG Eintracht Gelsenkirchen qualifies for a play-off for one extra promotion spot, defeating 1. FC Preußen Hochlamark in R1 (3-1), only to be eliminated in R2 (quarter final) against TSK Hohenlimburg (1-3).
2006 / SG Eintracht Gelsenkirchen finishes in second place in Bezirksliga Gruppe 13 behind champions Rot-Weiß Leithe.
2007 / Winning the title in Bezirksliga Gruppe 13, SG Eintracht Gelsenkirchen wins promotion to the Landesliga, the sixth tier of the football pyramid.
2009 / Finishing in sixteenth place in Landesliga West Gruppe 3, SG Eintracht Gelsenkirchen drops back into the Bezirksliga after two seasons.
2010 / Finishing in fifteenth place in Bezirskliga Staffel 12, SG Eintracht Gelsenkirchen suffers its second relegation in a row, finding itself in Kreisliga A.
2014 / Suffering relegation from Kreisliga A, SG Eintracht Gelsenkirchen has to start the new season in Kreisliga B.
2017 / SG Eintracht Gelsenkirchen concludes a merger with Spfr. (Sportfreunde) 07/12 Gelsenkirchen, resulting in the foundation of SG Eintracht Gelsenkirchen 07/12, with Sportfreunde’s ground at Plauener Straße, consisting of two gravel pitches, being abandoned and all activities moving to the Südstadion. On the back of Sportfreunde playing one level higher than Eintracht in the 2016-17 season, the new merger club starts its life in Kreisliga A.
2019 / SG Eintracht Gelsenkirchen 07/12 wins the title in Kreisliga A Staffel 2. In the ensuing promotion play-off final, the club gives away a two-goal advantage in the last minute of regular time against VfB Kirchhellen (3-3), going on to suffer a defeat after a penalty shoot-out. In a second-chance final, Eintracht suffers a drubbing at the hands of Türkspor Dortmund (11-2 aggr.), resulting in the club missing out on promotion to the Bezirksliga.
2024 / In a reconstruction of the local league pyramid, which sees two Kreisliga A divisions being reduced to just one, SG Eintracht Gelsenkirchen 07/12 misses out on qualification for this new division, thus dropping back into Kreisliga B.