Alemannia Aachen

Alemannia is the flag bearer for soccer in the southwestern corner of Germany, bordering on Belgium and Holland. Despite meager resources, this tradition rich club has actually managed quite a few decent appearances, and remains quite popular.

This traditional club was founded in 1900, as a students club, FC Alemannia, as soccer was not allowed in the schools. The initial fees were 30 pfennigs, and the first purchase was for a ball. In 1919, the club merged with Aachener Turnverein 1847 to become TSV Alemannia Aachen 1900.

The 1930s saw some decent results, as they won the Gauliga Mittelrhein. This was also the period of their most famous player, Reinhold Münzenberg, capped 41 times between 1930-39. (He was also trained as an architect, and designed the club house.)

Throughout the 1950s, Alemannia was a strength in the strong Oberliga West, but the breakthrough to the new Bundesliga had to wait a few years. In 1965, the 2nd division club had a great run in the DFB Cup, making it to the finals against Borussia Dortmund, only to lose 0-2.

The highpoint of Alemannia's history was probably the 68-69 season, as they finished runner up to Bayern München in the Bundesliga. But the next year, they took the drop, leading to eventual disappearance from the upper levels of German soccer.

The 1970s-1980s established the club as a solid 2nd division stalwart, generally somewhat in the upper middle half of the table. Disaster struck in 1990, with relegation to the 3rd division, which lasted almost 10 years. Despite being mired in the depths, Alemannia remained one of the more popular clubs in the western regions, and a decent draw. Indeed, the "atmosphere" in the Tivoli stadium is noted as being quite raucous.

1998-99 turned out to be the comeback year. Although pegged as only an outsider, Alemannia put together a great run, including a club record 11 straight wins in the 2nd half of the season to win the title and automatic promotion. This despite the fact that head coach Werner Fuchs, the architect of the revival, suffered a heart attack and died before season's end.

The 1999-2000 year was expected to be difficult, and the immediate goal was merely to stay up in the 2.Liga. However the squad was equal to the task, and by midseason was even challenging for promotion into the Bundesliga. In the end, Alemannia wasn't strong enough, and a late season form crisis dropped them out of contention. Nevertheless, the return of Aachen to the 2nd division has to be considered a success, especially considering an average attendance of almost 18,500. The next season was pretty much the same, as Alemannia remained solid throughout the year, running a bit short at the end. 2003-04 proved to be a heroic year. Although the club fell short in the 2.Liga, they made the finals of the DFB-Cup, to lose against Werder Bremen. However, since Bremen also won the Bundesliga, the UEFA-Cup spot went to Alemannia.

The 2005-06 campaign will go down in history as the Eagles soared into the top flight for the first time in some 40 years. Their stay in the Bundesliga lasted only one year, but they put in some excellent performances, and the Tivoli was packed for every game. Despite the subsequent relegation, they can be happy with their overall performance, and it's perhaps not an unrealistic goal to make it back to the top flight in the near future.

Fullname Aachener Turn- und Sport-Verein Alemannia von 1900 e.V.
City Aachen (Nordrhein-Westfalen). pop: 259,030 (2008)
Address Krefelder Straße 187, 52070 Aachen
Phone: (0241) 153316 Fax: (0231)156268. Office M-F 13.00-17.00
e-mail: info@alemannia-aachen.de

Colors Yellow shirts with black trim, black shorts. Away uniform is solid black, with orange trim.

Nicknames Die Adler (Eagles). Die Alemannen. Die Kartoffelkäfer (Potato Bugs)

Stadium Tivoli. Capacity: 24,476 (3,700 seats)
One of the more famous stadiums in Germany. Became the regular field in 1928, although the club had been playing on the location since 1908. The original size was fairly small, approx. 11,000, and the stadium has been enlarged and renovated on multiple occasions: 1953, 1958, 1967, 2003. The last rebuilding was needed as the Tivoli had fallen apart. The capacity was approximately 21,300 in 2008 due to another renovation.
The amateur or B-squad play in the Sparkassenstadion, with a capacity of some 3,000.

Tickets Available, priced at Euros 10-29 (2008/09). Since the return from oblivion to the 2nd division, attendance has been increasing, and was basically sold out during the Bundesliga return. Expect tickets to be available in the 2.Liga
Supporters Fairly decent support, and usually well behaved. (although in 2003/04, poor behaviour had the DFB order a match replayed in an empty stadium.) In the 1999-2000 season, Alemannia averaged well over 18,000 fans per match. In 2007/08, it was over 19,000.
Friends

Foes In the lower divisions, there was a good rivalry with Wuppertal, usually drawing a decent crowd. With Aachen returning to the 2.Liga, and 1.FC Koeln taking the drop, the rivalry with Koeln was reinitiated.

Heroes Reinhold Münzenberg (41 caps, 1930-39)
Zeroes

Beer In 2008, Bitburger was the top dog. Previously, König-Pilsener, actually brewed in Duisburg. The local Brauerei Degraa closed in 1989.
Pub Grub

The Net The official site, Tivoli-Online at www.alemannia-aachen.de is well done and informative, with an extensive history.
Premium streaming video is available via www.alemannia.tv

Recent History:
--------------

1947-63	(I)	Oberliga West

1963-64	(II)	Regionalliga West	1st
1964-65	(II)	Regionalliga West	2nd
1965-66	(II)	Regionalliga West	3rd
1966-67	(II)	Regionalliga West	1st
1967-68	(I)	Bundesliga		11th
1968-69	(I)	Bundesliga		2nd
1969-70	(I)	Bundesliga		18th
1970-71	(II)	Regionalliga West	6th
1971-72	(II)	Regionalliga West	4th
1972-73	(II)	Regionalliga West	6th
1973-74	(II)	Regionalliga West	7th
1974-75	(II)	2.Liga Nord		15th
1975-76	(II)	2.Liga Nord		12th
1976-77	(II)	2.Liga Nord		7th
1977-78	(II)	2.Liga Nord		14th
1978-79	(II)	2.Liga Nord		7th
1979-80	(II)	2.Liga Nord		7th
1980-81	(II)	2.Liga Nord		5th
1981-82	(II)	2.Liga			5th
1982-83	(II)	2.Liga			9th
1983-84	(II)	2.Liga			6th
1984-85	(II)	2.Liga			5th
1985-86	(II)	2.Liga			8th
1986-87	(II)	2.Liga			5th
1987-88	(II)	2.Liga			6th
1988-89	(II)	2.Liga			7th
1989-90	(II)	2.Liga			19th
1990-91	(III)	Am.Oberliga Nordrhein	2nd
1991-92	(III)	Am.Oberliga Nordrhein	6th
1992-93	(III)	Am.Oberliga Nordrhein	3rd
1993-94	(III)	Am.Oberliga Nordrhein	2nd
1994-95	(III)	Regionalliga West/SW	7th
1995-96	(III)	Regionalliga West/SW	6th
1996-97	(III)	Regionalliga West/SW	11th
1997-98	(III)	Regionalliga West/SW	7th
1998-99	(III)	Regionalliga West/SW	1st
1999-00	(II)	2.Liga			8th
2000-01	(II)	2.Liga			10th
2001-02	(II)	2.Liga			14th
2002-03	(II)	2.Liga			6th
2003-04	(II)	2.Liga			6th
2004-05	(II)	2.Liga			6th
2005-06	(II)	2.Liga			2nd
2006-07	(I)	Bundesliga		17th
2007-08	(II)	2.Liga			7th		
2008-09 (II)    2.Liga			4th
2009-10	(II)	2.Liga			13th
2010-11 (II)    2.Liga			10th
2011-12 (II)	2.Liga

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Fullname	Aachener Turn- und Sport-Verein Alemannia von 1900 e.V.
City	Aachen (Nordrhein-Westfalen). pop: 259,030 (2008)
Address	Krefelder Straße 187, 52070 Aachen Phone: (0241) 153316 Fax: (0231)156268. Office M-F 13.00-17.00 e-mail: info@alemannia-aachen.de
Colors	Yellow shirts with black trim, black shorts. Away uniform is solid black, with orange trim.
Nicknames	Die Adler (Eagles). Die Alemannen. Die Kartoffelkäfer (Potato Bugs)
Stadium	Tivoli. Capacity: 24,476 (3,700 seats) One of the more famous stadiums in Germany. Became the regular field in 1928, although the club had been playing on the location since 1908. The original size was fairly small, approx. 11,000, and the stadium has been enlarged and renovated on multiple occasions: 1953, 1958, 1967, 2003. The last rebuilding was needed as the Tivoli had fallen apart. The capacity was approximately 21,300 in 2008 due to another renovation. The amateur or B-squad play in the Sparkassenstadion, with a capacity of some 3,000.
Tickets	Available, priced at Euros 10-29 (2008/09). Since the return from oblivion to the 2nd division, attendance has been increasing, and was basically sold out during the Bundesliga return. Expect tickets to be available in the 2.Liga
Supporters	Fairly decent support, and usually well behaved. (although in 2003/04, poor behaviour had the DFB order a match replayed in an empty stadium.) In the 1999-2000 season, Alemannia averaged well over 18,000 fans per match. In 2007/08, it was over 19,000.
Friends
Foes	In the lower divisions, there was a good rivalry with Wuppertal, usually drawing a decent crowd. With Aachen returning to the 2.Liga, and 1.FC Koeln taking the drop, the rivalry with Koeln was reinitiated.
Heroes	Reinhold Münzenberg (41 caps, 1930-39)
Zeroes
Beer	In 2008, Bitburger was the top dog. Previously, König-Pilsener, actually brewed in Duisburg. The local Brauerei Degraa closed in 1989.
Pub Grub
The Net	The official site, Tivoli-Online at www.alemannia-aachen.de is well done and informative, with an extensive history. Premium streaming video is available via www.alemannia.tv