.svg){kind=logo} | |||
| Full name | Sportclub Preußen 1906 e.V. Münster | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | Die Adler (The Eagles) | ||
| Founded | 30 April 1906; 119 years ago (1906-04-30) | ||
| Ground | Preußenstadion | ||
| Capacity | 12,754 (2,931 seated) | ||
| Chairman | Bernward Maasjost | ||
| Coach | Alexander Ende | ||
| League | 2. Bundesliga | ||
| 2024–25 | 2. Bundesliga, 15th of 18 | ||
| Website | scpreussen-muenster | ||
 Current season | |||
SC Preußen Münster (English: Prussia Münster) is a German sports club based inMünster,North Rhine-Westphalia which is mostly recognised for itsfootball section. The football team currently plays in the2. Bundesliga which is the second tier in German football. Preußen Münster also fields teams intennis,athletics,futsal,handball,fistball,darts andesports.
The club was founded as FC Preußen on 30 April 1906 and has its roots in a group formed at the Johann-Conrad-Schlaun Grammar School. Historians consider patriotic reasons for naming the club after Prussia. At first the club did not have its own ground and was playing at a parade ground of the army at Loddenheide. General Baron von Bissing gave permission only if the goals would be taken down again after training. On 24 June 1907, the Eagles won their first game against FC Osnabrück with 5–0. After successfully applying for the Western German League system, the team initially competed in the second tier. In 1908 the Eagles were promoted to the first league and in 1914 they won the Westphalian Championship. Between 1916 and 1926 the club played on Münstermannplatz, which was close to the current ground, thePreußenstadion. In 1921, they won the Championship a second time and also took on their current name.[1]
In 1933, Preußen advanced to theGauliga Westfalen, one of sixteen top-flight leagues established through the re-organization of German football under theThird Reich. They earned only mediocre results there and were relegated twice. Their second demotion in 1941 left them out of first division football until after World War II.
The team played three seasons in the Landesliga Westfalen Gr. 2 (II) before returning to the top-flight in theOberliga West in the 1948–49 season. That arrival was accompanied by some notoriety, as Preußen Münster became the first German football club to build a team by buying players, something previously unheard of in a country committed to the ideal of amateurism. Siegfried Rachuba, Adolf Preissler, Rudolf Schulz,Felix Gerritzen, and Josef Lammers formed a front five dubbed by the press as the "Hundred-Thousand-Mark Line", even though that much money never did change hands. Rachuba is still Münsters most successful first tier striker of all times with 97 goals in 238 games.[2]
The investment paid dividends as the club appeared in the1951 national final in front of 107,000 spectators at Berlin's Olympic Stadium against1. FC Kaiserslautern. Preußen striker Gerritzen scored first but the team lost after two goals fromOttmar Walter.[3]
Their results as a mid-table side in the tough Oberliga West in the ten years prior to the formation of theBundesliga in 1963 were good enough to earn Preußen Münster the admission as one of the five teams from that league to earn a place in Germany's new sixteen-team professional circuit. The club made only a cameo appearance in the Bundesliga, being relegated after a next-to-last 15th-place finish.
Preußen Münster played out in the 1960s and 1970s as a second division side in the Regionalliga West and 2. Bundesliga Nord. In the 1970s the Preußen made several attempts to return toBundesliga. Under club president Günter Wellerdieck (from 1970 to 1978) the club took a considerable financial risk to achieve the promotion to first tier. Preußen failed to do so by finishing on 5th place in the 1973–74 season and on 3rd place in the 1977–78 and 1978–79 seasons. After Wellerdieck and other staff of the club's management resigned due to financial difficulties and accusations of tax fraud in 1978, the decline of Preußen Münster continued.[4] They slipped to the Amateur Oberliga Westfalen (III) in the 1981–82 season, and except for a short adventure in the 2. Bundesliga in the 1990 and 1991 seasons, played third-tier football in the Regionalliga West/Sudwest (1993–2000) and Regionalliga Nord until 2006. During this period, they captured the German Amateur Championship in 1994 with a 1–0 win overKickers Offenbach.
In 2006, the club was relegated to theOberliga Westfalen, now a fourth-tier circuit. Management subsequently invested significant financial resources into a high-profile team of experienced second- and third-tier players in pursuit of immediate re-promotion. The attempt ended in failure and the club re-built itself with young players in place of expensive veterans and also put in place a young and relatively unknown coach,Roger Schmidt. The re-worked side finished in first place in the 2007–08 season, and so qualified for the newRegionalliga West which replaced the Oberliga in the league system. They ended the season in fourth place in the Regionalliga in 2008–09, and in sixth in 2009–10. For season 2008–09 the club qualified for theDFB-Pokal the first time since season 1997–98 (where they were defeated by1.FSV Mainz 05). The opponent wasVfL Bochum which competed inBundesliga at that time. After a penalty shootout Preußen lost 5–6. In the following year the Eagles were defeated in the extra time against another first tier team,Hertha BSC. The match ended 1–3.
.svg){kind=logo}
They were finally promoted to3. Liga after finishing as champions of the West Group of the Regionalliga in the 2010–11 season. The manager of that time wasMarc Fascher. Preußen were defeated by another Bundesliga team in the German cup,VfL Wolfsburg (1–2). The first season 2011–12 in the third tier of German football after five years ended with a 12th place. In the following seasons the team finished significantly better and even had chances to get promoted again to2. Bundesliga. In season 2012–13 they almost succeeded and ended in fourth place. In that season the team was also able to defeat the Bundesliga teamWerder Bremen in the first round of the DFB-Pokal, 4–2 after extra time. In the second round, the club lost againstAugsburg. In season 2013–14 they ended in sixth place. Again the club managed to win against a team from a higher league in the DFB-Pokal,St. Pauli from 2. Bundesliga. In the next round Preußen was defeated again by FC Augsburg.
In the 2014–15 season, the club had a promising start, and was even at the top of the league during winter. Unfortunately, the team was not able to keep up the good results and finished 8th. The season 2015–16 also started with good results, but again the team lost ground in the long run and finished ninth. During the season the club switched managers, fromRalf Loose toHorst Steffen. The following season brought big changes in the club administration. After changing the coach from Horst Steffen to the former SCP-playerBenno Möhlmann several high-ranking positions in the club were also manned with new personalities. To serve as chairman Preußen Münster could win over Christoph Strässer, a former politician of the GermanBundestag. Among others, the board of directors now contains Walther Seinsch who is well known in German football for his work with then fourth tier clubAugsburg. Furthermore, with Friedrich Lucas the club's board now has a fans' representative for the first time in the history of Preußen Münster. In April 2017, Malte Metzelder manned the position of director of football. He is also a former player of the Eagles.
In 2017, Preußen Münster celebrated the club's 111th anniversary. In celebration, the club used a special anniversary logo in 2017. The logo contained the text "111 Jahre" (111 years) on top and "1906–2017" on the bottom, along with the club's usualPrussian eagle surrounded by a wreath. The club also gave away 111litres of freebeer to fans at the stadium.[5]
At the end of the 2019–20 season, despite a switch of managers fromSven Hübscher toSascha Hildmann in the winter break, the club was relegated to Regionalliga West again. Following the relegation Malte Metzelder resigned as director of football and was replaced by formerBundesliga playerPeter Niemeyer. In the following three seasons the club rebuild itself. After a third place in season 2020–21 the Eagles came second in the 2021–22 season and were only three goals short of promotion. Finally in the following season they dominated the league and at the end of the season were promoted to return to3. Liga. On the final matchday of the2023–24 season, they achieved a 2–0 victory overUnterhaching, securing a second-place finish and promotion to the 2. Bundesliga for the first time since 1991.[6]
After two promotions in a row, the club was not only fighting for survival in the 2. Bundesliga since the first matchday of the2024/2025 season. The club had to upgrade its stadium infrastructure, which had not previously been in place, just in time for the start of the season. Specifically, goal-line technology, a VAR environment, and additional locations for TV cameras had to be created for the match and broadcast operations. In addition, measures for away fans had to be implemented on the main stand and the opposite stand. These costly infrastructure improvements were essential for the match operations in the 2. Bundesliga. A large part of the promotion team remained together in the second division. The contracts of captainMarc Lorenz and other veterans were extended in time. Additionally, the Preußen were able to attract several notable players, such asJorrit Hendrix,Joshua Mees, andMikkel Kirkeskov, to the Hammer Straße. However, the team had to pay a hefty price in terms of sports performance, especially at the start of the season. Despite some solid performances in the winter months, the team could never escape the relegation zone. At the end of the first half of the season, they managed to stay above the relegation line in 15th place. The second half of the season, however, proved just as challenging as the first. The team fought with direct rivals fromRegensburg,Ulm, andBraunschweig for survival. After a defeat on Easter Sunday at1. FC Köln and a draw at home againstSV Darmstadt, the Münster team dropped to 17th place in the standings on matchday 31. As a result, the club made a drastic decision three matchdays before the end of the season and dismissed coach Sascha Hildmann and assistant coach Louis Cordes. The dismissal of the two-time promotion hero Hildmann sparked a heated debate within the club and the city. Supporters of the decision argued that it was overdue and even too late, while opponents highlighted Hildmann's achievements and the desire for continuity in the coaching position. The discussions ended as quickly as they had started. Under the interim management duoChristian Pander and Kieran Schulze-Marmeling, the team fought to a remarkable 0–5 victory at third-placeMagdeburg. Following this, seven players from the Preußen made it into Kicker's Team of the Day. The team also won their next home game againstHertha BSC, so a draw on the final matchday at already-relegated SSV Ulm was enough to secure their place in the league. The season's goal of staying in the division was thus achieved.
The club's honours:
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
The recent season-by-season performance of the club:
| Year | Division | Tier | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999–00 | Regionalliga West/Südwest | III | 8th |
| 2000–01 | Regionalliga Nord | 5th | |
| 2001–02 | Regionalliga Nord | 15th | |
| 2002–03 | Regionalliga Nord | 12th | |
| 2003–04 | Regionalliga Nord | 13th | |
| 2004–05 | Regionalliga Nord | 11th | |
| 2005–06 | Regionalliga Nord | 15th ↓ | |
| 2006–07 | Oberliga Westfalen | IV | 6th |
| 2007–08 | Oberliga Westfalen | 1st ↑ | |
| 2008–09 | Regionalliga West | 4th | |
| 2009–10 | Regionalliga West | 6th | |
| 2010–11 | Regionalliga West | 1st ↑ | |
| 2011–12 | 3. Liga | III | 12th |
| 2012–13 | 3. Liga | 4th | |
| 2013–14 | 3. Liga | 6th | |
| 2014–15 | 3. Liga | 8th | |
| 2015–16 | 3. Liga | 9th | |
| 2016–17 | 3. Liga | 9th | |
| 2017–18 | 3. Liga | 10th | |
| 2018–19 | 3. Liga | 8th | |
| 2019–20 | 3. Liga | 18th ↓ | |
| 2020–21 | Regionalliga West | IV | 3rd |
| 2021–22 | Regionalliga West | 2nd | |
| 2022–23 | Regionalliga West | 1st ↑ | |
| 2023–24 | 3. Liga | III | 2nd ↑ |
| 2024–25 | 2. Bundesliga | II | 15th |
| ↑Promoted | ↓Relegated |
The club plays at thePreußenstadion, which was built in 1926. Once considered one of the most modern stadiums in Germany, the arena slowly fell into disrepair which resulted in reducing the capacity from 40,000 in the 1950s to 15,000, and, after removing one stand, to the current 12,754.
Construction of a new facility was considered in the 80s, but the idea was abandoned in December 2000. In spring 2008 it was decided to renovate the Preußenstadion, to make the stadium more attractive and fitting to modern standards. The seating area was replaced by a new one including 2,931 seats and VIP lounges. Some of the terraces which were still uncovered got a roof. The works finished in May 2009.
Further plans have been brought up to continue to modernize the stadium and actions were taken in 2014 to change the development plan of the stadium area by the local administration. In December 2018 the local administration granted 40 million Euros to modernize the stadium, which was extended to 60 million in November 2022 and to 88 Million in 2024.[1]
As a first step the western was torn down at the end of season 2021–22 to check the filling material underneath. It has been replaced by a noise barrier that shows a design with several former club legends on it.
On September 16th 2024 the city announced that the building company Hellmich was awarded the contract to rebuild the stands in the west, east and north.[10] The rebuilding is planned to be finished at the end of 2027 with some outer works till spring of 2028.The final capacity will be 19.156.[11]
The club also plans to erect two new buildings to have more space for the youth teams and the neighboring basketball clubUni Baskets and volleyball clubUSC Münster.[12]
Some improvements in the training facilities have already been made. In 2023 two new training pitches have been completed.
Due to the club's promotion fromRegionalliga West to3. Liga, average attendance significantly increased. During its years in fourth tier of the German league system, the average crowd never exceeded 4,500 fans, with the exception of the 2010–11 season, during which the club was promoted, with an average attendance of 5,628.
In the following years the average crowd grew from 7,025 people in 2011–12 season to 8,986 people in season 2012–13. In season 2013–14 there was a decrease to 7,958 people. The 2020s marked a new spike in the popularity of the club which showed in the average attendance. In the 2022–23 season, which ended in the promotion of the Eagles, the club had an average attendance of 8,752 in fourth tier which comes close to the highest number in third tier in 2012–13. In the 2023–24 season the number went up to 10,773.[2] Due to the high ticket demand after being promoted to 2. Bundesliga the club capped the amount of season tickets for the 2023–24 season to 8.000.[3]
The fans of Münster have rivalries especially with supporters ofArminia Bielefeld andVfL Osnabrück. The close proximity between the four cities which are located within a 65-kilometer radius led the press to the name of the Bermuda Triangle of Münster, Osnabrück and Bielefeld in3. Liga.[13] Another minor rival of Preußen Münster supporters isRot Weiss Essen.
Preußen Münster has currently 10,000 members (in May 2025).[4]Part of the club is theFangemeinschaft Preußen Münster e. V. which serves as a voice for supporters to club management. It also arranges bus tours to matches and events to support charity organizations in the Münster-area. Furthermore, the Fanprojekt offers a radio during matches for people not present,Radio Mottekstrehle.
