Despite being a small club with few resources, Meppen baffled pundits in the 90s, remaining a solid 2.Liga club. When they finally ran out of gas at the end of the decade, many felt they would rebound.
1998-99 turned out to be a disaster for Meppen. They were expected to contend for the title, and for about the first 3rd of the season, they did. Then they began to lose ground, and basically just threw in the towel in the 2nd half, slumping to 11th. The next season they were basically without a chance and finished mid-table, out of the running for a new combined Regionalliga spot. Upon relegation to the 4th division, continued financial problems have made the future somewhat murky.
Fullname | Sport-Verein Meppen 1912 e.V.
City |
Meppen (Niedersachsen). Pop: 34,000.
Near the Dutch border.
| Address |
Emsland-Stadion, Lathener Straße 15, 49716 Meppen or Postfach 1712,
49707 Meppen. | Phone: (05931) 93010 Fax: (05931) 930150 e-mail: info@svmeppen.de Colors |
Blue white vertical striped shirt, blue trim. Blue shorts, blue white
horizontal striped socks.
| Nicknames |
Die Emsländer. Refers to the region.
| Stadium |
Emslandstadion. Capacity: 16,500 (4,500 seats) | This started out in 1922 as Sportplatz Lathener Straße until it became the Hindenburg-Stadion with development in 1927. This was the official name until 1994. At this time the stadium was renovated and floodlights added. Tickets |
Standing room 6 euros, seating ranges from 8 euros (old tribune) to 11
euros (new tribune). VIP tickets are 25 euros. Parking available for 6
euros. (2004)
| Supporters |
Averaged 2,090 in 2004 (Oberliga) to lead league. As high as 7,600
in best 2.Liga year. Regional flagship of Emsland. About 1,000 members in
the club, which
only plays soccer. Meppen was one of the original "Kult" teams of the
2.Liga.
| Friends |
Along with local clubs, there is a Danish supporter group, SV Meppen Denmark!
|
Foes |
VfL Osnabrück appears to be a great enemy.
| Heroes |
Rainer Persike, long serving coach, brought the club to the 2.Liga.
Finnish international Marko Myyry was a midfield fixture in the
1990s.
| Zeroes |
| Beer |
Herforder-Pils
|
Grub and Pub |
| The Net |
Official site at
www.svmeppen.de . The club offers links to all fan clubs, but so far
only Die 13 has taken them up on it.
| |
Recent History:
--------------
1963-64 (IV) Amateurliga Niedersachsen/West 2nd
1964-65 (III) Amateurliga Niedersachsen 7th
1965-66 (III) Amateurliga Niedersachsen 9th
1966-67 (III) Amateurliga Niedersachsen 13th
1967-68 (III) Amateurliga Niedersachsen 1st
1968-69 (III) Amateurliga Niedersachsen 8th
1969-70 (III) Amateurliga Niedersachsen 5th
1970-71 (II) Regionalliga Nord 18th
1971-72 (III) Amateurliga Niedersachsen 2nd
1972-73 (II) Regionalliga Nord 10th
1973-74 (II) Regionalliga Nord 8th
1974-75 (III) Am.Oberliga Nord 3rd
1975-76 (III) Am.Oberliga Nord 3rd
1976-77 (III) Am.Oberliga Nord 3rd
1977-78 (III) Am.Oberliga Nord 3rd
1978-79 (IV) Verbandsliga Niedersachsen 1st
1979-80 (III) Am.Oberliga Nord 8th
1980-81 (III) Am.Oberliga Nord 4th
1981-82 (III) Am.Oberliga Nord 13th
1982-83 (III) Am.Oberliga Nord 7th
1983-84 (III) Am.Oberliga Nord 6th
1984-85 (III) Am.Oberliga Nord 5th
1985-86 (III) Am.Oberliga Nord 3rd
1986-87 (III) Am.Oberliga Nord 1st
1987-88 (II) 2.Bundesliga 14th
1988-89 (II) 2.Bundesliga 10th
1989-90 (II) 2.Bundesliga 11th
1990-91 (II) 2.Bundesliga 16th
1991-92 (II) 2.Bundesliga Nord 6th
1992-93 (II) 2.Bundesliga 10th
1993-94 (II) 2.Bundesliga 7th
1994-95 (II) 2.Bundesliga 6th
1995-96 (II) 2.Bundesliga 10th
1996-97 (II) 2.Bundesliga 10th
1997-98 (II) 2.Bundesliga 18th
1998-99 (III) Regionalliga Nord 11th
1999-00 (III) Regionalliga Nord 11th
2000-01 (IV) Oberliga Niedersachsen 11th
2001-02 (IV) Oberliga Niedersachsen 4th
2002-03 (IV) Oberliga Niedersachsen 8th
2003-04 (IV) Oberliga Niedersachsen 8th
2004-05 (IV) Oberliga Nord 3rd
2005-06 (IV) Oberliga Nord 8th
2006-07 (IV) Oberliga Nord 4th
2007-08 (IV) Oberliga Nord
(c) Abseits Guide to Germany