1. FC Saarbrücken

The team made its way to first division play in 1935 in the Gauliga Südwest, one of sixteen regional divisions established in the re-organization of German football in the Nazi era. A league shuffle saw them in the Gauliga Südwest-Saarpfalz in 1940 and they won the division the next year. In 1943 they again won their division – now called the Gauliga Westmark – and advanced through the playoff rounds to the national final where they were defeated 0–3 by Dresdner SC. The next year they only made it as far as the quarterfinals where they were put out by 1. FC Nürnberg. During the last years of World War II from 1943 to 1945, the club had played as a combined wartime side (Kriegsspielgemeinschaft Saarbrücken) with SC Altenkessel.

Historical chart of Saarbrücken league performance

After the war, occupying Allied authorities dissolved all forms of organizations within Germany, including sports and football clubs. The team was allowed to reform late in 1945, but only under the new name 1. FC Saarbrücken. The club played its first three seasons of post-war football in the first division Oberliga Südwest-Nord, winning the division championship in 1946.

The German state of Saarland, where the city of Saarbrücken is located, was occupied by the French after the war. They made various efforts to see the state become independent of Germany or join France. In sport, this was manifested as separate 1952 Olympic and 1954 FIFA World Cup teams for Saarland and the establishment of a short-lived football league for the state called the Ehrenliga. In 1948, 1. FC Saarbrücken was one of a number of sides forced out of German football, but unlike other clubs, they did not play in the puppet league. Instead, the strong side became part of the French second division as FC Sarrebruck. They won the division but were refused promotion or further participation, mainly due to the resistance of other clubs, among them Strasbourg, who had been forced to play in Germany during World War II.[1]

Saarbrücken withdrew from the league and began to play in a series of friendlies over the next two years. They organized a tournament in 1949–50 called the Internationaler Saarlandpokal ("International Saarland Cup") that had them play 15 home matches against teams from Austria, Denmark, France, Sweden, Switzerland and Yugoslavia. The top three sides then joined hosts Saarbrücken in a playoff round, which the home team eventually won in a 4–0 victory over Stade Rennais UC of France. The next year, fellow Saarlanders VfB Neunkirchen co-hosted the tournament which this time included more German sides. The tournament was abandoned for 1952 as agreement was reached to allow teams from the Saarland re-admission to the German Football Association (DFB).

This episode in the history of German football would play itself out with the odd appearance of a separate side from Saarland in the 1954 World Cup preliminary rounds. Without a proper home in either the German or French leagues, Saarland had established a separate football association with membership in FIFA. 1. FC Saarbrücken sent ten players to that national side and the Saarlanders acquitted themselves well, finishing second in their group ahead of Norway and behind group winner West Germany. Saarbrücken would also make an appearance in the 1955–56 European Cup as Saarland's representative and were eliminated by Milan in the first round, despite winning the away leg.

Saarbrücken returned to the Oberliga Südwest in 1952 and continued their winning ways by capturing the division and advancing to the national final for the second time, losing a 1–2 decision to VfB Stuttgart. They continued to field strong sides but over the next decade, could only manage one more Oberliga title, in 1961.

In 1963, Germany finally saw the creation of a top flight national league with the formation of the Bundesliga. Sixteen teams were selected to play in the new league based on their performance, financial health and a geographical distribution intended to fairly represent all parts of the country. The first eight selections were straightforward and included divisional champions and the national finalists. Saarbrücken's selection to the new league was arguably the most controversial as the club's recent record was not as strong as their divisional rivals Neunkirchen, FK Pirmasens and Wormatia Worms. The belief is that their advantage lay in the fact the club had a long association with Hermann Neuberger, an extremely influential figure in German football – and a member of the selection committee.

At the end of the inaugural Bundesliga season in 1963–64, Saarbrücken found themselves dead last, seven points short of safety. The club was relegated to the second tier Regionalliga Südwest where they finished strongly in each of the next three seasons, but were unable to advance through the Bundesliga promotion rounds. They were finally able to make their way back to the top flight after a first-place finish in the 2. Bundesliga Süd in the 1976 season. After two seasons there, the team returned to the second division and by 1981 had slipped to the Amateur Oberliga Südwest (III). There were two more turns in the Bundesliga, in 1986 and 1993, both ending in relegation. A financial crisis in 1995 led to the club being denied a licence and being sent down to the Regionalliga West/Südwest (III). Saarbrücken has since become a yo-yo club with frequent moves between the second and fifth tiers. During this time, the club has remained a strong local side with several Saarland-Pokal wins to its credit.

Saarbrücken finished 16th in 2005–06 and were relegated to the Regionalliga Süd (III). Another poor showing in 2006–07 saw the club in 15th and relegated again, this time to the fourth division Oberliga Südwest, where they narrowly missed out on Regionalliga promotion in 2007–08. However, they finished as the champions of the Oberliga Südwest in the 2008–09 season and promoted to the Regionalliga West. In May 2010, they finished champions of the Regionalliga West season and were promoted to the 3. Liga, their second consecutive promotions. They started slowly, but finished in sixth place having won the last nine matches of the 2010–11 season, and remained at this level until 2013–14, when a disastrous season saw then finish bottom of the table, having used 36 players and four managers.

Back in the Regionalliga, Saarbrücken came second in 2014–15 and qualified for the promotion round to the 3. Liga, where they missed out on promotion to the Würzburger Kickers. They won the Regionalliga Südwest by 11 points in 2017–18 but were again defeated in the promotion play-off, this time by 1860 Munich.

On 3 March 2020, they became the first team from the fourth tier in the history of the DFB-Pokal to reach the semi-final, after beating Fortuna Düsseldorf in the quarter-final.[2]

As of 2 September 2023[6][7]

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 Tim Schreiber (on loan from RB Leipzig) 6 MF  GER Patrick Sontheimer 8 MF  GER Manuel Zeitz (captain) 9 FW  GER Kai Brünker 10 FW  GER Kasim Rabihic 11 MF  GER Julius Biada 14 DF  MOZ Boné Uaferro 16 DF  GER Bjarne Thoelke 17 DF  GER Dominik Becker 18 MF  GER Andy Breuer 19 DF  GER Marcel Gaus 20 FW  GER Julian Günther-Schmidt 21 DF  GER Fabio Di Michele Sanchez

No. Pos. Nation Player 22 FW  GER Simon Stehle 23 MF  ALB Tim Civeja 24 FW  GER Sebastian Jacob 27 DF  GER Calogero Rizzuto 29 DF  GER Lukas Boeder 30 GK  GER Tim Paterok 31 MF  GER Richard Neudecker 33 MF  GER Luca Kerber 34 DF  GER Frederik Recktenwald 35 GK  GER Finn Kotyrba 39 FW  GER Patrick Schmidt — FW  FRA Amine Naïfi (on loan from Differdange)