Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to asHannover 96 (IPA:[haˈnoːfɐˌzɛksʔʊntˈnɔʏntsɪç]), is a German professional sports club based inHanover, the capital ofLower Saxony. Its senior men'sfootball team competes in the2. Bundesliga, the second tier ofGerman football, after spending 30 seasons in the top-flightBundesliga between 1964 and 2019. Founded on 12 April 1896, the multi-sport association has more than 22,000 members, making it the largest in Lower Saxony.
The club was founded on 12 April 1896 asHannoverscher Fußball-Club 1896, upon the suggestion ofFerdinand-Wilhelm Fricke, founder of theDeutscher FV 1878 Hannover.[3] Their initial enthusiasm was for athletics andrugby; football did not become their primary interest until 1899.[citation needed] Most of the membership of Germania 1902 Hannover became part of 96 in 1902, while others of the club formed Hannoverscher Ballspielverein. In 1913, they merged with Ballverein 1898 Hannovera (formed in the 1905 merger of Fußballverein Hannovera, 1898 Hannover, and Hannoverscher BV) to becomeHannoverscher Sportverein 1896. Hannoverscher FC's colours were black-white-green, but they played in blue, while BV played in red. The newly united team kept black-white-green as the club colours, but they chose to take to the field in red, giving the team the nicknameDie Roten ("The Reds").[citation needed] The team's third jersey is[when?] in the club's official colours.[citation needed] The club made regular appearances in the national playoffs through the early 1900s, but was unable to progress pastEintracht Braunschweig, planting the seeds of[tone] a rivalry that has survived to this day. HSV continued to field strong sides and make national level appearances on into the 1920s.[vague] DuringNazi rule, German football was re-organized into 16 top-flight leagues in 1933 and Hannover became part of theGauliga Niedersachsen. They appeared in the country's final rounds in 1935 and sent representatives to the national side the next year. They won their first national championship in 1938, in what was one of the biggest upsets in German football history,[according to whom?] when they beatSchalke 04, the most dominant side in the country in the era. The two sides played to a 3–3 draw before Hannover prevailed[tone] 4–3 in a tension-filled[according to whom?] re-match. In 1942, the team moved to the newly formedGauliga Braunschweig-Südhannover.
Historical chart of Hannover 96 league performance
In common with most other German organizations, the club was dissolved after theSecond World War by occupying Allied authorities. A combined local side was assembled[by whom?] in August 1945 and the next month a mixed group of players from Hannover 96 and Arminia Hannover played their first post-war match against a British military team.[citation needed] HSV was later formally re-established asHannoverscher SV on 11 November 1945, before re-adopting its traditional name on 27 April 1946.[citation needed] The club resumed league play in 1947 in the first divisionOberliga Nord and was relegated, but quickly returned to the top-flight in 1949. Hannover 96's next appearance in a national final would not come until 1954 when they soundly[tone] defeated1. FC Kaiserslautern 5–1. The beaten side included five of the same players who would go on later that year to win Germany's firstWorld Cup in a surprise victory known as theMiracle of Bern. In 1963, theBundesliga, Germany's new professional football league, began play with 16 of the nation's top teams. Hannover played in theRegionalliga Nord (II) that season, but earned promotion to the senior circuit in the following year. The club's advance to the Bundesliga in 1964 was well received,[by whom?] as they set a league attendance record in their first year, averaging 46,000 spectators a game.[citation needed] 96 played at the upper level for a decade, until they were relegated to the2nd Bundesliga Nord for the 1974–75 season.[citation needed] They returned quickly, but again went down, this time to spend 17 of the next 20 years in the second tier.
Hannover went on to acquire new players, many of whom went on to play for thenational team – notablyGerald Asamoah,Sebastian Kehl andFabian Ernst.[citation needed] 96 returned to tier II play in 1998, and to the Bundesliga in2002 on the strength of a record-setting 75-point season.[citation needed] Since their promotion, the club have consolidated in the top flight, consistently earning mid-table finishes under several managers. CoachDieter Hecking was brought in just weeks into the2006–07 season after a poor start underPeter Neururer, in which the club lost the first three matches by a combined 11 goals.[citation needed] The2007–08 season showed some early promise,[according to whom?] with pre-season wins overRangers andReal Madrid.[citation needed] However, they earned mixed results in their opening six Bundesliga matches. The team then put together a three match winning run, capped by a 2–0 win at championsVfB Stuttgart, to enter into the top six. Following the winter break, Hannover after some poor performances, which they turned around to be defeated only two times in their last 11 matches of the season. This secured a points record of 49 forDie Roten in the Bundesliga, thus ending them in eighth place.
The2008–09 season started poorly for Hannover with losses. However, performance improved with a 5–1 victory of Borussia Mönchengladbach, a 1–0 win overBayern Munich at home, which had not occurred for 20 years, and a 3–0 victory overHamburger SV. Hannover settled in the lower-mid-table until the winter break. The second half of the season consisted of inconsistent results,[vague] relying almost entirely[vague] on home form to keep the club in the Bundesliga. The club finally achieved an away win with a few games remaining which stabilized them, leading to an 11th-place finish.
The2009–10 season was launched, with a new kit being released which included traditional away and alternative kits.[citation needed] Hannover also signed a new technical director inJörg Schmadtke. New signings wereKarim Haggui andConstant Djakpa fromBayer Leverkusen,Valdet Rama fromFC Ingolstadt.[citation needed] The season started with a late 1–0 loss toHertha BSC and a home draw toMainz 05, after which coach Dieter Hecking resigned voluntarily.[citation needed] He was succeeded by former assistantAndreas Bergmann.[citation needed] As the season continued, Hannover again had many key players injured, including the majority of attacking players and key defenders, alongside thesuicide of Robert Enke, Hannover's German international goalkeeper. Andreas Bergmann was removed as coach and replaced byMirko Slomka shortly after the winter break.[citation needed]Arouna Koné andElson were signed to boost the squad.[citation needed] Hannover 96 spent the majority of the year in the relegation zone, and with a few wins in the last games of the season, Hannover had to win, and have results elsewhere be favorable to them. Hannover won 3–0, withArnold Bruggink,Mike Hanke andSérgio Pinto all scoring to keep them in the Bundesliga.
In the2010–11 season, Hannover finished in fourth place, qualifying for Europe for the first time in 19 years.[citation needed] In2011–12, the team opened with a 2–1 win over1899 Hoffenheim, followed by a 2–1 away win against1. FC Nürnberg. In the play-offs to theEuropa League, Hannover won againstSevilla 3–2 on aggregate to reach thegroup stage. Shortly before the end of the 2011–12 season, Hannover Technical Director Jörg Schmadtke resigned due to family issues.
Hannover finished bottom of the Bundesliga in the 2015–16 season and were relegated to the2. Bundesliga. The club chose to keep the majority of their first-team squad together. However, after early in the 2016–17 season, poor performances prompted the club's board to sack managerDaniel Stendel, and appointAndre Breitenreiter as their new manager. He led the team to seven wins in the final 11 games, helping the club secure second place behind VfB Stuttgart and return to the top flight.
Adverse publicity resulted for the club when a large contingent of ultras travelled toEngland for a 2017–18 pre-season game againstBurnley. Supporters caused trouble in the town centre prior to the game. Once insideTurf Moor, they responded to a brief altercation on the pitch after 40 minutes by charging the home fans, tearing out seats and using them as missiles. On police advice the game was abandoned at half-time, with Hannover 96 trailing 1–0.[citation needed]
On 10 November 2009, at the age of 32, Hannover's first-choice goalkeeperRobert Enke died as a result of suicide after he stood in front of a regional express train at alevel crossing inEilvese,Neustadt am Rübenberge.[4][5] Police confirmed a suicide note had been found, but did not publicise its details.[6] His widow, Teresa, revealed that her husband had been suffering fromdepression for six years and was treated by a psychiatrist.[7] After the death of his daughter Lara in 2006, he struggled to cope with the loss.[8]
Upon news breaking of what had happened, many fans immediately gathered at Hannover 96'sAWD-Arena home, where they laid flowers, lit candles and signed abook of condolence. His former clubBarcelona held a minute's silence before their game that night, and several international matches the following weekend paid the same tribute. As a mark of respect, the German national team cancelled their friendly match againstChile, which had been scheduled for 14 November.[9] A minute's silence was also held at all Bundesliga games on 21 and 22 November 2009, as well as atBenfica's game in theTaça de Portugal - Benfica was another former club of Enke's.[10] Germany also cancelled a planned training session and all interviews after his death.Oliver Bierhoff, the national team's general manager, said, "We are all shocked. We are lost for words."[8]
On 15 November 2009, nearly 40,000 attendees filled the AWD-Arena for his memorial service. Enke's coffin, covered in white roses, was carried by six of his Hannover 96 teammates.[11] He was then buried in Neustadt, outside the city of Hanover, next to his daughter's grave.[12] As a further mark of respect for their former teammate, Hannover 96 players displayed the number one in a circle on the breast of their jerseys, as approved by theGerman Football Association (DFL), as a subtle tribute for the rest of the2009–10 season.[13]
Hannover 96 plays in theHeinz-von-Heiden-Arena, built in 1954 as the "Niedersachsenstadion", which 2025 has a capacity of 49,000 spectators.[14] Before the year 2013, the arena was called "AWD-Arena".[14] But after changing the sponsor the stadium name was changed to "HDI-Arena". During the2006 World Cup, the stadium was the site of four first round matches and one Round of 16 match.[citation needed] The stadium had also served as a site for matches in the1974 World Cup andUEFA Euro 1988.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Hannover fields a successful amateur side that has three German amateur championships to its credit (1960, 1964, 1965) as well as losing appearances in the 1966 and 1967 finals. The second team has also taken part in the German Cup tournament and currently plays in the 3. Liga.
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