VfR Aalen

Verein für Rasenspiele 1921 Aalen e.V., known simply as VfR Aalen, is a German football club based in Aalen, Baden-Württemberg. The football team is part of a larger sports club which also offers its members gymnastics, table tennis, and cheerleading.

VfR Aalen
Full nameVerein für Rasenspiele 1921 Aalen e.V.
Founded8 March 1921 (1921-03-08)
GroundOSTALB ARENA (Rohrwang)
Capacity14,500
PresidentRoland Vogt
Head coachRico Schmitt
LeagueRegionalliga Südwest
2018–1920th (3. Liga, relegated)
WebsiteClub website

The club's greatest success came in 2011–12 when it finished second in the 3. Liga and earned promotion to the 2. Bundesliga for the first time.

History
Historical chart of VfR Aalen league performance

The club was founded on 8 March 1921 out of the football department of the gymnastics club MTV Aalen and has led a largely unremarked existence as a lower division side. In 1939, Aalen was promoted to the first division Gauliga Württemberg, one of sixteen top-flight leagues established through the 1933 re-organization of German football under the Third Reich. They played there until 1945, typically finishing in the lower half of the table.

After the war the club was joined by Boxclub Aalen in 1950. They went on to the third tier Landesliga Württemberg and in 1951 captured the title in what had become the Amateurliga Württemberg (III). After a single season appearance in the 2nd Oberliga Süd in 1951–52 they returned to play in the III and IV divisions over the next two decades. The club slipped to fifth division play in the late 1970s for a couple of seasons before recovering itself. At the turn of the millennium, Aalen managed an advance to the third division Regionalliga Süd and played at that level as a mid-table side from 1999 onwards. A fourth-place finish in 2007–08 qualified them for the new 3. Liga. They were immediately relegated after just one season, but captured the Regionalliga title in 2011, and returned to third-tier play. A second-place result in 2011–12 earned the team promotion to the 2. Bundesliga. After two good seasons in the league the club finished last in the league in 2014–15 and was relegated.

Following relegation the club experienced financial difficulties and was initially unable to provide coverage for the required €5.6 million for a 3. Liga licence but was eventually able to apply for one. It deregistered its reserve team, VfR Aalen II, playing in the fifth tier Oberliga, to save money.[1] In December 2016, the club filed for bankruptcy while competing in the 2016–17 season, leading to a nine point-deduction decided by the DFB on 10 March 2017.[2]

Honours
  • ‡ Denotes title won by reserve team.

Players

Current squad
As of 7 November 2019

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  GER Daniel Bernhardt
2 DF  GER Andreas Knipfer
3 MF  JPN Goson Sakai
4 DF  GER Lukas Gerlspeck
5 DF  GER Yannick Sagert
6 MF  GER Tim Grupp
7 FW  GER Dijon Ramaj
8 MF  GER Kamil Tyminski
9 FW  AUT Toni Vastić
10 MF  GER Niko Dobros
11 FW  GER Tom Schmitt
13 DF  GER Gino Windmüller
14 DF  GER Marcel Appiah
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 MF  GER Daniel Bux
16 MF  GER Leon Gunst
17 MF  GER Burak Gencal
18 MF  GER Nico Lucas
19 DF  ALB Mërgim Neziri
20 MF  TUR Yusuf Baran
21 MF  GER Michael Senger
23 FW  CZE Roman Kasiar
25 MF  GER Kevin Hoffmann (on loan from Jahn Regensburg)
28 GK  GER Matthias Layer
30 DF  GRE Antonios Papadopoulos
30 MF  GER Stefan Wannenwetsch

Recent managers

Recent managers of the club:[3]

Manager Start Finish
Walter Modick 19 October 1997 15 April 2000
Helmut Dietterle 16 April 2000 30 June 2000
Willi Entenmann 1 July 2000 13 August 2001
Helmut Dietterle 14 August 2001 7 December 2002
Peter Zeidler 8 December 2002 30 August 2004
Slobodan Pajic 31 August 2004 30 June 2005
Frank Wormuth 1 July 2005 8 December 2006
Edgar Schmitt 15 January 2007 27 August 2008
Jürgen Kohler 28 August 2008 16 November 2008
Petrik Sander 21 November 2008 5 May 2009
Rainer Scharinger 6 May 2009 27 December 2010
Ralph Hasenhüttl 2 January 2011 30 June 2013
Stefan Ruthenbeck 1 July 2013 12 June 2015
Peter Vollmann 12 June 2015 30 June 2018
Argirios Giannikis 30 June 2018 10 February 2019
Rico Schmitt 13 February 2019 present

Recent seasons

The recent season-by-season performance of the club:[4][5]

Key
↑ Promoted ↓ Relegated

Stadium

The team plays its home matches in the Scholz-Arena – popularly known as the Rohrwang – which has a capacity of 11,183. Work was undertaken to upgrade the facility to accommodate Aalen's promotion to the Regionalliga. It now includes 4,773 seats, new lighting, playing field improvements, and other features that bring the venue to the standard required for second division football.[6]

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References
  1. Aalen reicht Unterlagen für die 3. Liga ein (in German) kicker.de, published: 28 May 2015. Retrieved 31 May 2015
  2. "NEUN PUNKTE ABZUG FÜR VFR AALEN" (in German). dfb.de. 10 March 2017.
  3. VfR Aalen .:. Trainer von A-Z (in German) weltfussball.de. Retrieved 18 September 2011
  4. Das deutsche Fußball-Archiv (in German) Historical German domestic league tables
  5. Fussball.de – Ergebnisse Archived 7 December 2011 at the Wayback Machine (in German) Tables and results of all German football leagues
  6. Scholz-Arena (in German) weltfussball.de. Retrieved 18 September 2011
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