Stuttgarter Kickers

This club will almost always remain in the shadow of the much larger VfB, but despite limited resources, they have often risen to the occasion to surprise. All things considered, you have to admire the spunk and determination of the club, and they truly have one of the classic team logos in German soccer to boot.

The club was founded in 1899, with the "deliberate exclusion of rugby." Originally, "Kickers" was spelled with a "C". Generally, the concentration has been exclusively, although ping-pong and field hockey made inroads. Happily, the hockey players were "kicked" out in the late 1950s, allowing thereby allowing focus on more worthwhile endeavors, such as soccer referees.

Success on the field was rather limited, but by the late 1970s and early 1980s, the club had established itself as a regular fixture in the 2nd division. After 14 straight 2.Liga years, in 1987/88 they achived the tremndous feat of reaching the DFB Cup final and promotion into the Bundesliga. This high flight lasted only one season, but by 1991, they were back in the Bundesliga. However this return proved to be bittersweet, as not only were the Kickers relegated, but rivals VfB Stuttgart took the whole enchilada, winning the Bundesliga title.

The next few seasons were crap, as Kickers basically paid the price, and eventually had to spend a couple of years in the Regionalliga. After a couple of seasons, they were back in the 2.Liga, were they have generally played decently. The 1998-99 season was rather lame for Kickers, and foretold further difficulties. The next year, the team collapsed, and despite a late season rush, the Kickers were only able to secure a 1-1 draw at already relegated Karlsruhe. An injury time goal by St.Pauli in their match meant that Kickers were relegated on goal difference. Luckily for them, a couple of weeks later, they were reprieved, as Tennis Borussia Berlin was denied a 2.Liga license, and were forcibly relegated. No matter, as in 2001, it was time to pay the piper and go down.

Fullname Sportverein Stuttgarter Kickers e.V.
Foes Stuttgart (Baden-Württemberg). Pop: 587,000 (2002)
Address Königsstraße 56, Postfach 700443, 70597 Stuttgart
Phone: (0711) 767100 Fax: (0711) 767110
eMail: info@stuttgarter-kickers.de
Colors All blue with white trim. Road uniform is yellow jersey, blue shorts, yellow socks. For some odd reason, they also have a yellow-black striped jersey with black shorts.
Nickname Die Kickers (now that's a surprise!), also Die Blauen (the Blues) or Die Blauen-Götter (the Blue-Gods).
Stadium Waldaustadion. Capacity: 11,544 (1,380 seats)
Originally built in 1905, the last major refurbishment was done in 1976. It was known as Stadion Degerloch until 1998. Located beneath the high Fersehenturm (TV tower), so it should be easy to find. This small stadium is owned by the city. During the two flights in the Bundesliga, they played in the Neckarstadion along with VfB.
Tickets Not much of a problem at all. 7-30 euros, with VIP cards for 58 euros (2004).
Supporters There is an officially supported fan club, FADSKI (Fan Abteilung der Stuttgarter Kickers). It costs some 30 euros to join, and you supposedly get advantages, such as bus tours to away games, ticket and merchandise purchase. Perhaps they organize street battles with visiting "firms" like Millwall. (Just kidding!) If you plunk down 20 euros, you can get the Kickers-CD, which has various songs, including four by the team.
Friends
Foes Obviously VfB Stuttgart, although they rarely play. Karlsruhe is a regional rival.
Heroes 13 German internationals, the best known is Edmund Conen (1934-42). Eugen Kipp scored the only goal game in Germany's first international victory in 1909.
Zeroes
Beer Schwaben-Bräu, part of the combo with Dinkel-Acker.
Pub Grub
The Net Official site: www.stuttgarter-kickers.de . Among the fan pages are Heiko Koehler's www.kickers-stuttgart.de/ , which includes more historical detail. Also good is Timo's page timos.here.de/ 

1963-64	(II)	Regionalliga Sud	14th
1964-65	(II)	Regionalliga Sud	7th
1965-66	(II)	Regionalliga Sud	5th
1966-67	(II)	Regionalliga Sud	4th
1967-68	(II)	Regionalliga Sud	4th
1968-69	(II)	Regionalliga Sud	4th
1969-70	(II)	Regionalliga Sud	12th
1970-71	(II)	Regionalliga Sud	10th
1971-72	(II)	Regionalliga Sud	11th
1972-73	(II)	Regionalliga Sud	8th
1973-74	(II)	Regionalliga Sud	6th
1974-75	(II)	2.Bundesliga Sud	16th
1975-76	(II)	2.Bundesliga Sud	16th
1976-77	(II)	2.Bundesliga Sud	10th
1977-78	(II)	2.Bundesliga Sud	10th
1978-79	(II)	2.Bundesliga Sud	9th
1979-80	(II)	2.Bundesliga Sud	3rd
1980-81	(II)	2.Bundesliga Sud	3rd
1981-82	(II)	2.Bundesliga		7th
1982-83	(II)	2.Bundesliga		5th
1983-84	(II)	2.Bundesliga		8th
1984-85	(II)	2.Bundesliga		9th
1985-86	(II)	2.Bundesliga		6th
1986-87	(II)	2.Bundesliga		7th
1987-88	(II)	2.Bundesliga		1st
1988-89	(I)	Bundesliga		17th
1989-90	(II)	2.Bundesliga		4th
1990-91	(II)	2.Bundesliga		3rd
1991-92	(I)	Bundesliga		17th
1992-93	(II)	2.Bundesliga		15th
1993-94	(II)	2.Bundesliga		16th
1994-95	(III)	Regionalliga Sud 	2nd
1995-96	(III)	Regionalliga Sud 	1st
1996-97	(II)	2.Bundesliga		5th
1997-98	(II)	2.Bundesliga		12th
1998-99	(II)	2.Bundesliga		13th
1999-00	(II)	2.Bundesliga		15th
2000-01	(II)	2.Bundesliga		17th
2001-02	(III)	Regionalliga Sud	12th
2002-03	(III)	Regionalliga Sud	15th
2003-04	(III)	Regionalliga Sud	9th
2004-05	(III)	Regionalliga Sud

(c) Abseits Guide to Germany