Offenbacher Fussball-Club Kickers, commonly known as Kickers Offenbach, is a German association football club in Offenbach am Main, Hesse. The club was founded on 27 May 1901 in the Rheinischer Hof restaurant by footballers who had left established local clubs including Melitia, Teutonia, Viktoria, Germania and Neptun. From 1921 to 1925 they were united with VfB 1900 Offenbach as VfR Kickers Offenbach until resuming their status as a separate side, Offenbacher FC Kickers.Grüne, Hardy (2001). Vereinslexikon. Kassel: AGON Sportverlag The team plays its home games at the Stadion am Bieberer Berg and has fierce rivalries with Eintracht Frankfurt and Waldhof Mannheim.
History The club became one of the founding members of the Nordkreis-Liga in 1909, where it played until the outbreak of the war. In post-First World War Germany, Kickers played in the Kreisliga Südmain (I), winning this league in 1920, 1922 and 1923.
The club played as a mid-table side in the Bezirksliga Main-Hessen through the late 1920s and early 1930s. German football was re-organized in 1933 under the Third Reich into sixteen first division Gauligen. Kickers joined the Gauliga Südwest, where the team immediately captured the title and entered the national playoffs for the first time. They fared poorly there, but did manage to raise their overall level of play in the following seasons, going on to win five consecutive divisional championships from 1940 to 1944.Grüne, Hardy (1996). Vom Kronprinzen bis zur Bundesliga. Kassel: AGON Sportverlag
In the early 1940s, the Gauliga Südwest had been split into the Gauliga Westmark and the Gauliga Hessen-Nassau, where Kickers played. Their best post-season result came in 1942 when the team was able to advance as far as the semi-finals in the national championship rounds before they were decisively put out 0:6 by Schalke 04, who were on their way to their sixth championship as the era's most dominant side. By 1944, Allied armies were rolling through Germany and the Gauliga Hessen-Nassau did not play the 1944–45 season. In their 1953 Asian Tour, they played twelve matches.
Entry to the Bundesliga and scandal The club found itself in the new Regionalliga Süd (II) and play in the Bundesliga would have to wait until 1968. The team was immediately relegated, but returned to the upper league for play in 1970–71. In addition to their return to the Bundesliga, the club would win one of its few honours in 1970 with a 2:1 German Cup victory over 1. FC Köln.
However, the end of the 1971 season would find Kickers Offenbach at the centre of the Bundesliga scandal. The club president, Horst-Gregorio Canellas, went to the German Football Association (Deutsche Fussball Bund or German Football Association) after being approached by a player from another team looking for a cash bonus for that club's effort in beating one of Offenbachs rivals in the fight against relegation. Receiving no help from league officials, Canellas began gathering evidence of how widespread the payoffs were. In the end more than fifty players from seven clubs, two coaches, and six game officials were found guilty of trying to influence the outcome of games through bribes, but Canellas was unable to save his club from relegation. The club central to the scandal – Arminia Bielefeld – would not be punished until the following season, too late to save Offenbach.Ulrich Hesse-Lichtenberger (2002). Tor! The Story of German Football. WSC Books
The scandal had a negative effect on the young league and contributed to plummeting attendance figures. One outcome of the whole affair was the further evolution of German football; salary restrictions were removed and the 2. Bundesliga also became a professional league. Kickers immediately returned to the top level. The best finish was 7th in the 1972–73 season. They were leaders for 5 rounds and beat Bayern Munich 6–0 in the 1974–75 season but were relegated to the second level in the 1975–76 season.
Decline and recovery Kickers spent the next seven years in the 2. Bundesliga before making a return to the Bundesliga for just a single season in 1983–84. In 1985, financial problems led to the club being penalized points and driven into the third division amateur Oberliga Hessen. They recovered, only to be denied a licence in 1989, and were sent back down again. By the mid-1990s they again slipped into the Oberliga Hessen (IV). They appeared in the final of the national amateur championship in 1994 where they lost 1–0 to Preußen Münster. Offenbach returned the 2. Bundesliga in 1999 and were immediately relegated after a 17th-place finish. In each of these seasons the team took part in the national amateur championship, winning the title in 1999.
The club next appeared in the 2. Bundesliga in 2005. After two lower table finishes, Kickers were relegated to the 3. Liga on the final day of the 2007–08 season following a 3–0 defeat to fellow strugglers VfL Osnabrück.
On 18 July 2012, the club's new ground was opened under the name Sparda-Bank-Hessen-Stadion with a pre-season friendly against Bayer Leverkusen. The club was refused a 3. Liga licence at the end of the 2012–13 season and was relegated to the Regionalliga, with SV Darmstadt 98 taking its place. The club, €9 million in debt, could have faced insolvency and a restart at the lowest level of the German football league system.Ruhl: "Ein bitterer Tag für den OFC" kicker.de, published: 3 June 2013, accessed: 4 June 2013
The club won the Regionalliga Südwest in 2014–15 and earned the right to take part in the promotion round to the 3. Liga, where they missed out on promotion to Magdeburg. The loss was overshadowed by approximately 40 Offenbach supporters storming the field in the 84th minute and forcing a twenty-minute interruption to the return leg.3. Liga: Magdeburg, Würzburg, Bremen II steigen auf Weltfussball.de, published: 31 May 2015, accessed: 1 June 2015
Recent seasons The recent season-by-season performance of the team:Das deutsche Fußball-Archiv Historical German domestic league tablesFussball.de – Ergebnisse Tables and results of all German football leagues
Kickers Offenbach Season Division Tier Position 1968–196930 Jahre Bundesliga, DFB special edition booklet 1. Bundesliga I 18th ↓ 1970–197130 Jahre Bundesliga, DFB special edition booklet 1. Bundesliga I 17th ↓ 1972–197330 Jahre Bundesliga, DFB special edition booklet 1. Bundesliga I 7th 1973–197430 Jahre Bundesliga, DFB special edition booklet 1. Bundesliga I 10th 1974–197530 Jahre Bundesliga, DFB special edition booklet 1. Bundesliga I 8th 1975–197630 Jahre Bundesliga, DFB special edition booklet 1. Bundesliga I 17th ↓ 1983–198430 Jahre Bundesliga, DFB special edition booklet 1. Bundesliga I 17th ↓ 1994–95 Regionalliga Süd III 15th ↓ 1995–96 Hessenliga IV 3rd 1996–97 Hessenliga 2nd ↑ 1997–98 Regionalliga Süd III 2nd 1998–99 Regionalliga Süd 2nd ↑ 1999–2000 2. Bundesliga II 17th ↓ 2000–01 Regionalliga Süd III 10th 2001–02 Regionalliga Süd 8th 2002–03 Regionalliga Süd 8th 2003–04 Regionalliga Süd 13th 2004–05 Regionalliga Süd 1st ↑ 2005–06 2. Bundesliga II 11th 2006–07 2. Bundesliga 14th 2007–08 2. Bundesliga 15th ↓ 2008–09 3. Liga III 7th 2009–10 3. Liga 7th 2010–11 3. Liga 7th 2011–12 3. Liga 8th 2012–13 3. Liga 15th ↓ 2013–14 Regionalliga Südwest IV 8th 2014–15 Regionalliga Südwest 1st 2015–16 Regionalliga Südwest 4th 2016–17 Regionalliga Südwest 12th 2017–18 Regionalliga Südwest 3rd 2018–19 Regionalliga Südwest 5th 2019–20 Regionalliga Südwest 8th 2020–21 Regionalliga Südwest 3rd 2021–22 Regionalliga Südwest 3rd 2022–23 Regionalliga Südwest 7th 2023–24 Regionalliga Südwest 11th 2024–25 Regionalliga Südwest 2nd 2025–26 Regionalliga Südwest 14th
Kickers Offenbach II Season Division Tier Position 1999–2000 Oberliga Hessen IV 15th ↓ 2000–01 Landesliga Hessen-Süd V 3rd 2001–02 Landesliga Hessen-Süd 11th 2002–03 Landesliga Hessen-Süd 3rd 2003–04 Landesliga Hessen-Süd 5th 2004–05 Landesliga Hessen-Süd 3rd 2005–06 Landesliga Hessen-Süd 9th 2006–07 Landesliga Hessen-Süd 3rd 2007–08 Landesliga Hessen-Süd 1st ↑ 2008–09 Hessenliga 4th 2009–10 Hessenliga 5th 2010–11 Hessenliga 5th 2011–12 Hessenliga 12th 2012–13 Hessenliga 13th 2013–14 Hessenliga 18th ↓ 2014–15 Verbandsliga Hessen-Süd VI 13th 2015–16 Verbandsliga Hessen-Süd 17th ↓ 2016–17 Gruppenliga VII
↑ Promoted ↓ Relegated
With the introduction of the Regionalligas in 1994 and the 3. Liga in 2008 as the new third tier, below the 2. Bundesliga, all leagues below dropped one tier. Also in 2008, the majority of football leagues in Hesse were renamed, with the Oberliga Hessen becoming the Hessenliga, the Landesliga becoming the Verbandsliga, the Bezirksoberliga becoming the Gruppenliga and the Bezirksliga becoming the Kreisoberliga.
Current squad
Coaches The managers of the club:Kickers Offenbach .:. Trainer von A-Z weltfussball.de, accessed: 5 December 2011 Name Period Franz Nagy 1922 Rudolf Keller 1926 Mac Pherson 1927 Rudolf Keller 1928 Paul Oßwald 1946–1958 Bogdan Cuvaj 1958–1962 Hans Merkle 1962–1964 Radoslav Momirski 1964–1965 Kurt Baluses 1965 – Feb. 1968 Kurt Schreiner Mar. – Jun. 1968 Paul Oßwald Jul. 1968 – Nov. 1969 Kurt Schreiner Dec. 1969 Willi Keim Dec. 1969 Zlatko Čajkovski Jan – Jul. 1970 Kurt Schreiner Aug. 1970 Aki Schmidt Sep. 1970 Rudi Gutendorf Sep. 1970 – Feb. 1971 Kuno Klötzer Feb. 1971 – Jun. 1972 Gyula Lóránt Jul. 1972 – Mar. 1974 Otto Rehhagel Apr. 1974 – Dec. 1975 Zlatko Čajkovski Jan. – Oct. 1976 Udo Klug Nov. 1976 – Jun. 1978 Horst Heese Jul. 1978 – Jun. 1980 Franz Brungs Jul. 1980 – May 1982 Lothar Buchmann Jun. 1982 – Mar. 1984 Hermann Nuber Mar. 1984 – Jun. 1984 Fritz Fuchs Jul – Dec 1984 Horst Heese Dec 1984 – Jun 1985 Wilfried Kohls Jul 1985 – Jun 1986 Franz Brungs Jul 1986 – May 1987 Robert Jung May 1987 – Jun 1987 Dieter Renner Jul 1987 – Mar 1989 Nikolaus Semlitsch Mar 1989 – Dec 1989 Hans-Günter Neues Dec 1989 – Apr 1990 Kurt Geinzer Apr 1990 – Jun 1992 Lothar Buchmann Jul 1992 – Oct 1994 Valentin Herr Oct 1994 – Apr 1995 Wilfried Kohls Maz 1995 – Jun 1995 Wolfgang Uschek Jul 1995 – Dec 1995 Ronny Borchers Jan 1996 – Apr 1997 Wilfried Kohls/Jörg Hambückers Apr 1997 – Jun 1997 Hans-Jürgen Boysen Jul 1997 – Oct 1999 Peter Neururer Oct 1999 – Aug 2000 Dragoslav Stepanovic Aug 2000 – Sep 2000 Knut Hahn Sep 2000 – Oct 2000 Wilfried Kohls Oct 2000 – Oct 2000 Knut Hahn Nov 2000 – Nov 2000 Dieter Müller/Oliver Roth Nov 2000 – Dec 2000 Ramon Berndroth Dec 2000 – Aug 2003 Lars Schmidt Aug 2003 – Mar 2004 Hans-Jürgen Boysen Mar 2004 – Jan 2006 Wolfgang Frank Jan 2006 – Oct 2007 Jørn Andersen Nov 2007 – May 2008 Hans-Jürgen Boysen May 2008 – Oct 2009 Steffen Menze Oct 2009 – Feb 2010 Wolfgang Wolf Feb 2010 – Feb 2011 Thomas Gerstner Feb 2011 – May 2011 Arie van Lent May 2011 – Feb 2013 Rico Schmitt Feb 2013 – Jan 2016 Oliver Reck Jan 2016 – Jun 2018 Daniel Steuernagel Jul 2018 – Sep 2019 Steven Keßler Sep 2019 – Dec 2019 Angelo Barletta Dec 2019 – Dec 2020 Sreto Ristić Jan 2021 – Jun 2022 Alexander Schmidt Jul 2022 – Sep 2022 Ersan Parlatan Oct 2022 – Apr 2023 Christian Neidhart Jul 2023 – Jun 2025 Kristjan Glibo Jul 2025 – Maz 2026
Source: Book "Kickers Offenbach – die ersten hundert jahre" ("Kickers Offenbach – the first hundred years")
Notable players Past (and present) players who are the subjects of Wikipedia articles can be found here. Walter Bechtold Matthias Becker Uwe Bein Egon Bihn Manfred Binz Fred-Werner Bockholt Horst Buhtz Saša Ćirić Siegfried Gast Horst Gecks Jimmy Hartwig Sigfried Held Valentin Herr Bernd Helmschrot Josef Hickersberger Gerhard Kaufhold Johann Kondert Engelbert Berti Kraus Walter Krause Sebastian Rode André Hahn Erwin Kremers John Anthony Huffine Helmut Kremers Erwin Kostedde Michael Kutzop Dieter Müller Hermann Nuber Helmut Preisendörfer Oliver Reck Hans Richter Manfred Ritschel Winfried Schäfer Egon Schmitt Nikolaus Semlitsch Moses Sichone Lothar Skala Reinhard Stumpf César Thier Suat Türker Ion Vlădoiu