Hannover 96 II is a German association football team from the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. It is the reserve team of Hannover 96. The team's greatest success has been winning the now defunct German amateur football championship on three occasions, in 1959–60, 1963–64 and 1964–65.

Hannover 96 II
Full nameHannoverscher Sport-Verein von 1896 II
StadiumEilenriedestadion
Capacity2,500
Head CoachDaniel Stendel
League3. Liga
2023–24Regionalliga Nord, 1st of 18 (promoted)
Current season

The team also participated in the first round of the German Cup, the DFB-Pokal, on five occasions, in 1966–67, 1976–77, 1981–82, 1982–83 and 2004–05, without ever advancing further.

History

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The team, playing as Hannover 96 Amateure, first appeared in the highest league of Lower Saxony, the tier two Amateuroberliga Niedersachsen West, after promotion in 1959. The team won the league in its first season there but was than moved to the eastern division which it won in 1963–64. The Amateurliga Niedersachsen became a unified league from 1964 onwards and Hannover 96 took out the first three league titles from 1964 to 1967.[1]

Hannover 96 II became the first reserve team to reach the final of the German amateur championship when it defeated BV Osterfeld 3–0 in the replay of the 1959–60 final. It took out two more titles in 1963–64 and 1964–65, on both occasions defeating SV Wiesbaden in the final. After this two unsuccessful final appearances followed in 1965–66 and 1966–67, losing to Werder Bremen Amateure and STV Horst-Emscher. The 1966 final was to be the only one contested by two reserve sides while the 1967 was the last for the team.[2]

After the 1966–67 season the team declined somewhat, still a strong side in the Amateurliga but not winning another title. At the end of the 1973–74 season Hannover failed to qualify for the new Oberliga Nord, finishing fourth when a top-three finish was required. In 1984–85 the team was relegated from what had now become the Verbandsliga Niedersachsen, made an immediate return the following season but suffered another relegation in 1990. Hannover once more returned to the Verbandsliga and, in 1993–94, qualified for the new tier four Oberliga Niedersachsen/Bremen, finishing 14th, the lowest-possible spot to qualify. The team played in the Oberliga for three seasons as a lower table side until relegation in 1997.[1]

Back in the western division of the Verbandsliga, once more divided, Hannover finished low in the table in 1998 and 1999 but won the league in 1999–2000 and returned to the Oberliga. Another relegationin 2001 was followed by promotion in 2003. A fifth place in the league in 2003–04 qualified the team for the re-formed Oberliga Nord where it played for the next four seasons. A league reform in 2008, when the 3. Liga was introduced, took Hannover up to the Regionalliga Nord, where it has been playing since.[1][3]

The club ended the 2023–24 Regionalliga Nord season as champions and won the promotion play-offs against Würzburger Kickers, becoming the first reserve team of a 2. Bundesliga club to play in the 3. Liga since its inception.[4]

Hannover 96 II also participated in the first round of the German Cup, the DFB-Pokal, on five occasions, in 1966–67, 1976–77, 1981–82, 1982–83 and 2004–05. On each occasion the team was knocked-out in the first round, by Borussia Neunkirchen, Bayern Munich, VfB Eppingen, Bayer Leverkusen and Rot-Weiß Oberhausen.[5]

Honours

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The club's honours:

Recent seasons

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The recent season-by-season performance of the club:[1][3]

Season Division Tier Position
2003–04 Oberliga Niedersachsen/Bremen IV 5th
2004–05 Oberliga Nord 11th
2005–06 Oberliga Nord 5th
2006–07 Oberliga Nord 6th
2007–08 Oberliga Nord 4th ↑
2008–09 Regionalliga Nord 6th
2009–10 Regionalliga Nord 8th
2010–11 Regionalliga Nord 9th
2011–12 Regionalliga Nord 6th
2012–13 Regionalliga Nord 4th
2013–14 Regionalliga Nord 11th
2014–15 Regionalliga Nord 14th
2015–16 Regionalliga Nord 12th
2016–17 Regionalliga Nord 11th
2017–18 Regionalliga Nord 8th
2018–19 Regionalliga Nord 6th
2019–20 Regionalliga Nord 12th
2020–21 Regionalliga Nord – "Süd" group 6th
2021–22 Regionalliga Nord 9th
2022–23 Regionalliga Nord 3rd
2023–24 Regionalliga Nord 1st ↑
  • With the introduction of the 3. Liga in 2008 as the new third tier, below the 2. Bundesliga, all leagues below dropped one tier.
Promoted Relegated

Players

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Current squad

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As of 1 September 2024[6]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   GER Toni Stahl
3 MF   JPN Hayate Matsuda (on loan from Mito HollyHock)
4 DF   GER Felix Göttlicher
5 DF   GER Lukas Dominke
6 MF   GER Noah Engelbreth
7 MF   SYR Mustafa Abdullatif
8 FW   GER Nick Stepantsev
9 FW   GER Sean Busch
11 FW   GER Jorden Winter
12 GK   GER Norman Quindt
13 FW   GER Tom Sanne (on loan from Hamburger SV)
14 MF   GER Melkamu Frauendorf
15 DF   GER Alexander Babitsch
16 MF   GER Keanu Brandt
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 MF   GER Michel Dammeier
18 DF   GER Fynn Arkenberg (captain)
19 FW   LUX Jayson Videira
20 MF   GER Nick Elias Meier
21 DF   GER Jacob Danquah
22 GK   GER Luca-Joel Grimpe
24 MF   GER Robin Kalem
28 DF   GER Mark Gevorgyan
29 FW   GER Jeremie Niklaus
33 MF   GER Tim Walbrecht
37 FW   GER Stefano Marino
42 MF   GER Ben Westermeier
44 DF   AUT Lukas Wallner

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Historic German football league tables". f-archiv.de (in German). Das Deutsche Fussball Archiv. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  2. ^ "(West) Germany - Amateur Championship Finals". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Hannover 96 II". fussball.de (in German). German Football Association results website. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  4. ^ ""Hau das Ding rein und gut ist": Hannover jubelt nach Fußballfest". kicker.de (in German). kicker. 3 June 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  5. ^ "Hannover 96 II » Termine & Ergebnisse 1966/1967". weltfussball.de (in German). Weltfussball. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  6. ^ "Unsere U23". hannover96.de (in German). Hannover 96. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
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