FC Hansa Rostock

Hansa Rostock
Full name	Fußballclub Hansa Rostock e. V.
Nickname(s)	Hansa, Hanseaten, Kogge, ; Hansa-Kogge, Ostseestädter
Founded	28 December 1965; 59 years ago
Ground	Ostseestadion, Rostock
Capacity	29,000[contradictory][citation needed]
Chairman	Robert Marien[citation needed]
Manager	Daniel Brinkmann
League	3. Liga
2023–24	2. Bundesliga, 17th of 18 (relegated)
Website	https://www.fc-hansa.de
	Current season

FC Hansa Rostock (German: [ʔɛf ˈt͡seː ˈhanza ˈʁɔstɔk]) is a German association football club based in the city of Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The club is also called as "the cog" because of its club crest. They have emerged as one of the most successful clubs from the former East Germany after German reunification and have made several appearances in the top-flight Bundesliga. With over 28,000 club members, the club is one of the largest sports clubs in Germany.

After being in the Bundesliga for ten years, from 1995 to 2005, Rostock went into a steady decline. In 2012, the club was relegated to the 3. Liga for the second time, regaining its place in the 2. Bundesliga in 2021. They returned to the 3. Liga after three seasons following relegation in 2023–24.

History

The club was originally founded on 1 November 1954 as the multi-sport sports club SC Empor Rostock. The football squad, however, could not be recruited from local enterprise sports communities (German: Betriebssportgemeinschaft, BSG) like the squad of the handball section, so a transfer of BSG Empor Lauter's squad from Lauter to Rostock was considered.^{[by whom?]} The area around Lauter, near the Czech border, was well represented in East German football by competitive sides, including Wismut Aue, Fortschritt Meerane and Motor Zwickau, so the footballers of BSG Empor Lauter were delegated to Rostock, over the futile^[tone] protests of the team's local supporters. Then SED First Secretary in Bezirk Rostock Karl Mewis and SED functionary Harry Tisch were instrumental in the relocation of BSG Empor Lauter to Rostock.^[1]^[2] Karl Lewis was allegedly the initiator of the relocation.^[3] This was not an uncommon occurrence in the 1950s of East German football, where clubs were regularly renamed, re-structured, dismantled or shuffled from city to city at the direction of well-placed communist officials. The new club would be sponsored by the fishing combine VEB Fischkombinat Rostock.

The wholesale transfer of the Lauterers to Rostock part way through the 1954–55 season led to the disappearance of that association from play. A new club was formed in 1956 as BSG Motor Lauter and on 1 August 1990, it took up the tradition of the original side to play as Lauterer Sportverein Viktoria 1913.

Play in Rostock

Newly formed SC Empor Rostock took the place of the former Lauter-based club in first division play in November 1954. They finished second the next season, but in 1956 plunged^[tone] to 14th place and were relegated. They quickly bounced back,^[tone] rejoining the DDR-Oberliga in 1958, before going on to become a very competitive side^{[according to whom?]} with a series of three vice-championships to their credit from 1962 to 1964, as well as several appearances in the final of the FDGB Pokal. The re-organization of East German sports in 1965 led to the association's football department becoming independent as Fußball Club Hansa Rostock, which was designated as one of the country's 10 dedicated football club intended to groom talent for the development of a strong East Germany national team. The new club's name acknowledged Rostock's history as one of the major trading centres of northern Europe's Hanseatic League. FC Hansa Rostock would be sponsored by the maritime combine VEB Kombinat Seeverkehr und Hafenwirtschaft.^[4] And the club would be patronaged by the SED First Secretary of Bezirk Rostock, as well as future Free German Trade Union Federation chairman and Politburo member Harry Tisch.^[5]^[6]

By the 1970s, the club was consistently finishing in the lower half of the league table and was relegated to the second division DDR-Liga for a single season on three occasions late in the decade. They returned to form^[tone] in the 1980s, and, as the football leagues of West Germany and East Germany were merged in 1990 after the re-unification of the country, Rostock won its first national championship in the final season of East German football, played out in the transitional NOFV-Oberliga. This is their only top flight title to date in play in East Germany or the unified Germany.

They also captured^[tone] the last East German Cup with a 1–0 win over FC Stahl Eisenhüttenstadt.^[7]

United Germany and the Bundesliga

The club's timely success^{[according to whom?]} earned them a place in the Bundesliga alongside Dynamo Dresden when the top-flight Bundesliga was briefly expanded from 18 to 20 teams for the 1991–92 season to accommodate two former East German teams. Hansa, however, was unable to stay up and was relegated after falling just a single point shy of SG Wattenscheid 09. Three seasons of tempering^[vague] in the 2. Bundesliga would return the club to the top flight for the 1995–96 season. In ten years spent in the Bundesliga, the team's best results were a pair of sixth-place finishes. In spite of frequent placings in the bottom-half of the league table, they would persist as the only former East German side able to consistently challenge the well-heeled^[tone] clubs of the west. On 1 December 2002, Rostock became the first club to field six foreigners from the same country in a Bundesliga match (Rade Prica, Marcus Lantz, Peter Wibrån, Andreas Jakobsson, Magnus Arvidsson and Joakim Persson – all Swedes).

Hansa had a very poor^{[according to whom?]} first half in the 2004–05 season, earning only 1 win and 5 draws in 17 matches. They were unable to recover despite the late arrival of Finnish striker Jari Litmanen and at season's end were relegated, leaving the former GDR without a club in the top flight for the first time since re-unification. Like other East German teams, they were the victims of a harsh economic reality^[tone] as the wealthier, well-established western sides bought up the most talented^[tone] eastern footballers as their clubs struggled to survive financially: Rostock's Stefan Beinlich, Oliver Neuville and Victor Agali were just three players sent west in exchange for cash.^{[citation needed]} After two years in the 2. Bundesliga, the club returned to the top-flight for the 2007–08 season, but was again relegated.

The club's poor form continued in 2009–10 and they finished third-last. With this season, a new promotion/relegation format accompanied the introduction of the 3. Liga and Rostock faced a playoff versus the third place third division club FC Ingolstadt. Hansa lost both legs of the contest and was sent down to the 3. Liga, while Ingolstadt won promotion to the 2. Bundesliga alongside the top two third-tier teams which advanced automatically by virtue of their finishes. Their stay was a short one as they were sent back down after finishing bottom table in 2011–12.

Hansa Rostock drew an average home attendance of 11,433^[8] in the 2016–17 3. Liga, the third-highest in the league.

Recent seasons

Season	Division	Tier	Position
1984–85	DDR-Oberliga	I	10th
1985–86	DDR-Oberliga	I	13th↓
1986–87	DDR-Liga	II	1st↑
1987–88	DDR-Oberliga	I	9th
1988–89			4th
1989–90			6th
1990–91	NOFV-Oberliga		1st
1991–92	Bundesliga		18th↓
1992–93	2. Bundesliga	Ii	11th
1993–94			8th
1994–95			1st↑
1995–96	Bundesliga	I	6th
1996–97			15th
1997–98			6th
1998–99			14th
1999–2000			6th
2000–01			15th
2001–02			14th
2002–03			13th
2003–04			9th
2004–05			17th↓
2005–06	2. Bundesliga	II	10th
2006–07	2. Bundesliga	II	2nd↑
2007–08	Bundesliga	I	17th↓
2008–09	2. Bundesliga	II	13th
2009–10	2. Bundesliga	II	16th↓
2010–11	3. Liga	III	2nd↑
2011–12	2. Bundesliga	II	18th↓
2012–13	3. Liga	III	12th
2013–14			13th
2014–15			17th
2015–16			10th
2016–17			15th
2017–18			6th
2018–19			6th
2019–20			6th
2020–21			2nd↑
2021–22	2. Bundesliga	II	13th
2022–23			13th
2023–24			17th↓
2024–25	3. Liga	III

Honours

After German reunification, the last regular DDR-Oberliga season was played in NOFV-Oberliga. During 1990–91 NOFV-Oberliga season, Hansa Rostock became the last East Germany champion.

Domestic

NOFV-Oberliga
- Champions: 1991
DDR-Oberliga
- Runners-up: 1955, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1968
FDGB-Pokal
- Winners: 1991
- Runners-up: 1955, 1957, 1960, 1967, 1987
2. Bundesliga
- Champions: 1995
3. Liga
- Runners-up: 2021

Regional

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Cup (Tiers 3–7)
- Winners: 1998, 2005, 2006, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020

Youth

German Under 19 championship
- Winner: 2010^{[citation needed]}
- Runners-up: 2013^{[citation needed]}
German Under 17 championship
- Runners-up: 2005^{[citation needed]}

Other

German Indoor championship
- Winners: 1998^{[citation needed]}

Double

DDR-Oberliga and FDGB-Pokal:

1991^{[citation needed]}

Players

Current squad

As of 2 September 2024^[9]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	GER	Benjamin Uphoff
3	DF	GER	Dominik Lanius
4	DF	GER	Damian Roßbach
5	MF	GER	Marco Schuster
6	MF	GER	Jonas Dirkner
7	DF	GER	Nico Neidhart
8	MF	GER	Cedric Harenbrock
9	FW	KOS	Albin Berisha
10	MF	SWE	Nils Fröling
11	FW	GER	Antonio Jonjić
13	FW	GER	Kevin Schumacher
14	FW	FRA	Adrien Lebeau
15	DF	GER	Ahmet Gürleyen


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
18	FW	NOR	Sigurd Hauso Haugen (on loan from AGF)
19	DF	CZE	Jan Mejdr
20	FW	GER	Ryan Naderi
21	DF	GER	Alexander Rossipal
22	MF	GER	King Manu (on loan from Fortuna Düsseldorf)
23	MF	GER	Franz Pfanne (captain)
24	DF	GER	Dario Gebuhr
25	GK	GER	Philipp Klewin
27	MF	GER	Christian Kinsombi
29	DF	GER	Felix Ruschke
30	GK	GER	Max Hagemoser
37	MF	GER	Louis Köster
38	GK	GER	Elias Höftmann

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	DF	GER	Jannis Lang (at SV Babelsberg 03 until 30 June 2025)


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	POL	Miłosz Brzozowski (at Wisła Płock until 30 June 2025)

Hansa Rostock II

As of 2 April 2024^[10]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	GER	Noah-Juel Hoffmann
2	DF	GER	Nils Schulz
4	DF	KOS	Arbnor Aliu
5	DF	GER	Till Kozelnik
7	FW	POR	Luca Barata
8	MF	GER	Louis Köster
9	FW	GER	Randy Dei
10	MF	GER	Alessandro Schulz
11	FW	GER	Thomas Rothfuß
13	DF	CMR	Salomon Patrick Amougou Nkoa
16	FW	AUT	Lukas Hinterseer
17	FW	GER	Tim Krohn
18	MF	GER	Lucas Sperner


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
19	FW	GER	Luca Wollschläger (on loan from Hertha BSC II)
23	DF	GER	Felix Ruschke
24	DF	GER	Raul Celotto
27	MF	GER	Sascha Schünemann
28	MF	GER	Jeremy Postelt
29	MF	GER	Benno Dietze
30	GK	GER	Max Hagemoser
31	DF	GER	Marcel Kohn
33	FW	GER	Mike Bachmann
35	MF	GER	Joshua Krüger
36	FW	GER	Milosz Brzozowski
38	GK	GER	Elias Höftmann
39	MF	GER	Julian Albrecht

Coaching staff

As of 2 November 2024

Position	Name
Manager	Daniel Brinkmann
Assistant manager	Dirk Flock Simon Pesch Marcus Rabenhorst
Goalkeeper coach	Dirk Orlishausen
Fitness coach	Tomislav Stepic

Managers

Oswald Pfau (1954–1955)
Erich Dietel (1956)
Lothar Wiesner (1956)
Willi Möhring (1956)
Kurt Zapf (1956)
Heinz Krügel (1957–1958)
Walter Fritzsch (1959–1965)
Gerhard Gläser (1965–1969)
Horst Saß (1969–1973)
Heinz Werner (1973–1975)
Helmut Hergesell (1975–1978)
Jürgen Heinsch (1978–1979)
Harry Nippert (1979–1981)
Jürgen Heinsch (1981–1985)
Claus Kreul (1985–1986)
Werner Voigt (1986–1990)
Uwe Reinders (1990–1992)
Erich Rutemöller (1992)
Jürgen Heinsch (1992–1993)
Horst Hrubesch (1993)
Frank Pagelsdorf (1994–1997)
Ewald Lienen (1997–1999)
Andreas Zachhuber (1999–2000)
Juri Schlünz (2000)
Friedhelm Funkel (2000–2001)
Juri Schlünz (2001–2002)
Armin Veh (2002–2003)
Juri Schlünz (2003–2004)
Jörg Berger (2004–2005)
Frank Pagelsdorf (2005–2008)
Juri Schlünz (2008)
Dieter Eilts (2008–2009)
Andreas Zachhuber (2009–2010)
Thomas Finck (2010)
Marco Kostmann (2010)
Peter Vollmann (2010–2011)
Wolfgang Wolf (2011–2012)
Marc Fascher (2012–2013)
Andreas Bergmann (2013–2014)
Dirk Lottner (2014)
Peter Vollmann (2014)
Karsten Baumann (2014–2015)
Christian Brand (2015–2017)
Uwe Ehlers (2017)
Pavel Dotchev (2017–2019)
Jens Härtel (2019–2022)
Patrick Glöckner (2022–2023)
Alois Schwartz (2023)
Uwe Speidel (2023–2024)
Mersad Selimbegović (2024)
Bernd Hollerbach (2024)
Simon Pesch / Marcus Rabenhorst (2024–)

Fans

A study published in 2007 by Sportfive reported Hansa's fanbase to be the seventh largest in Germany, involving up to two million supporters.^[11] According to another study published in 2008 by Allensbach Institute, Hansa is the most popular German football club in the New Länder and the most popular club of the former GDR in reunited Germany.^[12] Hansa Rostock's official anthem is "FC Hansa, wir lieben Dich total" ("Hansa FC, We Totally Love You"), recorded in 1995 by East German band Puhdys.

Hansa struggles with hooliganism, estimating up to 500 supporters to be leaning towards violence.^[13] The club itself, as well as some fans' associations, are anxious to curtail these in several ways.^[vague]^[14] In 2005, the club successfully sued three streakers who disrupted their 2003 match against Hertha BSC to recoup the €20,000 they were fined by the German Football Association (DFB) for failing to maintain adequate security at their ground.^[vague]

Stadium

The original Ostseestadion was built in 1954, with the participation of several hundred citizens of Rostock who helped for free.^{[citation needed]} The first international match in the Ostseestadion of East Germany was on 26 September 1956.^{[citation needed]} In 2001, the stadium was refurbished and modified to accommodate 30,000^{[contradictory]} spectators.

Reserve team

The club's reserve team, FC Hansa Rostock II, has played as high as Regionalliga level, last playing in the Regionalliga Nord in 2009–10. The team currently^[when?] plays in the tier five NOFV-Oberliga Nord. It first reached Oberliga level in 1992 and has won three league championships at this level, in 2000, 2005 and 2012.^[15]^[16]

In 1998, 2005 and 2006, it also won the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Cup, the local cup competition in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and qualified for the first round of the DFB-Pokal through this, but never advanced past its first round.

References

^ Hesse-Lichtenberger, Ulrich (2003). Tor!: The Story of German Football (3rd ed.). London: WSC Books Ltd. pp. 225–226. ISBN 095401345X.
^ Mike, Dennis; Grix, Jonathan (2012). Sport under Communism – Behind the East German 'Miracle' (1st ed.). Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan (Macmillan Publishers Limited). p. 138. ISBN 978-0-230-22784-2.
^ Ehlers, Matthias (18 June 2009). "Die Retortenschlacht". 11 Freunde (in German). Berlin: 11FREUNDE Verlag GmbH & Co. KG. Archived from the original on 16 September 2020. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
^ Oelmaier, Tobias (28 December 2015). "Jubiläum – Hansa Rostock wird 50". deutschlandfunkkultur.de (in German). Cologne: Deutschlandradio. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
^ Mike, Dennis; Grix, Jonathan (2012). Sport under Communism – Behind the East German 'Miracle' (1st ed.). Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan (Macmillan Publishers Limited). p. 138. ISBN 978-0-230-22784-2.
^ MacDougall, Alan (2014). The People's Game: Football, State and Society in East Germany (1st ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 70. ISBN 978-1-107-05203-1.
^ Hesse, Uli (3 June 2016). "The last days of football in East Germany". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
^ "3. Liga 2016/2017 – Attendance". 10 March 2023. Archived from the original on 18 August 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
^ "F.C. Hansa Rostock – Profi Mannschaft Spieler Übersicht" (in German). F.C. Hansa Rostock. Archived from the original on 13 July 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
^ "Kader". Kicker.de. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
^ 11Freunde.com. "Marktstudie: Köln mischt die Bundesliga auf". Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ FC-Hansa.de. "Hansa bleibt beliebtester Fußballverein in Ostdeutschland". Archived from the original on 13 January 2009. Retrieved 23 June 2009.
^ "Kampf um die Nummer eins". Der Tagesspiegel. Archived from the original on 4 December 2007. Retrieved 23 June 2009.
^ Glindmeier, Mike (22 June 2007). "Rostock, wir haben ein Problem". Der Spiegel. Archived from the original on 3 September 2009. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
^ Das deutsche Fußball-Archiv Archived 5 September 2019 at the Wayback Machine (in German) Historical German domestic league tables
^ F.C. Hansa Rostock II at Fussball.de Archived 26 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine (in German) Tables and results of all German football leagues