 | |||
| Full name | Sportfreunde 05 Saarbrücken e.V. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1905 | ||
| Ground | Saarwiesen-Stadion | ||
| Chairman | Heinz König | ||
| League | Landesliga Saarland-Süd (VIII) | ||
| 2015–16 | 4th | ||
TheSportfreunde 05 Saarbrücken is aGerman Association football club from the town ofSaarbrücken, Saarland.
Historically the club has been a strong side in Saarbrücken, playing at highest level, and even applying forFußball-Bundesliga membership in 1963. The club also took part in the first round of the1962–63 DFB-Pokal. Since then however Sportfreunde Saarbrücken has declined to a point where it now plays in the lower amateur leagues, having fallen behind local rivals1. FC Saarbrücken andSaar 05 Saarbrücken.
Formed in January 1905 as the football department ofTV 1876 Burbach, the club played in the tier oneKreisliga Saar from 1920 onwards with a second place in 1921–22 as its best result. From 1923TV played in the newBezirksliga Rhein-Saar, where it was to remain for the next six seasons, coming second in 1929–30 as its best result.[1] On 1 January 1924 it changed its name toSportfreunde 05 Saarbrücken, became independent of the mother clubTV and, in March 1924 was joined by BC Burbach. In 1933, when the Nazis rose to power, the Bezirksliga was replaced by theGauliga Südwest/Mainhessen, in whichSportfreunde played for two more seasons before being relegated in 1934–35. It returned for one more season to this league in 1936–37 but otherwise remained at the tier below.[2] In 1938, all of the Burbacher sides were merged to form SG Saarbrücken, which was also referred to as TSG Burbach.[3]
Post-Second World War football saw the club play in theAmateurliga Saarland, then the second tier, initially under the name ofTuS Burbach, from 1946 asSportfreunde Burbach and, from 1950 onwards, as Sportfreunde Saarbrücken again.[3][4] A league title in 1952 allowed the side promotion to the new second tier in the region, the2nd Oberliga Südwest.[5]
After a 13th-place finish in its first season in the 2nd Oberliga the club won the league in 1954 and gained entry to the tier oneOberliga Südwest for the following season.Sportfreunde however became aYo-yo club, winning promotion in 1954, 1956 and 1958 but being relegated in 1955 and 1957. Only from 1958 to 1959 onwards did the club's performances in the Oberliga stabilise with three sixth-place finishes in the next five seasons as its best results.[6]
Sportfreunde Saarbrücken, in 1962–63, also applied for a place in the newFußball-Bundesliga but was unsuccessful in this with a place eventually going to local rival1. FC Saarbrücken. The club also took part in the1962–63 DFB-Pokal where it lost 4–2 in the first round toBorussia Dortmund.[7]
The club now became part of the new tier twoRegionalliga Südwest but was only able to stay at this level for two seasons before being relegated in 1964, to drop out permanently of professional football. Back in the Amateurliga Saarland, now a tier three league, the side took two seasons struggling against relegation before it was able to return to better performances, coming second in 1967–68 and 1970–71.[4]
In 1975Sportfreunde suffered another relegation, now from the Amateurliga, and dropped to the fourth tier.[4] In 1978 the Amateurliga was renamedVerbandsliga Saarland and became the fourth tier after theOberliga Südwest had been reestablished. Sportfreunde Saarbrücken did not qualify for either, instead playing in the tier five Landesliga Saarland-Südwest, but won promotion to the Verbandsliga in 1987. It lasted for only one season at this level however, finishing second last in 1987–88 and has not, since then, been able to return to the highest football league in the Saarland.[4]
Back in the Landesliga Saarland-Südwest the club returned to its pre-1987 existence as a mid-table side until 1991, when it was relegated even further. It took the team until 1999 to return to Landesliga level where it was able to reestablish itself, even coming close to promotion in 2004 and 2005 when it came second in the league. The club has remained at Landesliga level ever since, with the league being split from two into four divisions in 2012 andSportfreunde entering the new Landesliga Saarland-Süd for 2012–13.[8]
The club's honours:
The recent season-by-season performance of the club:[9][10]
| Season | Division | Tier | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | Landesliga Saarland-Südwest | VI | 11th |
| 2000–01 | Landesliga Saarland-Südwest | 7th | |
| 2001–02 | Landesliga Saarland-Südwest | 3rd | |
| 2002–03 | Landesliga Saarland-Südwest | 7th | |
| 2003–04 | Landesliga Saarland-Südwest | 2nd | |
| 2004–05 | Landesliga Saarland-Südwest | 2nd | |
| 2005–06 | Landesliga Saarland-Südwest | 6th | |
| 2006–07 | Landesliga Saarland-Südwest | 10th | |
| 2007–08 | Landesliga Saarland-Südwest | 7th | |
| 2008–09 | Landesliga Saarland-Südwest | VII | 12th |
| 2009–10 | Landesliga Saarland-Südwest | VIII | 3rd |
| 2010–11 | Landesliga Saarland-Südwest | 6th | |
| 2011–12 | Landesliga Saarland-Südwest | 12th | |
| 2012–13 | Landesliga Saarland-Süd | 5th | |
| 2013–14 | Landesliga Saarland-Süd | 6th | |
| 2014–15 | Landesliga Saarland-Süd | 2nd | |
| 2015–16 | Landesliga Saarland-Süd | 4th | |
| 2016–17 | Landesliga Saarland-Süd |
| ↑Promoted | ↓Relegated |
