Eintracht Braunschweig

Foundation and early years

Eintracht Braunschweig was founded as the football and cricket club FuCC Eintracht 1895 in 1895, became FC Eintracht von 1895 in 1906, then SV Eintracht in 1920.

The team has a colourful history^[] and it quickly became one of northern Germany's favourite sides.^[] In 1900, Eintracht Braunschweig was among the founding members of the German Football Association (DFB). It enjoyed^[] success early on, playing in the upper tier league, winning the Northern German championship in 1908 and 1913, and placing three players on the Germany national team by 1914. Under the Third Reich, the team played in the Gauliga Niedersachsen and managed two appearances in the national final rounds. In 1942–43, Eintracht Braunschweig went into the national championship play-offs as one of the main favourites.^[] The team under manager Georg "Schorsch" Knöpfle had just won the newly formed Gauliga Südhannover-Braunschweig with a record of 17 wins and 1 draw in 18 games, scoring 146 goals in the process. After a convincing^[] 5–1 win over Victoria Hamburg in the first round, the draw saw the club paired with the other big favourites for the title, Helmut Schön's Dresdner SC.^[] Dresden won the game held in Dresden with 4–0, and subsequently won the German championship, with an undefeated season.

Post-war football

As part of the denazification of Germany after World War II, the British authorities dissolved all previously existing sports clubs in Braunschweig and demanded the creation of a single, united sports club for the city. As such, Eintracht Braunschweig was merged into the new club TSV Braunschweig on 2 November 1945. TSV Braunschweig finally took on the club's current name, Braunschweiger TSV Eintracht von 1895, on 1 April 1949.

The club continued to play in the top division – now the Oberliga Nord – after the war, with the exception of a single season (1952–53) spent in tier II. The side was touched by tragedy^[] in 1949 when goalkeeper Gustav Fähland died of internal bleeding a few days after being injured during a game in a collision with a Werder Bremen striker. Another appearance in the final round of the national championship came in 1958.

Bundesliga football 1963 to 1985

Eintracht Braunschweig's consistently high standard of play and financial stability helped it to become one of the 16 teams selected out of a group of 46 applicants for play in the Bundesliga, the new federal professional league formed in 1963. Once again the side enjoyed^[] early success, winning the national title in the 1966–67 season under manager Helmuth Johannsen with solid defensive play. That championship team gave up only 27 goals against, which stood as a Bundesliga record until bettered by Werder Bremen in 1988. Another ten players joined the national side from the team, mostly through the 1960s and 1970s.

The club was hit by tragedy^[] again during the winter break of the 1968–69 season when forward Jürgen Moll, aged 29 at the time, and his wife died in a car accident. Two charity matches were played for the benefit of the Molls' children, the first featured West Germany's 1954 FIFA World Cup-winning squad in the line-up of the tournament's final, and the second saw a combined squad of Eintracht Braunschweig and rivals Hannover 96 take on a Bundesliga all-star team.

The club found itself embroiled^[] in the Bundesliga scandal of 1971, but with a somewhat unusual twist.^[] A number of^[] players accepted payments totalling 40,000 DM – not to underperform and so lose or tie a game, but rather to put out an extra effort to win. Ultimately, two players were suspended and another ten were fined.

In 1973, in the face of some opposition^[] from the league, Braunschweig became the first Bundesliga side to sport a sponsor logo on its jerseys – that of Wolfenbüttel-based liquor producer Jägermeister. The move paid the team 100,000 DM and introduced a new way of doing business^[] to football that is worth millions today.^[][][] Other clubs quickly followed suit. Braunschweig's game against Schalke 04 on 24 March 1973 became the first Bundesliga match to feature a club having sponsorship on its jersey. Jägermeister continued to sponsor the club until 1987, although a later attempt to rename the team "Jägermeister Braunschweig" was finally refused by the DFB in 1983.

Eintracht Braunschweig just missed a second title in 1977 when it finished third, one point back of champion Borussia Mönchengladbach and just behind second-place finisher Schalke 04 on goal difference. The club made news^[] after the season by signing 1974 World Cup winner Paul Breitner from Real Madrid for a transfer fee of 1.6 million DM. Breitner, however, did not fit into the team at all and was sold to Bayern Munich after just one season.

The side counted a casualty^[] in the Cold War in the death of Lutz Eigendorf, who fled East Germany in 1979, where he played for Dynamo Berlin, to come to the west to play for 1. FC Kaiserslautern. Shortly after his transfer to Braunschweig in 1983, he died in a motor vehicle accident which was revealed in 2000 as the assassination of a "traitor" arranged by the Stasi, East Germany's secret police.^[][]

The club played in the Bundesliga through to the mid-1980s having been relegated just twice, playing in the second division in 1973–74 and again in 1980–81. During the club's run of 322 games in the Bundesliga from 1963 to 1973, it set a record that still stands by not seeing a single player red-carded. In 1984–85, Eintracht Braunschweig was relegated from the Bundesliga for the third time.

Decline

Since the 1985–86 season, the side has played at the tier II and III levels, with the exception of the 2013–14 season. In 1987, Braunschweig set a mark even as they were demoted; it became^[] the only team ever to have been relegated with a positive goal differential, with 52 goals for and 47 against. After having been stuck in the Regionalliga for most of the 1990s, Eintracht Braunschweig moved constantly between the 2. Bundesliga and the Regionalliga during the 2000s. At the end of the 2007–08 Regionalliga season, the club was facing a severe crisis,^[] both financially and on the field: Eintracht was in serious danger^[] of missing out on qualification for Germany's new nationwide third-tier league 3. Liga, which would have meant Braunschweig's first ever relegation to the fourth level of the German football league system.

Recent history

With new manager Torsten Lieberknecht, however, who had only taken over the job a few weeks before, Eintracht Braunschweig qualified for the 3. Liga on the last matchday of the season. Moreover, under Lieberknecht and also newly appointed director of football Marc Arnold, the club continued to steadily improve throughout the next few seasons; a resurgence^[] on and off the field that was widely recognized by the German media. In 2010–11, the team won promotion back to the 2. Bundesliga as champions of the 3. Liga. There, Eintracht Braunschweig re-established itself quickly, finishing the 2011–12 season comfortably^[] mid-table. The 2012–13 season should prove even more successful:^[][] on the second matchday, Braunschweig took over a direct promotion spot and kept it for the rest of the season. On the 31st matchday, the club secured its return to the Bundesliga after 28 years in the second and third divisions with a 1–0 away win over FC Ingolstadt 04.

The team finished the 2013–14 Bundesliga season in 18th place and was therefore relegated again after one season in the top-flight. Eintracht Braunschweig had spent most of the season on a relegation spot, but had a chance to stay in the league until the last matchday. However, the club was officially relegated on 10 May 2014 after a 3–1 loss at 1899 Hoffenheim. Eintracht came close to a return to the Bundesliga in 2016–17: the club finished third in the 2. Bundesliga and qualified for the promotion play-off to the Bundesliga, but lost 2–0 on aggregate to VfL Wolfsburg to remain in the 2. Bundesliga.

On 13 May 2018, Eintracht Braunschweig were relegated to the 3. Liga after a 6–2 loss to Holstein Kiel.

In 2018–19, poor performances on the pitch meant that Braunschweig almost got relegated to the fourth tier, Regionalliga Nord, surviving relegation on goal difference. In the following season, the club finished third to be promoted back to the 2. Bundesliga, before being relegated in 2020–21, followed by another promotion after a second-placed finish.