Karlsruher SC

GERMAN CUP WINNER 1955, 1956

KSC is a fairly popular club in southwestern Germany and saw some excellent times in the 1980s and 1990s.

The club was originally founded back in 1894 as FC Phönix. By 1909, they had become not only a regional powerhouse, but they won the German Championship, by defeating Viktoria Berlin 4-2. In 1912, Phönix merged with FC Alemannia. Further success was rather limited, and Phönix began to slip into a ho-hum existance. In 1952, they merged with VfB Mühlberg to found the current Karlsruher SportClub. The result saw back-to-back DFB Cup wins in 1955 and 1956, followed by a runner-up in the German championship in 1956 as well. Although KSC was now a fairly strong club, it was still in the shadow of regional rivals VfB Stuttgart. Despite being a founding member of the Bundesliga in 1963, KSC struggled, and was finally relegated in 1968. In 1976, they were back up, but only for two seasons. In 1980, they repeated this elevator ride. 1984, they finally made the leap again, winning the 2.Liga title and gaining promotion to the Bundesliga. The 1990s saw stability in the top flight, and the 1994 season also saw a great run in UEFA Cup competition, as KSC reached the semifinals. Throughout this period, KSC was known for it's fighting spirit.

After several seasons as one of the most consistent Bundesliga clubs, KSC collapsed into despair in 97-98, leading to relegation.

The 1998-99 season goal was nothing less than immediate re-promotion. Viewed in that light, it has to be considered a failure, although they came close. The fact that the nearby "dwarfs" from Ulm made it had to hurt even more. What followed was simply unbelievable. In 99-00, KSC played horrible and finished dead last, stunning German soccer fans everywhere. The club was on the verge of financial ruin, and after a house cleaning, a new start in the 3rd division was needed. Ex-Lautern intl Stefan Kuntz was brought in to clean house, and his squad easily won the title and returned KSC to the 2nd division. Thinsg continued to improve, and in 2007 they suprisingly won the 2.Liga, returning KSC to the top flight for the first time in some 10 years. A nice first season really saw a fall-off in the second half, and the next year proved to be to difficult.

Fullname Karlruher Sport-Club von 1894 Mühlburg-Phönix e.V.
City Karlsruhe (Baden-Württemberg). Pop: 280,000 (2002)
Address Adenauer-ring 17, 76131 Karlsruhe
Phone: (0721) 9643450 Fax: (0721) 9643469

Colors White jerseys with blue vertical stripes, red trim. White shorts, socks. Also red and yellow on road.

Nickname

Stadium Wildparkstadion. Capacity: 33,796 (16,034 seats)

Tickets Range from 9-29 euros (2004). In Bundesliga days, the Wildpark was generally full. In lower levels, tickets shouldn't be a problem. Special reduced prices are available for families.
Supporters Averaged 12,500 in 2004 (2.Liga). Bundesliga years were usually 20,000+.

Friends Bayern Muenchen is friendly in the sense that KSC has lost so many players to Bayern. Of course, that should hardly make the KSC fans happy!

Foes VfB Stuttgart for obvious reasons.

Heroes 8 German internationals. The best was midfielder Thomas Häßler, who had 42 caps for KSC, and another 54 with other clubs.

Zeroes Many players who abandoned KSC for Bayern.

Beer Hoepfner-Pilsner, from a Karlsruhe brewery, is one of the sponsors.
Pub Grub

The Net The official site is www.karlsruhersc.de

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

1963-64	(I)	Bundesliga		13th
1964-65	(I)	Bundesliga		15th
1965-66	(I)	Bundesliga		16th
1966-67	(I)	Bundesliga		13th
1967-68	(I)	Bundesliga		18th
1968-69	(II)	Regionalliga Süd	1st	
1969-70	(II)	Regionalliga Süd	2nd
1970-71	(II)	Regionalliga Süd	2nd	
1971-72	(II)	Regionalliga Süd	5th	
1972-73	(II)	Regionalliga Süd	2nd	
1973-74	(II)	Regionalliga Süd	8th
1974-75	(II)	2.Liga Süd		1st
1975-76	(I)	Bundesliga		15th
1976-77	(I)	Bundesliga		16th
1977-78	(II)	2.Liga Süd		7th
1978-79	(II)	2.Liga Süd		5th
1979-80	(II)	2.Liga Süd		2nd
1980-81	(I)	Bundesliga		10th
1981-82	(I)	Bundesliga		14th
1982-83	(I)	Bundesliga		17th
1984-85	(I)	Bundesliga		10th
1985-86	(II)	2.Liga			7th
1986-87	(II)	2.Liga			2nd
1987-88	(I)	Bundesliga		10th
1988-89	(I)	Bundesliga		10th
1989-90	(I)	Bundesliga		10th
1990-91	(I)	Bundesliga		13th
1991-92	(I)	Bundesliga		8th
1992-93	(I)	Bundesliga		6th
1993-94	(I)	Bundesliga		6th
1994-95	(I)	Bundesliga		8th
1995-96	(I)	Bundesliga		7th
1996-97	(I)	Bundesliga		6th
1997-98	(I)	Bundesliga		16th
1998-99	(II)	2.Liga			5th
1999-00	(II)	2.Liga			18th
2000-01	(III)	Regionalliga Süd	1st
2001-02	(II)	2.Liga			13th
2002-03 (II)	2.Liga			13th
2003-04 (II)	2.Liga			14th
2004-05 (II)	2.Liga			11th
2005-06 (II)	2.Liga			6th
2006-07 (II)	2.Liga			1st
2007-08 (I)     Bundesliga		11th
2008-09 (I)     Bundesliga		17th
2009-10	(II)	2.Liga			10th
2010-11 (II)    2.Liga			15th
2011-12 (II)    2.Liga

Fullname	Karlruher Sport-Club von 1894 Mühlburg-Phönix e.V.
City	Karlsruhe (Baden-Württemberg). Pop: 280,000 (2002)
Address	Adenauer-ring 17, 76131 Karlsruhe Phone: (0721) 9643450 Fax: (0721) 9643469
Colors	White jerseys with blue vertical stripes, red trim. White shorts, socks. Also red and yellow on road.
Nickname
Stadium	Wildparkstadion. Capacity: 33,796 (16,034 seats)
Tickets	Range from 9-29 euros (2004). In Bundesliga days, the Wildpark was generally full. In lower levels, tickets shouldn't be a problem. Special reduced prices are available for families.
Supporters	Averaged 12,500 in 2004 (2.Liga). Bundesliga years were usually 20,000+.
Friends	Bayern Muenchen is friendly in the sense that KSC has lost so many players to Bayern. Of course, that should hardly make the KSC fans happy!
Foes	VfB Stuttgart for obvious reasons.
Heroes	8 German internationals. The best was midfielder Thomas Häßler, who had 42 caps for KSC, and another 54 with other clubs.
Zeroes	Many players who abandoned KSC for Bayern.
Beer	Hoepfner-Pilsner, from a Karlsruhe brewery, is one of the sponsors.
Pub Grub
The Net	The official site is www.karlsruhersc.de