Regionalliga Süd (1963-74)

The Regionalliga Süd was the second-highest level of the German football league system in the south of Germany from 1963 until the formation of the 2nd Bundesliga in 1974. It covered the three states of Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Hessen.

Overview

The league started out in 1963 with 20 clubs which were reduced for the next season to 19 and form 1965 to 1974 there was always 18 teams in the league, except in 1972 when another season of 19 clubs was played.

It was formed from the eleven clubs of the Oberliga Süd which did not get admitted to the new Bundesliga and from the top nine clubs of the 2nd Oberliga Süd.The Regionalliga Süd was as such a continuation of the Oberliga Süd under a different name and a tier lower.

Along with the Regionalliga Süd went another four Regionalligas, these five formed the second tier of German football until 1974:

*Regionalliga Nord, covering the states of Niedersachsen, Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen and Hamburg
*Regionalliga West, covering the state of Nordrhein-Westfalen
*Regionalliga Berlin, covering West-Berlin
*Regionalliga Südwest, covering the states of Rheinland-Pfalz and Saarland

The new Regionalligas were formed along the borders of the old post-2nd World War Oberligas, not after a balanced regional system. Therefore the Oberligas Berlin and West covered small but populos areas while Nord and Süd covered large areas. Südwest was something of an anachronism, neither large nor populos.

The league contained some big names of German Football, having the FC Bayern München, Kickers Offenbach and SpVgg Fürth as its founder members. In later years, clubs like TSV 1860 München, 1. FC Nuremberg and Karlsruher SC found themselves relegated to the league. The league posed something of a death trap for the big names of southern German football, as only the FC Bayern München and Kickers Offenbach archived promotion from it. Kickers Offenbach also managed to win the German Cup in 1970, while still a Regionalliga side, the only club to do so.

The FC Schweinfurt 05, SpVgg Fürth, Stuttgarter Kickers, KSV Hessen Kassel, Freiburger FC and FC Bayern Hof all played in the league for the duration of its 11 season existence. Of those six, the Stuttgarter Kickers had the longest unbroken run in the second division, from 1960 to 1988, 28 seasons.

The winners and runners-up of this league were admitted to the promotion play-off to the Bundesliga, which was staged in two groups of origanally four, later five teams each with the winner of each group going up.

The bottom three, some years four teams were relegated to the Amateurligas. Below the Regionalliga Süd were the following Amateurligas:

* Amateurliga Bayern
* Amateurliga Hessen
* Amateurliga Nordwürttemberg
* Amateurliga Schwarzwald-Bodensee
* Amateurliga Nordbaden
* Amateurliga Südbaden

Disbanding of the Regionalliga Süd

The league was dissolved in 1974. According to their performance of the last couple of seasons, 13 clubs of the Regionalliga went to the new 2nd Bundesliga Süd. The five remaining clubs were relegated to the Amateurligas.

The teams admitted to the 2nd Bundesliga Süd were:

*FC Augsburg (Champions)
*1. FC Nuremberg (Runners-up)
*TSV 1860 München (3rd)
*SV Darmstadt 98 (4th)
*SpVgg Bayreuth (5th)
*Stuttgarter Kickers (6th)
*SV Waldhof Mannheim (7th)
*Karlsruher SC (8th)
*FC Bayern Hof (9th)
*SpVgg Fürth (10th)
*VfR Heilbronn (12th)
*VfR Mannheim (13th)
*FC Schweinfurt 05 (15th)

The following teams were relegated to the Amateurligas:

*FSV Frankfurt (11th) - Amateurliga Hessen
*VfR Bürstadt (14th) - Amateurliga Hessen
*Hessen Kassel (16th) - Amateurliga Hessen
*Freiburger FC (17th) - Amateurliga Südbaden
*Jahn Regensburg (18th) - Amateurliga Bayern

Re-formation of the Regionalliga Süd

The Regionalliga Süd was reformed in 1994, now as the third tier of the German football league system, again covering the three southern German states of Bayern, Baden-Württemberg and Hessen. In something of a repeat of history, the clubs from the Oberliga Südwest merged into the league in 2000. The Regionalliga Süd now roughly covered the same area as the 2nd Bundesliga Süd did from 1974 to 1981. In 2008, the Südwest clubs will leave the league again and join the new Regionalliga West and the Regionalliga Süd will revert to its coverage of the three original regions, but now as the fourth tier of the league system, below the new 3rd Liga.

Winners and runners-up of the Regionalliga Süd ["Kicker Almanach" The Football Yearbook on German football from Bundesliga to Oberliga, since 1937, published by the Kicker Sports Magazine]

1964 Hessen Kassel FC Bayern München 1965 FC Bayern München SSV Reutlingen 1966 FC Schweinfurt 05 Kickers Offenbach 1967 Kickers Offenbach FC Bayern Hof 1968 FC Bayern Hof Kickers Offenbach 1969 Karlsruher SC Freiburger FC 1970 Kickers Offenbach Karlsruher SC 1971 1. FC Nuremberg Karlsruher SC 1972 Kickers Offenbach FC Bayern Hof 1973 SV Darmstadt 98 Karlsruher SC 1974 FC Augsburg 1. FC Nuremberg

Bold denotes team went on to gain promotion to the Bundesliga.

*In 1970, Kickers Offenbach won the German Cup as a Regionalliga team, the only one to do so. They are also the only club to have won the league more than once, having done so three times.
*In 1974, FC Augsburg won the Regionalliga being freshly promoted from the Amateurliga Bayern.
*Of the nine different winners of the Regionalliga Süd from 1964 to 1974, four have done so again in the new Regionalliga Süd: FC Augsburg, Karlsruher SC, 1. FC Nuremberg and, for a record fourth time, Kickers Offenbach in 2005.

Placings in the Regionalliga Süd 1963 to 1974

Source:Cite web
url = http://www.f-archiv.de/
title = Regionalliga Süd
accessdate = 2008-01-07
publisher = Das deutsche Fussball-Archiv

*♦ denotes club played in the Bundesliga.

External links

* [http://www.f-archiv.de/ Das deutsche Fussball Archiv ]
* [http://www.fussballdaten.de/regionalliga/ Regionalligas at Fussballdaten.de]

References