FK Pirmasens

Football club infobox
clubname = FK Pirmasens


fullname = Fußballklub 03 Pirmasens e.V.
nickname = Die Macht vom Horeb
founded = 1903
ground = Sportpark Husterhöhe
capacity = 16,000
chairman = Emil Schweitzer
manager = Andreas Kamphuis
league = Oberliga Südwest (V)
season = 2007-08
position = 10th
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FK Pirmasens is a German football club in Pirmasens, Rhineland-Palatinate. The team was formed as the football section of the gymnastics and sports club "TV Pirminia Pirmasens" in 1903 and became independent in 1914. They took on their current name in 1925. "FK" is one of the few teams that uses the German "Klub" in their name as opposed to the commonly affected English-style term "Club".

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History

The club developed into a strong amateur side in southwestern Germany. From 1930 to 1933 the team made three consecutive appearances in the final of the Southern German championship, on the strength of four "Bezirksliga Rhein-Saar" titles, and between 1934 and 1936 were three times vice-champions of the "Gauliga Südwest", one of sixteen top flight divisions formed in the re-organization of German football under the Third Reich. World War II was hard on the club: following a 0:26 beating at the hands of "1. FC Kaiserslautern" in 1942 they withdrew from competition until after the conflict. After the war the club played in the Oberliga Südwest and captured league titles there in 1958, 1959 and 1960 while finishing as vice champions in 1954 and 1962. The club was so popular at the time that they often had to abandon their home ground in favour of the stadium in nearby Ludwigshafen in order to accommodate crowds of up to 65,000 spectators.

After the formation of the Bundesliga, Germany's new professional league, in 1963 "Pirmasens" found themselves in the second division Regionalliga Südwest where they consistently finished in the upper half of the league table over the course of the next decade. While they had several opportunities to advance to the Bundesliga through the promotion rounds they were unsuccessful. By the mid-70's the club was faltering. They narrowly missed relegation in 1977, only staying up because rival "SV Völklingen" was denied a license. However, by 1980 they found themselves in the Amateur Oberliga Südwest (III), slipped to the Verbandsliga Südwest by 1993, and just two seasons later were playing in the Landesliga Südwest (VI). The club has recovered nicely and today plays in the third division Regionalliga Süd.

In 2006, the club stunned German football when they defeated Werder Bremen in the first round of the DFB Cup in a penalty shootout.

Honours

*Oberliga Südwest (I) champions: 1958, 1959, 1960
*Oberliga Südwest (I) vice champions: 1954, 1962
*Bezirksliga Rhein-Saar ("Saar division") (I) champions: 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933
*Regionalliga Südwest (II) champion: 1966
*2nd Bundesliga Süd (II) runners-up: 1975
*Oberliga Südwest (IV) champions: 1999, 2006
*Verbandsliga Südwest (V) champions: 1997

Recent seasons

Famous players

Heinz Kubsch, played for West Germany's 1954 World Cup winning Miracle of Bern side.

External links

* [http://www.fkpirmasens.de Official team site]
* [http://www.abseits-soccer.com/clubs/pirmasens.html The Abseits Guide to German Soccer]