FC Energie Cottbus

Did You Know?

• On 6 April 2001, Energie fielded the first all-foreign line-up in Bundesliga history, with 11 foreign starters and 3 foreign substitutes.
• Former German chancellor Angela Merkel is an honorary member of the club.
• In 2004–05, Energie escaped relegation to the Regionalliga by scoring one more goal than Eintracht Trier while having the same points and goal difference.

History

The club's origins lie with FSV Glückauf Brieske-Senftenberg, a side founded by coal miners in 1919 in the town of Marga. That club, initially called FV Grube Marga, operated until 1924, when miners formed SV Sturm Grube Marga, which the Nazi Party banned in 1933. After World War II, the club re-emerged in 1949 as BSG Franz Mehring Grube, becoming BSG Aktivist Brieske-Ost in 1950. It was reorganized as SC Aktivist Brieske-Senftenberg in 1954 and played in the DDR-Oberliga with mid-table results until relegation to the DDR-Liga in the early 1960s.

In 1963, the players joined the new SC Energie Cottbus, while the reserve team merged back to form BSG Aktivist Senftenberg. East German authorities ordered a wholesale transfer of players from SC Aktivist Brieske-Ost to SC Cottbus, reflecting their habit of intervening in football for political reasons and naming teams after socialist figures like Franz Mehring. A mid-1960s reorganization separated football from sports clubs, creating BSG von Bodo Krautz under a local coal mine; the club soon became BSG Energie in early 1966.

It took the name FC Energie in 1990 at reunification. After six seasons in tier III, Energie won the Regionalliga Nordost in 1997, the same year it became the first former East German club to reach the DFB Cup Final, and returned to the 2. Bundesliga. It reached the Bundesliga in 2000 for a three-year stay, with Vasile Miriuță a key player. After relegation, the club narrowly missed an immediate return, losing to Mainz 05 on goal difference.

Club culture and supporters

FC Energie Cottbus has been associated with right-wing supporters, particularly among ultra and fan groups. In 2005, the ultra group Inferno Cottbus displayed an antisemitic banner at a game against Dynamo Dresden. A planned 2009 friendly with Germania Storkow was cancelled after the NPD announced a far-right demonstration. In 2012, Inferno supporters formed the Nazi greeting 'Sieg Heil' at an away match against FC St. Pauli.

A 2013 pre-season match against Maccabi Tel Aviv in Austria was cancelled due to the planned attendance of 40 far-right fans, including Inferno members. From 2015 to 2017, incidents against SV Babelsberg 03 included Nazi salutes and antisemitic chants. In 2017, masked Cottbus supporters attempted to storm the pitch at Babelsberg. Promotion celebrations in 2018 were marred by fans in Ku Klux Klan-style hoods and banners referencing Hitler, and manager Claus-Dieter Wollitz apologized for singing an anti-Romani song.

The club banned Inferno Cottbus in 2013 and initiated anti-racism campaigns, but extremist incidents continued through at least 2020. The Facebook group 'Energie Fans against Nazis', founded in 2017, and other antifascist supporters have campaigned against far-right influence, sometimes coordinating with the club to promote tolerance.

The all-foreign line-up

On 6 April 2001, Energie became the first Bundesliga club to field a side of 11 foreign players. The line-up included Tomislav Piplica, Faruk Hujdurović, Bruno Akrapović, János Mátyus, Vasile Miriuță, Rudi Vata, Moussa Latoundji, Andrzej Kobylański, Antun Labak, Laurențiu Reghecampf, and Franklin. The three substitutes were also foreigners: Johnny Rödlund, Sabin Ilie, and Witold Wawrzyczek.

Reserve team

FC Energie Cottbus II, the reserve team, played as high as the Regionalliga, last appearing in the Regionalliga Nordost in 2012–13. It later played in the NOFV-Oberliga Süd and won league championships in 2007 and 2010. The team was withdrawn at the end of the 2015–16 season. In 1998, it won the Brandenburgischer Landespokal and qualified for the DFB-Pokal, losing 1–0 to SpVgg Greuther Fürth in 1998–99 and 4–0 to Arminia Bielefeld in 2001–02.