Keeping What’s Good (KFCO Beerschot-Wilrijk)

The original Beerschot club, Koninklijke Beerschot Voetbal en Atletiek Club, were formed in 1899, matricule 13, and had a glorious history including being seven time Belgian champions. From 1920 the club used the Antwerp Olympic Stadium, also known as Het Kiel (named after the district), as its home ground. The late 1960’s and 1970’s were a golden period for Beerschot as they often qualified for European competition. However, by 1999 the old club were consumed with financial problems and ended their centennial year my merging with Germinal Ekeren from the north of the city. The fused club called itself Germinal Beerschot and kept Ekeren’s matricule number of 3530 in order to maintain a place in the First Division.

The merger was attractive to Ekeren as their progress was being hampered by the restrictive confines of their ground at Veltwijckstadion. Germinal Beerschot adopted the purple colours of the old Beerschot VAC club and the yellow and red of Ekeren. Initially the merger was a success with a Belgian Cup win in 2005 and several sortie in European competitions. Germinal Beerschot changed its name in 2011 to Beerschot Antwerpen Club however just two seasons later Beerschot AC were no more. Liquidation followed their failure to present the Belgian FA with a suitable financial plan to secure a First Division operating licence.

After the collapse of Beerschot AC an unofficial merger took place with KFCO Wilrijk to produce the current club. KFC Wilrijk had been formed in 1921 and has the matricule number 155. The club enjoyed a brief stint in the Second Division in the 1930’s but spent most of their existence in either the third tier or in provincial football. In 1993 KFC Wilrijk merged with Olympia Wilrijk 72 forming KFC Olympia Wilrijk.

In order to tap into the traditional support of Beerschot, the newly merged club adopted Beerschot’s purple colours and took over the tenancy of the Olympisch Stadion. They adopted the Latin motto “Tene Quod Bene” which translates as “keep what is good”. Wise words indeed given their tempestuous recent history. The new club’s first game was in the Antwerpen Provincial League (level 5) against Ternesse VV and produced a crowd of 8,500 a record for the provincial leagues.

The new club won the Antwerp League in 2013/14 and the Promotion League in 2014/15 to climb into Division Three (Group B) for the current season. Today’s visitors are Hoogstraten VV who are perilously close to the relegation places. The hosts have continued to dominate the league and lead the table four points ahead of nearest rivals Oosterwijk. It is no surprise then that the hosts enjoy an easy win against a very lacklustre visiting team. Enjoying almost total possession the only surprise is Beerschot settle for just two goals, one in either half. On the evidence of this afternoon, few will back against Beerschot achieving a third straight promotion.

The Olympisch Stadion is less than half full today but still generates a good level of noise particularly in the main stand. Antwerp was the host city of the seventh modern Olympiad in 1920. The stadium hosted Athletics, hockey, gymnastics, equestrianism, rugby union, korfball as well as football. Many of the football matches had to be held elsewhere and the other venues used were the then newly opened Stade Joseph Marien in Brussels, Gent’s Jules Ottenstadion and the Stadion Broodstraat in Antwerp.

The Olympisch Stadion is thought to have significant input from legendary stadium architect Archibald Leitch as it is documented that he made several consultation visits to the site before it was opened. It was officially opened on May 23rd 1920 and had a sizeable capacity for the time of 27,250. The original stadium was oval in shape but much of the original stadium was demolished and replaced with three new stands in 1978. The modern day stadium has a capacity of 12,771 and is ideal for the sizeable support of Beerschot, a club with long associations with Antwerp’s bourgeoisie.

Sunday November 8th 2015 – Third Division, Group B

KFCO Beerschot-Wilrijk (1) 2 (Ventôse 24, Vansimpsen 65)
Hoogstraten VV (0) 0

Att: 5,804 (at Olympisch Stadion)

Admission: €15

Programme: None

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The original Antwerp Olympisch Stadion, one of Archibald Leitch’s lesser known attributions.

Casino Royale (SV Kohlscheid)

SV Kohlscheid were formed in 1927 and have somewhat lived in the shadow of the more senior club in the suburb of Herzogenrath of Kohlscheider BC whose formation came some fourteen years prior to SV Kohlscheid.

After a few seasons of both being in the same Kreisliga, Kohlscheider BC have once again become the more senior outfit, competing in the Bezirksliga. While Kohlscheider play across town at the Stadion Oststraße, SV have quietly been building a very acceptable home at their Sportplatz Casinostraße. For many years they had played at the Sportsplatz Forensberg, remembered by an etching in the clubhouse which itself was revamped in 2006. Until 2009 then Casinostraße had a clay pitch but the installation of a “kunstrasenplatz” (artificial pitch) has been a godsend for SV Kohlscheid in terms of youth development and additional revenue streams.

It has been a tough start to the season and the club recently dispensed with the services of their manager after a 6-0 defeat against Fortuna Weisweiler and then a 2-0 defeat to TV Konzen when Kohlscheid managed to score two own goals in a five minute period in the second half.

While the club lie next to bottom in the table there have been the early shoots of a revival under new coach Detlef Baczewski following a dramatic 5-4 win at FC Roetgen. This morning’s visitors are TSV Donnerberg who hold second spot in the league. The visitors are instantly in the ascendancy dominating possession and the hosts soon concede a penalty. Donnerberg take the lead when Marvin Meurer converts the spot kick. The first half ends with a horrendous injury to Kohlscheid’s Daniel Hensel. Initially it looked innocuous, no challenger, Hensel’s body twisted on the pitch but unfortunately his knee stayed in the same place and he collapsed in world of pain. Luckily an ambulance arrived within minutes and the stricken player was carted off to hospital.

Seeing their fallen comrade seemed to have a galvanising effect on the hosts and they really gave Donnerburg a battle in the second half but just could not get the goal their efforts deserved. They don’t look like an outfit with relegation haunting them and on today’s showing they should get enough points in the remainder of the campaign to stay at the top Kreisliga level. For casual visitors to Casinostraße, the club have produced an excellent glossy programme for the last ten seasons.

Sunday November 8th 2015 – Kreisliga A (Aachen)

SV Kohlscheid (0) 0
TSV Donnerberg (1) 1 (Meurer pen 6)

Att: 91 (at Sportsplatz Casinostraße)

Entry: €2
Programme: Free

Gallery

Sunflower (SSVg Velbert 02)

Sport und Spielvereinigung Velbert were originally formed in 1902 as Velberter FC 02. The club underwent a number of mergers and demergers including an enforced wartime merger with Borussia Velbert due to a shortage of players. In the immediate post World War II years the town had two rival clubs SSV and VfB but by 1961 SSV had become the dominant force, competing at the then third tier Amateurliga Niederrhein. VfB struggled and eventually threw the towel in and merged with SSV in 1964.

The merged club rose to the second tier of the Regionalliga West by 1969 but a steady decline followed and by the end of the century Velbert were in the sixth division of German football.The turn of the century saw the club performing better on the field, winning the Oberliga Nordrhein but insufficient financial guarantees saw them denied a promotion to the Regionalliga West in 2003.

Velbert finally climbed to the fourth tier in 2012 winning the Oberliga Niederrhein. Their stay lasted just two seasons although they gained an immediate return winning the Oberliga at the end of last season. The man that guided them to promotion was Lars Leese who after a modest career with minor German clubs suddenly found himself keeping goal for Barnsley during their brief stint in the Premier League. Leese surprisingly left Velbert for DSK Köln in the close season.

Velbert play at the delightful Stadion Sonnenblume which can hold 4,702 people. The stadium was opened in October 1969 and incredibly the whole stadium was built in under five months. Velbert’s first opponents at the new ground were TSV Marl-Hüls. Their second match was against near neighbours SV Wuppertaler, and this set the all time attendance record at the Sonnenblume of 13,000. Prior to the opening of the Sonnenblume Velbert had played most of their existence at a ground called Platz Am Wasserturmhochaus. This venue was considered unsuitable for Regionalliga football and the first seven games of the 1969/70 were spent playing in Ratingen before the Sonnenblume was ready for inauguration.

Known since a 2012 sponsorship deal as the Christopeit Sports Arena the ground boasts a covered grandstand and open terrace one side and a long open terrrace on the far side. This area is segregated and today houses a decent sprinkling of visiting fans from Rot-Weiß Oberhausen. Both ends are curved with ample terracing some of which has seen nature take over with grass covering the concrete steps.

This afternoon’s game is a very one sided affair as Oberhausen dominate proceedings from the off. Aside from a brief period when a towering header from Velbert skipper Niklas Andersen got the hosts back in the game the result was never truly in doubt. Andersen then scuppered his sides chances of a comeback when an injudicious challenge was punished with a second yellow card.

Saturday November 7th 2015 – Regionalliga West

SSVg Velbert 1 (Andersen 59)

SC Rot-Weiß Oberhausen 4 (Reinert 18, Jansen 27, Steinmetz 65, Engelmann 79)

Att: 640 (at Stadion Sonnenblume)

Entry: €8

Programme: Free

Gallery

Men Without Hats (FC 08 Homburg-Saar)

When Homburg appeared on the agenda for this trip I immediately made the association to the famous hat of the same name, sported so dashingly by Al Pacino in The Godfather. However, not untypical of Germany more than one town has the same name and the hats come from Bad Homburg in Hesse rather than this sleepy little town in deepest Saarland.

Football Club Homburg were formed in June 1908 and competed in local leagues before making a steady climb to the Regional second division. The club folded in 1936 but months later a new multi sport club, VfL Homburg, were born and football made a rapid return to the town. During World War II the Nazi party disbanded all associations including all football clubs and leagues. The club were allowed to reform as SV Homburg and were placed in the third division of the Saarland amateur championship which they duly won. At the time the Saarland region was occupied by France and, indeed, Homburg’s near neighbours 1.FC Saarbrücken played in the French Second Division at this time. Saarland was eventually returned to Germany after attempts to become part of France or their own independent state, failed. Saarland competed as its own entity at the 1952 Olympics and in qualification for the 1954 World Cup.

After Saarland returned to Germany, FC Homburg as the club was now known, competed in the Saarland Amateur leagues before climbing up to the 2.Bundesliga. Incredibly they won this league in 1985/86 and ascended to the top tier for the first time in their history. After a two season stay the club were relegated but made an immediate return to 1. Bundesliga when they finished runners up to Fortuna Düsseldorf. Aside from beating Bayern München in the DFB Pokal in 1991 that was the zenith of Homburg’s golden era.

Financial trouble lead to a steep decline and by 1999 Homburg had been refused a licence for Regionalliga football and were demoted to the Oberliga Süd-West. Ups and downs between the fourth and fifth tiers have marked the clubs recent history with their latest ascent to the Regionalliga coming after an Oberliga title win in 2011/12.

Homburg play at the photogenic Waldstadion which boasts a capacity of nearly 22,000. The ground was opened in August 1937 when Jahn Regensburg were the inaugural visitors. The council had engaged architect Willy Schwilling from Ludwigshafen to design a suitable arena for the newly formed VfL Homburg. The old disbanded FC Homburg had previously played on a modest ground at Schlossberg. In its heyday the Waldstadion boasted a 38,000 capacity but an extension to the grandstand in 1990 saw this reduced to the present capacity but providing far more seats than the original stand. The renovations included the current floodlighting system which looked glorious sited in front of tall autumnal leaved trees.

Having been to Hennef 05 last season, another club promoted from an Oberliga, it would appear there is a yawning gap in playing standards between levels four and five in Germany. Tonight’s visitors, Saar 05 Saarbrücken were promoted from the Rheinland-Pfalz/Saar Oberliga last season but have struggled at the higher level, accruing just two points and losing all eight away games so far. They had one chance on this game, a whipped in corner saw a header smack the Homburg crossbar, the visitors wilted after this as if they knew they would not muster anymore chances in the game. In the first half Homburg were awarded a soft penalty when a powerful shot hit a defenders arm and the referee decreed it was a deliberate handball. Kai Hesse dispatched the spot kick with customary teutonic aplomb. After Saar’s solitary goal attempt the hosts duly wrapped up the points when Thierry Steimetz scored a really well taken goal.

Just before the end the stadium announcer declared the crowd to be 1,118 which was greeted with howls of derision by the home fans, there were clearly significantly less than that there tonight on a rainy night in the Waldstadion.

As we slunk out of the ground and into the dark of the night the rain continued. Sure could have done with one of those hats.

Friday November 5th 2015 – Regionalliga Südwest

FC 08 Homburg-Saar 2 (Hesse pen 32, Steimelz 68)
SV Saar 05 Saarbrücken 0

Att: 1,118 (at Waldstadion)

Entry: €8

Programme: Free

Gallery