ESV Ingolstadt (Germany)
The origins of
ESV Ingolstadt go way back to 1912, which is when one of the five clubs that
merged to create, Turnverein Ringsee as they were first known as, was founded.
That club was Sangerverein Ringsee, along with Gluckliche Heimkehr (Founded in
1919), Frohliche Stunden (Founded in 1919), FC Freiheit Ringsee (Founded in
1919) and Spielvereinigung Ringsee (Founded in 1920). It was in 1930 when the
first name change took place, as TVR turned to RTSV Ingolstadt Ringsee. This
then became RSG Ingolstadt in 1940, before finally settling on the name TSV
Ingolstadt Ringsee in 1945.
On the other
side, ESV had a less complicated foundation, although they were the result of a
merger as well, between the clubs known as FC Viktoria Ingolstadt, who were
founded in 1919 and another sports club, VfR Ingolstadt who were formed in
1921. Both of these clubs merged to form VfB Ingolstadt Ringsee in 1925.
Both of this
clubs, who had been created by mergers, then decided to merge together in
1946.to form VfL Ingolstadt-Ringsee. This lasted until 1951, when a name change
was made, and ESV Ingolstadt Ringsee was now established. But that was not the
end of the name changing as in 1953, the ‘E’ part of ESV, which stood for
Erster, meaning English First, was then changed to Eisenbahner, which means
Railway, a reference to the clubs connection to the German railways.
While VfB
Ingolstadt-Ringsee competed in the two-tier Landesliga Bayern in 1945, another
club, MTV Ingolstadt were also around and in the 1946-47 season, the league was
expanded, and Northern and Southern divisions were set up. After the war,
fierce derbies were a frequent occurrence, with no love lost between the
two. VfB competed at the upper end of
the table, but never gained promotion to the next level, Oberliga Sud.
The late 40’s
and early 50’s saw a lot of reconstruction and different formats were used.
1953 saw the league split into two regional divisions.
The 1953-54
season saw ESV finish second, and on the same amount of points as SpVgg Weiden.
It meant the two clubs had to go head-to-head in a one off match to determine
who would be promoted. Ingolstadt lost the game 4-1 and had to endure another
season in the Amateurliga Bayern. The next season saw the club finish second
once again, but like the previous season, they lost the promotion play-off
match, this time to Kickers Wurzburg. The 1956-57 season saw the club drop one
place to third, but that wasn’t enough to even claim a play-off place that
season. But it would be a long time until ESV would challenge again. In fact,
their decline continued down the league table, until eventually, in 1960, the
club finished bottom of the league and were relegated.
It wasn’t long
before ESV were back in the 1. Amateurliga Bayern Division when they won their
division in the 2. Amatuerliga Oberbayern along with the Upper Bavaria
championship. These few years would prove to be some of ESV’s most successful,
as they had only just returned to their old league, they gained promotion
straight away to the 2. Oberliga Sud. But they didn’t stop there and finished
runners-up in their first season in the 2. Oberliga Sud. Usually this would
have meant promotion to the next tier, however, German football was going
through a restructure of it’s leagues, and the Bundesliga was formed. This
meant there was no promotion or relegation that year and so ESV missed out,
despite their efforts.
After the
changes in 1963, ESV were placed in the Regionaliga, and as they were located
in the South of Germany, were placed in the Regionliga Sud, formerly known as
the Oberliga Sud. It was a competition that had some household names competing
in it, not least German giants, FC Bayern Munich. But ESV competed relatively
well and finished 12th lace in both of the seasons they competed in.
However, in their third season, the club were relegated after finishing second
last. It meant a return to the Amateurliga.
A second placed
finish occurred in 1967, while the following season, in 1968, they won the
league and gained promotion back to the Regionaliga. The club pent a longer
term there this time, four years to be exact, until they were relegated once
again in 1972. In true ESV style, they almost bounced back straight away, only
finishing second to FC Ausburg, a club who know play in the Bundesliga in this
current moment in time. ESV did have a second chance that season, through the
German amateur Championship, but lost out in the semi-finals of the competition
to SpVgg Bad Homburg. The following season saw the club finish third, however
it wouldn’t have mattered had they won the league that year, as promotion was
not on offer due to the German league once again changing it’s format, from the
five Regionligas being changed to the two Bundesliga’s.
Arguably one of
the clubs best seasons came in the 1978-79 season when they eventually gained
promotion to the 2. Bundesliga by virtue of winning the Amateur Oberliga
Bayern. It also saw the club win more silverware, when they went all the way to
the final of the German amateur Championship, beating Hertha Zehlendorf in the
final. The 1979-80 season would prove to be historic as well, but for different
reasons.
It was in this
season, and the only season in their histories, that both ESV Ingolstadt and
MTV Ingolstadt would compete in the same professional league as each other. Two
games were played against each other that season, in which MTV got the better
of the results, with a 2-2 draw and a 2-1 win. However, it would be ESV who
would have the last laugh as MTV were relegated that season, while ESV
survived, finishing 17th, two spots eahd of their bitter rivals, who
placed 19th. Five points separated the to clubs, but it would be the
last time they would play each other in a professional league. This rivalry
would be put aside in the future. The club would have survived relegation had
it not been for another restructure of the German league system. Because of
this the club ended up in the Amateurliga once again. Things didn’t get any
better for the club when, in 1982, they were relegated once again to the
Landesliga Bayen-Sud when they finished bottom of the 20 clubs competing in the
Amateurliga. It didn’t take long for the club to pick itself up and gain
promotion again and in 1984 that is what they did. Despite finishing in the top
half of the table in the 1984-85 season, it was all downhill from there, as the
club were relegated the following year, and within four seasons in the
Landesliga, they found themselves being relegated once again, this time to the
Bezirksoberliga Oberbayern, the fifth tier of German football, although after
more changes to the German football pyramid it would become the seventh tier in
the future.
The club never
really recovered from it’s fall from grace, with it just finishing mid table
most seasons at this level. It was in 1994 when their decline had finally hit
rock bottom and the club was once again relegated, losing a play-off match to
TSV Ampfing on penalties, 6-4. It would be the last the club would ever see of
Landesliga football, as they dropped even further down the German football
pyramid. In 1995, they finished bottom
of the Bezirksoberliga and ended up playing in the Bezirsliga Oberbayern-Nord,
the seventh tier at the time. They steadied the ship in this league, until
2000, when they won the championship and returned to the Berzirksoberliga.
While they competed at the top end of this league, they failed to gain
promotion and financial difficulties started to become a huge burden on the
club. In the end, in 2004, the club were forced to merge with rivals MTV to
form FC Ingolstadt 04, which caused fans and players alike to leave the club
completely to form their own club. ESV still has a senior club playing in the
lower leagues of German football, while MTV only has youth team playing in its
name. Ingolstadt 04 play in the 3. Liga at the time of writing, after being
relegated in the 2021-22 season. It’s a bit of a fall, as the club did manage
to gain promotion to the German top tier, the Bundesliga, for the 2015-16
season, where they finished in a respectable 11th place.
Unfortunately, second season syndrome hit and the club were relegated in the
2016-17 season, finishing 17th. Since then, they have been jumping
between 2. Bundesliga and 3. Liga.
A club that was
born from mergers, ended because of a merger. It is a common occurrence in
football worldwide, and whilst the original ESV Ingolstadt never really set the
football world ablaze, it’s successor, or one of them, Ingolstadt 04 did,
reaching the dizzy heights of the Bundesliga, playing giants like Bayern Munich
and Dortmund, something that many people probably thought would never have
happened, especially under the guise of ESV. When I went looking to speak to
German football experts on the history of ESV, it was difficult to find anyone
who really knew anything about them. They could tell me about Ingolstadt 04
with ease, but the history of where they came from seemed to be a mystery, or
maybe it was jut too difficult for others to follow, with the amount of club
merging and name changes involved. In the end, ESV just couldn’t compete on the
field, and as a result, they couldn’t manage off the field. It’s a story of a
club that, under different circumstances or if they had of been luckier on the field,
they could have become something more, and I think the success of Ingolstadt 04
proves this. Will we see Ingolstadt 04 back in the big time? Who knows. They
did it once before, and while they are still alive, there is always that
possibility. If they do, I will be sure to follow their journey.