Grazer AK
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Wikipedia - Grazer AK
Grazer Athletiksport Klub (lit. 'Graz's Athletic Sport Club'; abbreviated as GAK), better known simply as Grazer AK, is an Austrian sports club based in the city of Graz in the federal state of Styria. The football section used to be one of the most popular Austrian clubs, mostly successful in the decade 1995–2005. The other sections are basketball, diving and tennis, which however all act as separate legal entities. The "GAK" football section was folded during the 2012–13 Regionalliga Mitte Season in Autumn 2012. It has since been revived and returned to Austrian Second League in 2019.
History
The beginning
The club arose from an informal association of local academics around the medical student Georg August Wagner from Prague, later a professor at the Charles University and the Charité in Berlin. Acquainted with football from his hometown, he organised the first public match in present-day Austria on 18 March 1894 in the Graz municipal park. The Grazer Athletik-Sport-Club – modeled after the Wiener AC – was established eight years later on the 72nd birthday of Emperor Francis Joseph.
European football and the golden start to the new millennium
Between 1962 and 1983 GAK has been involved in European competitions. Their first match was against Odense BK in the Cup Winners Cup in 1962. The club has made regular appearances in European cups ever since, with regular UEFA Cup appearances since the 1980s, but the highlight came on the domestic scene in 1981 when they won the Austrian Cup. The Golden years arrived in the first half of the 2000s, when they won the Austrian Cup two more times in 2000 and 2002. Their biggest success was in 2004 where they did "the double" – they managed to win the cup yet again but also the Austrian title, winning the title by one point over Austria Wien. Their last appearance in Europe was a disappointing 5–0 away defeat to RC Strasbourg in Round 1 of the UEFA Cup in the 2005–06 season.
Financial troubles and bankruptcy
During the 2006–2007 season, 'Grazer AK' went into administration. The club was docked 28 points as a result. In the 2007–2008 season, the club was not allowed to participate in the professional leagues and was relegated to the Austrian Regional League Central. After a second bankruptcy, the club managed to achieve a settlement and accommodation with its creditors in September 2008, ensuring its survival. Soon after, the club started having difficulties again after it could not recover from its relegation to the Regionalliga Mitte and eventually was dissolved in 2012.
New start
A phoenix club was set up by the fans soon after the club was dissolved in 2012 called Grazer AC and started from the bottom tier in the 2013–14 season. On 14 March 2014, Grazer AC at an extraordinary meeting was considered to be a continuation of the original "GAK" in agreement with its umbrella association. After winning every single championship, the club made its return to professional football for the 2019–20, with their promotion to the 2nd tier.