VfL Herzlake
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| Full name | Verein für Leibesübungen Herzlake von 1921 e.V. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1921 | ||
| Ground | Hasetalstadion | ||
| Capacity | 7,000 | ||
| League | 1. Kreisklasse Emsland Mitte | ||
| 2007-08 | 4 | ||
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VfL Herzlake is a German football club from the village of Herzlake, Lower Saxony.
History
The club was established in 1921 as Fußball-Club Herzlake and in 1927 was re-named Deutsche Jugendkraft Grün-Weiß Hertzlake as part of the DJK-Sportverband, a nationwide sports organization sponsored by the Catholic church. With the rise to power of the Nazis, faith-based and left-leaning worker's sports organizations were disbanded as politically unpalatable to the regime and the Herzlake club disappeared.
With the collapse of the Third Reich following World War II many previously banned clubs were re-established, including Herzlake, which was reformed as Verein für Leibesübungen Herzlake in 1946. The team enjoyed its first successes in local level play in the early 70s, advancing to the Landesliga Niedersachsen (V) in 1975, and from there in 1982 into the Verbandsliga Niedersachsen (IV), where they won titles in 1985, 1987, and 1988. A successful promotion round play off in 1988 advanced VfL to the Oberliga Nord (III) where they were an unremarkable lower tier side through their first four seasons of play. In 1993, they claimed the division title and took part in the promotion round for the 2. Bundesliga where they fared poorly.
The team remained competitive through the mid-90s in what was now the Regionalliga Nord (III) before being renamed VfL Hasetal Herzlake in 1997. They spent two more seasons in the Regionalliga before finishing in the relegation zone at the end of the 1998-99 season. The poor financial condition of the club drove them all the way down to the Kreisliga Emsland (VIII) and they resumed the name VfL Herzlake. The slipped further still, to the Kreisklasse Weser/Ems (IX) in 2000, and recovered briefly to play in the Kreisliga for several seasons before again being demoted to the Kreisklasse where they play today.
External links
References
- Das deutsche Fußball-Archiv historical German domestic league tables Template:De icon