1. FC Heidenheim 1846 is a German professional association football club from the town of Heidenheim, Baden-Württemberg. The club currently plays in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system.

1. FC Heidenheim
Full name1. Fußballclub
Heidenheim 1846 e.V.
Short nameHeidenheim
Founded1 January 1846; 178 years ago (1846-01-01)
GroundVoith-Arena
Capacity15,000[1]
PresidentHolger Sanwald[2]
Head coachFrank Schmidt
LeagueBundesliga
2023–24Bundesliga, 8th of 18
Websitefc-heidenheim.de
Current season

History

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Historical chart of Heidenheim league performance

The club was formed in the year of 2007 through the separation of the football section from parent association Heidenheimer Sportbund, a larger multi sports club that has 5,800 members in 25 departments.[3] The independence of the football side allows it to operate under the stricter economic standards set for professional clubs which are members of the German Football Association (Deutscher Fußball-Bund or DFB).

 
Logo of parent association Heidenheimer SB

Heidenheimer SB itself was founded through the 1972 merger of TSB Heidenheim and VfL Heidenheim.[4] The club's origins go back to 14 August 1846, with the establishment of the gymnastics club Turngemeinde Heidenheim, which folded in 1852, but was re-constituted under the same name in 1861.[citation needed] The club was renamed Turnverein Heidenheim in 1872.

A football department was created within the association on 8 July 1890 and became an independent side known as VfR Heidenheim on 21 August 1922.[citation needed] The swimming club Schwimmverein 04 Heidenheim joined VfR in 1936 to form VfL Heidenheim 04.[citation needed] In 1949, following World War II, these two clubs went their separate ways, the swimmers under their original name, and the footballers as VfL Heidenheim 1890.

In the meantime, parent club TV 1846 Heidenheim was joined on 13 July 1935 by SpVgg Heidenheim and then on 3 April 1937 merged with 1. Sportverein 1900 Heidenheim – which was known as Athletenklub Hellenstein until 1920 – to become TSV 1846 Heidenheim.[citation needed] After the war TSV was united with Turnerbund Heidenheim 1902 whose history was as a worker's club.[citation needed] TB was established on 21 December 1902 and was renamed Turnerbund Heidenheim on 6 August 1904.[citation needed] This club merged with Arbeiterturnverein 1904 Heidenheim on 8 March 1919.[citation needed] Like other worker's clubs, TB was considered as politically unacceptable by the Nazi regime and was forcibly dissolved in 1933. It was re-established after the war and on 3 February 1946 joined TSV 1846 Heidenheim to form TSB 1846 Heidenheim.

The 27 May 1972 merger of TSB and VfL brought all these threads together, returning the footballers to the fold of the original gymnastics club. Heidenheimer SB and predecessor VfL Heidenheim played in the Amateurliga Württemberg (III) from 1963 to 1975 and again from 1976 to 1979.[citation needed] Regional cup wins led to the team's participation in the opening round of the DFB-Pokal (German Cup) in 1975, 1978, and 1980, before the side slipped into lower-level competition.

The club has since recovered and in 2004 advanced to the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg. In 2007, the football department decided to split off from Heidenheimer SB as a legally independent club with retrospective effect from 1 January 2007.[5] A successful season finish in 2008 saw the club being promoted to the Regionalliga Süd.[4] Having simultaneously won the Württemberg Cup, Heidenheim was allowed to participate in the first round of the DFB-Pokal in the following season, where the team lost 0–3 to VfL Wolfsburg.[6] In 2009, Heidenheim finished first in the Regionalliga Süd and got promoted to the 3. Liga.

After five seasons in the 3. Liga with the club always finishing in the upper half of the table, 1. FC Heidenheim won the league in 2013–14, and earned promotion to the 2. Bundesliga for the first time.[7] At the same time the club, however, withdrew its reserve team, playing in the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg, from competition after such teams ceased to be compulsory for professional clubs.

In the 2019–20 season, 1. FC Heidenheim finished third to play against the 16th-placed Bundesliga club, Werder Bremen, in the promotion-relegation play-offs.[8] The tie ended in a 2–2 draw on aggregate, as 1. FC Heidenheim lost on the away goals rule to stay in 2. Bundesliga.[9]

On the final matchday of the 2022–23 season, 1. FC Heidenheim managed to score two goals in the stoppage time to win 3–2 against Jahn Regensburg, in which they finished top of the table ahead of Darmstadt on goal difference and promoted to the Bundesliga for the first time in their history.[10]

On 17 September 2023, the club won their first ever Bundesliga match, in a 4–2 home victory against Werder Bremen, on the same day that head coach, Frank Schmidt, set the record as the longest serving manager in the history of German football.[11] An impressive Bundesliga campaign saw the club finish 8th in the 2023–24 season, comfortably securing safety, and with German champions Bayer Leverkusen's victory over Kaiserslautern in the DFB-Pokal final meant that Heidenheim qualified for their first European appearance, the UEFA Conference League play-offs in their debut Bundesliga season.[12] On 29 August 2024, Heidenheim secure advance to Conference League League Phase for the first time in history after defeating Swedish club BK Häcken 3-2 at home and 5-3 on aggregate in the play-off round.

Honours

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The club's honours:

  • Won by SB Heidenheim.
  • Won by VfL Heidenheim.
  • # Won by reserve team.

Players

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Current squad

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As of 30 August 2024[18]

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 Kevin Müller (vice-captain)
2 DF   GER Marnon Busch (4th captain)
3 MF   GER Jan Schöppner
4 DF   GER Tim Siersleben
5 MF   GER Benedikt Gimber
6 DF   GER Patrick Mainka (captain)
8 FW   BRA Léo Scienza
9 FW   GER Stefan Schimmer
10 MF   GER Paul Wanner (on loan from Bayern Munich)
11 MF   GER Denis Thomalla
14 FW   GER Maximilian Breunig
16 MF   GER Julian Niehues
17 MF   AUT Mathias Honsak
18 FW   GER Marvin Pieringer
19 DF   GER Jonas Föhrenbach
No. Pos. Nation Player
20 MF   GER Luca Kerber
21 MF   GER Adrian Beck
22 GK   GER Vitus Eicher
23 DF   GER Omar Haktab Traoré
25 FW   GER Christopher Negele
27 DF   GER Thomas Keller
29 FW   DEN Mikkel Kaufmann
30 MF   GER Norman Theuerkauf (3rd captain)
31 FW   GER Sirlord Conteh
33 DF   USA Lennard Maloney
34 GK   AUT Paul Tschernuth
36 MF   GER Luka Janes
39 MF   GER Niklas Dorsch
40 GK   GER Frank Feller

Non-playing staff

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Position Name
Head coach   Frank Schmidt
Assistant head coach   Bernhard Raab
  Dieter Jarosch
Goalkeeping coach   Bernd Weng
Athletic coach

  Said Lakhal
  Tobias Häußler

Team doctor

  Andreas Heintzen
  Dr. Udo Tiefenbacher

Physiotherapist   Marc Weiss
  Roland Bosch
Head of scouting   Hans-Peter Baamann
Director of football   Robert Strauß
Team manager   Alexander Raaf
Academy manager   Roger Prinzen
  Nils Weng
Stadium announcer   Peter Barth
Kit manager   Manuel Henck

Recent managers

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Recent managers of the club:[19]

Manager Start Finish
Dieter Märkle 1 July 2006 17 September 2007
Frank Schmidt 17 September 2007 Present

Recent seasons

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The recent season-by-season performance of the club:[20][21]

1. FC Heidenheim

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Season Division Tier Position
1998–99 Verbandsliga Württemberg VI 3rd
1999–2000 Verbandsliga Württemberg 5th
2000–01 Verbandsliga Württemberg 10th
2001–02 Verbandsliga Württemberg 8th
2002–03 Verbandsliga Württemberg 2nd
2003–04 Verbandsliga Württemberg 2nd ↑
2004–05 Oberliga Baden-Württemberg V 5th
2005–06 Oberliga Baden-Württemberg 2nd
2006–07 Oberliga Baden-Württemberg 3rd
2007–08 Oberliga Baden-Württemberg 4th ↑
2008–09 Regionalliga Süd IV 1st ↑
2009–10 3. Liga III 6th
2010–11 3. Liga 9th
2011–12 3. Liga 4th
2012–13 3. Liga 5th
2013–14 3. Liga 1st ↑
2014–15 2. Bundesliga II 8th
2015–16 2. Bundesliga 11th
2016–17 2. Bundesliga 6th
2017–18 2. Bundesliga 13th
2018–19 2. Bundesliga 5th
2019–20 2. Bundesliga 3rd
2020–21 2. Bundesliga 8th
2021–22 2. Bundesliga 6th
2022–23 2. Bundesliga 1st ↑
2023–24 Bundesliga I 8th
2024–25 Bundesliga

1. FC Heidenheim II

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Season Division Tier Position
1999–2000
2000–01
2001–02
2002–03
2003–04 Bezirksliga Kocher/Rems VII 9th
2004–05 Bezirksliga Kocher/Rems 2nd
2005–06 Bezirksliga Kocher/Rems 10th
2006–07 Bezirksliga Kocher/Rems 1st ↑
2007–08 Landesliga Württemberg 2 VI 12th
2008–09 Landesliga Württemberg 2 VII 3rd
2009–10 Landesliga Württemberg 2 1st ↑
2010–11 Verbandsliga Württemberg VI 7th
2011–12 Verbandsliga Württemberg 4th
2012–13 Verbandsliga Württemberg 1st ↑
2013–14 Oberliga Baden-Württemberg V 12th
2014–present withdrawn from competition
Key
Promoted Relegated

European record

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UEFA club competition record

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Accurate as of 19 December 2024

UEFA competitions
Competition Pld W D L GF GA Last season played
UEFA Conference League 8 5 1 2 12 10 2024–25
Total 8 5 1 2 12 10

Matches

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All results (home and away) list 1. FC Heidenheim's goal tally first.

Season Competition Round Opponent Home Away Aggregate
2024–25 UEFA Conference League Play-off round   BK Häcken 2–1 3–2 5–3
League phase   Olimpija Ljubljana 2–1 16th
  Pafos 1–0
  Heart of Midlothian 2–0
  Chelsea 0–2
  İstanbul Başakşehir 1–3
  St. Gallen 1–1
Knockout phase play-offs   Copenhagen

UEFA Club Ranking

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UEFA coefficient

As of 8 November 2024[22][23]
Rank Team Points
98   Granada 15.683
99   VfB Stuttgart 15.257
100   1. FC Heidenheim 15.257
101   1. FC Köln 15.257
102   VfL Wolfsburg 15.257

Stadium

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Since June 1973, the team has played in the Albstadion which has a capacity of 8,000. Since the extension in 2009, the stadium is now called Voith-Arena and accommodates 10,000 visitors. Following another extension in 2013 the stadium holds 13,000 visitors.[24] At the beginning of 2015, another extension was added increasing capacity to 15,000.[25]

References

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  1. ^ "Daten und Faktend" [Facts and Figures]. Voith-Arena.de (in German). 1. Fussball Club Heidenheim 1846. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  2. ^ Florian, Dominik (26 May 2025). ""Die Krönung" für den FCH: Was Holger Sanwald und Frank Schmidt zum Einzug in die Conference League sagen" [“The crowning achievement” for FCH: What Holger Sanwald and Frank Schmidt say about their entry into the Conference League]. Heidenheimer Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  3. ^ "25 Sportabteilungen" [25 sports departments]. HSB1846.de (in German). Heidenheimer Sportbund. 9 June 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Ein Verein mit langer Tradition: Der 1. FC Heidenheim 1846" [A club with a long tradition: 1. FC Heidenheim 1846]. FC-Heidenheim.de (in German). 1. FC Heidenheim 1846. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  5. ^ ""hsb1846" jetzt "1.FC Heidenheim 1846"" (in German). hsb-news.de.tl. Archived from the original on 5 June 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  6. ^ "1. FC Heidenheim - VfL Wolfsburg 0:3". Kicker.de. Kicker Online. 13 August 2008. Archived from the original on 13 August 2008. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  7. ^ "3. Liga". Kicker.de. Kicker. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  8. ^ "Heidenheim to face Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga promotion-relegation play-off". bulinews.com. 28 June 2020. Archived from the original on 30 June 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  9. ^ Schrader, Max (6 July 2020). "1. FC Heidenheim – Werder Bremen 2:2: Trotz wilder Schlussphase mit drei Toren – SVW bleibt in der Bundesliga". SPOX.com (in German). Archived from the original on 6 July 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  10. ^ "1. FC Heidenheim steigt nach Drama in Bundesliga auf – HSV in der Relegation" (in German). Heidelberg24. 28 May 2023. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  11. ^ "Heidenheim 4-2 Werder Bremen: Frank Schmidt makes history in first Bundesliga win". BBC Sport. 17 September 2023.
  12. ^ "Heidenheim und Hoffenheim profitieren von Leverkusens Sieg" (in German). Sportschau. 25 May 2025.
  13. ^ "Regionalliga Sued 2008-2009". weltfussball.de (in German). Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  14. ^ "Oberliga Baden-Württemberg 2005/2006 » 34. Spieltag". WeltFussball.de (in German). Welt Fussball. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  15. ^ "Oberliga Baden-Württemberg 2007/2008". Weltfussball.
  16. ^ "Verbandsliga Württemberg 2012/13". F-Archiv.de (in German). Das Deutsche Fussball Archiv. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  17. ^ a b "Statistik und Historie" [Statistics and history]. WuertTFB.de (in German). Württembergischer Fußballverband e.V. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  18. ^ 1. FC Heidenheim squad Archived 21 January 2020 at the Wayback Machine fc-heidenheim.de. Retrieved 3 March 2019
  19. ^ 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 .:. Trainer von A-Z Archived 7 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine (in German) weltfussball.de. Retrieved 18 September 2011
  20. ^ Das deutsche Fußball-Archiv Archived 5 September 2019 at the Wayback Machine (in German) Historical German domestic league tables
  21. ^ Fussball.de – Ergebnisse Archived 18 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine (in German) Tables and results of all German football leagues
  22. ^ "UEFA Club Coefficient Ranking". RankingandPrize.Com. n.d. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  23. ^ "1. FC Heidenheim UEFA Coefficient Ranking". RankingandPrize.Com. n.d. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  24. ^ Voith-Arena Archived 7 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine (in German) weltfussball.de. Retrieved 18 September 2011
  25. ^ "Voith-Arena in Heidenheim – Daten u. Fakten". voith-arena.de (in German). Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2019.

Sources

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