Phoenix Mannheim

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The Mannheimer Fußball Club Phönix 02 eV , Phönix Mannheim or MFC Phönix 02 for short , is a soccer club founded in Mannheim in 1902 . The club's greatest successes go back a long way: Shortly before the First World War, they first attracted attention on the southern German level when they were runner-up in southern Germany in 1912, and between 1955 and 1972 Phönix played for a long time in the top amateur league, after which the club slipped in the lower classes of the Mannheim soccer district. In addition to the men's teams, women's football has also established itself at FC Phönix.

history

founding

In May 1902 eight high school pupils and students founded the Mannheim soccer club "Phönix" 02 . In order to stand out from other clubs, the players wore the black, white and red color band of their association in addition to the "uniform clothing" that was customary at the time - white gymnast shirt and black trousers . The restaurant "Zum Kirchgarten" in R 3.1 served as a clubhouse. One year after the founding of the "Phönix", the Mannheim FC Bavaria joined the still young club. The brother couple Otto and Emil Schöning proved to be an important reinforcement for the team and were jointly responsible for the upward development of FC Phönix in the following years.

The successful years up to the First World War

In the first years of the 20th century, the city's oldest club, the Mannheim Football Association 1896 , was by far the strongest force. In 1900, the FG 1896 won the only championship played by the Mannheim Football Association and was far superior to the other Mannheim teams in the following years, which were, however, also characterized by numerous mergers and start-ups such as FC Phönix . It was not until 1904/05, when three teams stood in front of MFG 1896 in class 1 of the Pfalzgau at the end of the round, that the other Mannheim clubs played on a par with FG 1896.

FC Phönix was accepted into the Association of South German Football Associations in 1904 and started in the second level of the Pfalzgau. Since the opponents of the round 1904/05 were mainly the second teams of the established clubs, the rise was achieved in the first season. At that time, the league was in constant change and the association's demands on the clubs increased. When in 1908 a separate, fenced-in sports field was required as a prerequisite for membership in the top division, FC Phönix first had to compete in the B-class again. Due to their playing strength, the team did not give up a single point in the 1909/10 round and not only became champions of the B-Class Neckargau, but also South German champions at this level. In 1910, a suitable place was found behind the Uhland School, the former foal pasture, in order to be able to compete in the top class again. In 1910/11 they played on par with the established clubs again and at the end of the season they took a considerable third place behind the Mannheim FG 1896 and the FV 1900 Kaiserslautern .

In Mannheim on November 2, 1911, the three Mannheim pioneer clubs Mannheimer FG 1896 , VfB Union 1897 and FC Victoria 1898 merged to form VfR Mannheim . FC Phönix was also advised to join the new major club, because a further tightening of the southern German league system was announced for 1912 and it was believed that national successes could only be achieved by joining together local forces. However, FC Phönix refused to participate in the merger - with success. At the end of the 1911/12 season , they led the table in the Westkreis level on points with FV Kaiserslautern, but two points ahead of VfR. With a 2-0 win in the playoff against the Palatinate - the goal difference was not counted at the time - the championship of the Westkreis was the first major success in the club's young history and thus made it into the finals of the South German championship. FC Phönix defied the German champion from 1910 and multiple South German champion Karlsruher FV who lost only one point and finished ahead of SpVgg. Fürth and Frankfurter FV (the forerunner of Eintracht Frankfurt) took second place and was thus South German runner-up.

In the following season, local rivals VfR played strongly and became champions with seven points ahead of MFC Phoenix. In 1913/14 the lead was only two points, but Phoenix again had to be content with the regional runner-up title. After all, there was another milestone in the club's history to celebrate in 1914 with the inauguration of the first club house on the square behind the Uhland School. With the outbreak of the First World War, the official game operation was initially suspended and in the various championships that were only held at regional level during the war, Phoenix was unable to record any notable successes.

Between the world wars

After the end of the war, the MFC Phoenix struggled and could not play in their old strength. In the post-war years, SV Waldhof played first violin in Mannheim under the successful coach William Townley and fought a gripping battle with VfR for supremacy in the city. In 1921 the so-called "3-H-Sturm" - Sepp Herberger , Karl Höger , Willi Hutter - was on everyone's lips. The MFC only made a name for itself in 1921 through the so-called "professional player affair" when attempts were made to poach the Waldhöfer striker and national player Herberger for 10,000 marks. This attempt failed, and the MFC was sentenced to a heavy fine of 5,000 marks and three members of the gaming committee were suspended for life; Herberger, on the other hand, played for VfR the following season. The MFC Phönix managed to win the title in the Odenwaldkreis once in 1922/23 , otherwise they could not show any particular successes in the following years. In 1924 , Phoenix was even relegated to second class for a year.

When the Gauligen were introduced as the new top division after the National Socialists came to power in 1933/34 , the Mannheim clubs were now part of the Gauliga Baden . At this point in time, VfL Neckarau had become the third force in the city behind SV Waldhof and VfR, so that MFC Phönix 02 could not qualify for the new upper house. It was not until the war year 1943/44 , when a war syndicate was formed with SC Käfertal , that they played for one season in the northern relay of the Gauliga Baden, in 1944/45 the game was apparently stopped at Phoenix after two games.

The MFC Phoenix in the top amateur leagues (until 1972)

In the south of Germany, football resumed fairly quickly after the end of the Second World War. In the amateur leagues, the MFC Phoenix 02 was not able to excel in the first post-war years, until the championship of the - at the time fourth-rate - 2nd amateur league and then promotion to the 1st amateur league North Baden succeeded in the 1954/55 season. In the amateur upper house you could after several mixed seasons and the runner-up in 1958/59 at the end of the 1959/60 season at the top of the table, level on points with SpVgg Sandhofen and knocked on the door of the contract players' camp . In front of 13,000 spectators at the VfR-Platz on April 16, 1960, the play-off against the city rivals was played, in which striker Holz turned a 2-0 deficit in the second half with three goals and thus secured the North Baden title. In the promotion round to the II. Division , however, the MFC Phoenix failed.

In the meantime the club had moved to Hochuferstraße and the square was consecrated on August 2, 1959. At the new venue, the MFC Phoenix stayed in the midfield of the top amateur class for a few years, until at the end of the 1965/66 round only 14th place was achieved and thus relegation to the 2nd amateur league was sealed. In 1969/70 and 1971/72 there were two more "guest appearances" in the amateur upper house, but league reforms, among other things, resulted in slipping further and further.

present

The low point in the sporting development of the club was reached in the 1980s when it was first relegated to the district league B, which was then the lowest division. Since then, people have been commuting in the lower divisions of the Mannheim football circle. The first men's team is currently playing in the Mannheim district league.

Venue

In the first few years, the team played their games on the Union sports field in the absence of their own area. From the summer of 1910 until 1959, the place behind the Uhland School was the home of the “Phönix”, after which they moved into today's club premises on Hochuferstraße.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ For the time when the association was founded, see also Zeilinger, p. 31f.
  2. ↑ see z. B. Karl-Heinz Schwarz-Pich: The ball is round. A Seppl-Herberger biography . Verlag Regionalkultur, Ubstadt-Weiher 1996, ISBN 3-929366-39-8 , p. 54

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