FC Energie Cottbus

Energie Cottbus is the flagship team of the Lausitz region on eastern Germany, in the extreme southeast corner of the former GDR.

Energie is a relatively young club. It was essentially founded in 1963. The team of Aktivist Brieske was transferred to Cottbus and merged with the just founded SC Cottbus. (This involuntary moves were fairly common, especially in the early days of GDR football.) In 1966, the soccer section was removed from SC, and the independent BSG Energie was founded, basically under the auspices of a local coal mine. The conversion to FC Energie came with die Wende in 1990.

Energie is one of the few ex-GDR clubs whose best times came after re-unification. The club played mostly in the 2nd division in the GDR, and the few appearances in the DDR-Oberliga were usually met with swift relegation. They are also one of the minority to keep a "GDR style" name. Energie quickly established itself as a solid club, and moved up to the 3rd division by 1994. After only 3 seasons, they had made the jump to the 2nd division.

1999-2000 will undoubtedly be remembered with fondness throughout the ages. The club surprisingly had a good run early, and then hung tough. On the last day, Energie defeated 2.Liga champions 1.FC Köln to hold 3rd place and promotion into the Bundesliga! And despite all odds, being everyones pick for the 1st relegated team, Energie managed to hold on and stay up. On the other hand, they also made news of a more dubious sort: they became the first team to start no Germans on the pitch. By 2003, they finally were relegated, but not before they had managed to claim some scalps, such as defeating Bayern München. Despite predictions for a swift decline, like some of the other small clubs making cameo appearances at top flight (Ulm, Unterhaching), Cottbus was able to challenge in the 2.Liga, and surprised everybody by getting promoted back to the Bundesliga in 2006. Again they surprised the pundits by staying up for three seasons. This time however they really couldn't get going back in the 2.Liga. They had a couple of decent runs which suggested they could be threatening again, but then went mediocre and completely fell off the map.

Despite the recent collapse, I would expect that we'll see Energie at least back in the 2.Liga. They have a decent base support that should be enough to carry them.

Fullname Fussball-Club Energie Cottbus e.V.
City Cottbus (Brandenburg). Pop: 106,000 (2002). Also known as "Chosebusz" in Sorbisch.
Address Stadion der Freundschaft. 03042 Cottbus
Phone: (0355) 715041 / 714479 Fax: (0355) 713026
e-Mail: fcenergie@inpetho.de

Colors Red shirt, blue trim. Blue shorts and socks. Also just red with white trim.

Nickname Die Lausitzer

Stadium Stadion der Freundschaft Capacity: 22,500 (4,100 seats)
Originally built in 1930, construction started in 1925 as an unemployment project. This is known as one of the hardest places to play for visiting clubs.

Tickets Priced from 10-26 euros (2013/14). These were very hard to get during Bundesliga days, as the fans packed the small stadium. When they play in the 2.Liga, tickets are available. You can order online at the website, and prices are usually discounted 10%-20% if you buy ahead of time.
Supporters Very strong local support! Averaged 12,000 in 2004 (2.Liga), frequent sellouts in Bundesliga. Among the 2.Liga, especially with western clubs, Energie had a bad reputation for hooligan neo-nazi fans. Part of this reflects the Ossi vs. Wessi state of affairs. Undoubtedly, there are plenty of well behaved Energie fans. The club sponsors the Fan-Projekt Cottbus, which has a link on the official website. There is a "Fan-Stammtisch" every 1st Monday of the Month at a local McDonald's.
Friends

Foes Seems like just about everybody...

Heroes Only 1 GDR international, Jörg Schwanke (1990). Longtime coach Eduard Geyer led Cottbus into the Bundesliga.

Zeroes

Beer Lübzer
Pub Grub McDonalds. OK, it's a joke, but in the past, every Monday around 7 pm has been a "stammtisch", where fans meet, often with players or team officials. The location is in the Fürst-Pückler-Passage. In the stadium, there are the usual snackbars, along with with a club pub "Energie-Eck".

The Net Official site: www.fcenergie.de, A well done and informative site. In 2004, the headline trumpeted "THE FIGHT CLUB", which is sure to cause amusement among English speakers. (Kämpfen, i.e. to fight, in has a very positive connotation in German/soccer.)

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

2013-14 (II)    2.Liga		                
2012-13 (II)    2.Liga		                14th
2011-12 (II)    2.Liga		                14th
2010-11 (II)    2.Liga                          6th 
2009-10 (II)    2.Liga                          9th
2008-09 (I)     Bundesliga                      16th
2007-08 (I)     Bundesliga                      14th
2006-07 (I)     Bundesliga                      13th
2005-06 (II)    2.Liga                          3rd
2004-05 (II)    2.Liga                          14th
2003-04 (II)    2.Liga                          4th
2002-03 (I)     Bundesliga                      18th
2001-02 (I)     Bundesliga                      13th
2000-01 (I)     Bundesliga                      14th
1999-00 (II)    2.Liga                          3rd 
1998-99 (II)    2.Liga                          11th
1997-98 (II)    2.Liga                          8th 
1996-97 (III)   Regionalliga Nordost            1st
1995-96 (III)   Regionalliga Nordost            3rd 
1994-95 (III)   Regionalliga Nordost            7th
1993-94 (III)   Am.Oberliga Nordost Mitte       2nd 
1992-93 (III)   Am.Oberliga Nordost Mitte       3rd 
1991-92 (III)   Am.Oberliga Nordost Mitte       3rd 	
1990-91 (*)     NOFV-Oberliga Nordost           13th
1989-90 (*)     DDR-Oberliga                    7th 
1988-89 (*)     DDR-Oberliga                    10th
1987-88 (**)    DDR-Liga, Staffel A             1st 
1986-87 (*)     DDR-Oberliga                    13th
1985-86 (**)    DDR-Liga, Staffel A             2nd
1984-85 (**)    DDR-Liga, Staffel A             4th
1983-84 (**)    DDR-Liga, Staffel B             4th
1982-83 (**)    DDR-Liga, Staffel B             3rd
1981-82 (*)     DDR-Oberliga                    13th
1980-81 (**)    DDR-Liga, Staffel D             1st 
1979-80 (**)    DDR-Liga, Staffel D             1st
1978-79 (**)    DDR-Liga, Staffel D             1st
1977-78 (**)    DDR-Liga, Staffel D             2nd 
1976-77 (**)    DDR-Liga, Staffel D             5th 
1975-76 (*)     DDR-Oberliga                    14th
1974-75 (**)    DDR-Liga, Staffel D             1st 
1973-74 (*)     DDR-Oberliga                    14th
1972-73 (**)    DDR-Liga, Staffel B             2nd
1971-72 (**)    DDR-Liga, Staffel B             3rd 
1970-71 (**)    DDR-Liga, Staffel Nord          4th
1969-70 (**)    DDR-Liga, Staffel Nord          4th 
1968-69 (**)    DDR-Liga, Staffel Nord          5th
1967-68 (**)    DDR-Liga, Staffel Nord          2nd 
1966-67 (**)    DDR-Liga, Staffel Nord          3rd 
1965-66	(**)	DDR-Liga, Staffel Nord		3rd

Fullname	Fussball-Club Energie Cottbus e.V.
City	Cottbus (Brandenburg). Pop: 106,000 (2002). Also known as "Chosebusz" in Sorbisch.
Address	Stadion der Freundschaft. 03042 Cottbus Phone: (0355) 715041 / 714479 Fax: (0355) 713026 e-Mail: fcenergie@inpetho.de
Colors	Red shirt, blue trim. Blue shorts and socks. Also just red with white trim.
Nickname	Die Lausitzer
Stadium	Stadion der Freundschaft Capacity: 22,500 (4,100 seats) Originally built in 1930, construction started in 1925 as an unemployment project. This is known as one of the hardest places to play for visiting clubs.
Tickets	Priced from 10-26 euros (2013/14). These were very hard to get during Bundesliga days, as the fans packed the small stadium. When they play in the 2.Liga, tickets are available. You can order online at the website, and prices are usually discounted 10%-20% if you buy ahead of time.
Supporters	Very strong local support! Averaged 12,000 in 2004 (2.Liga), frequent sellouts in Bundesliga. Among the 2.Liga, especially with western clubs, Energie had a bad reputation for hooligan neo-nazi fans. Part of this reflects the Ossi vs. Wessi state of affairs. Undoubtedly, there are plenty of well behaved Energie fans. The club sponsors the Fan-Projekt Cottbus, which has a link on the official website. There is a "Fan-Stammtisch" every 1st Monday of the Month at a local McDonald's.
Friends
Foes	Seems like just about everybody...
Heroes	Only 1 GDR international, Jörg Schwanke (1990). Longtime coach Eduard Geyer led Cottbus into the Bundesliga.
Zeroes
Beer	Lübzer
Pub Grub	McDonalds. OK, it's a joke, but in the past, every Monday around 7 pm has been a "stammtisch", where fans meet, often with players or team officials. The location is in the Fürst-Pückler-Passage. In the stadium, there are the usual snackbars, along with with a club pub "Energie-Eck".
The Net	Official site: www.fcenergie.de, A well done and informative site. In 2004, the headline trumpeted "THE FIGHT CLUB", which is sure to cause amusement among English speakers. (Kämpfen, i.e. to fight, in has a very positive connotation in German/soccer.)