Rot-Weiss-Essen e.V.

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History
From the founding days to the Bundesliga premiere

Rot-Weiss Essen was founded on the 1st of Februar 1907 in Essen-Vogelheim initially under the name Sportverein Vogelheim by the fusion of SC Preußen and Deutsche Eiche. After the First World War the name changed from SV Vogelheim to Spiel und Sport in 1912, before the club merged in 1923 with the Turnerbund Bergeborbeck and presented itself from then onwards with the name Rot-Weiss Essen; they are also decribed for example  by journalists as "the Bergeborbecker". In 1953 the RWE achieved the first great success in club history with the Cup Winner's Cup. In the finale Islacker and Rahn shot the two goals for a 2:1- win over Alemannia Aachen in front of 40.000 spectators at the sold-out Rheinstadion. On the 26th of June 1955 RWE won the Deutsche Meisterschaft, the greatest club history success. In the finale at the Niedersachsenstadion in Hannover the Essen club could book a 4:3- win against the 1. FC Kaiserslautern.
1963 – 1979: From the Bundesliga premiere to the relegation from the Bundesliga
On the 26th of August 1963 the first Bundesliga season started without the  Essen. But the one person, who had influenced the club's success instrumentally for longer than a half a century couldn't witness the moment of the new  Bundesliga: Georg Melches, one of the founder members and honorary chairman of RWE died on the 24th of March 1963. On the 5th of August 1964 the stadium was renamed Georg-Melches-Stadion. In 1966 the club succeeded into the 1st Bundesliga but to return to the 2nd Bundesliga one year later. From now onwards the RWE was a so-called elevator-team: From 1969 to 1977 followed a prompt relegation after the rise. At this time legendary players like Willi Ente Lippens, Horst Hrubesch, Frank Mill, Dieter Bast and Manfred Burgsmüller played for the Essen team.
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image author: Wikipedia

1980 – 1993: The eighties and the rise into the 2nd Bundesliga
In the eighties the team developed again into a elevator-team but this time it was the regional division resp. the 2nd Bundesliga. In 1991 followed the licence withdrawal and the forced relegation from the 2nd Bundesliga. In 1992 RWE won the German Amateur Championship. After the rise in 1993 into the 2nd Bundesliga und the trainer Jürgen Röber followed in 1994 a licence withdrawal for the second time and a forced relegation from the 2nd Bundesliga.
1994 – 2005: The DFB-Cup finale, the relegation into the fourth division, the new rise to the 2nd Bundesliga and fall to the regional division
Essen was able to reach the finale of the DFB-Cup in 1994, and lost with 1:3 against the Werder Bremen team. After a rise in 1996 into the 2nd Bundesliga and the directly following relegation in 1997 back to the regional division RWE finally had to go even back to the forth division in  1998. In the following years the club with the main sponsor Kinowelt could only just evade bankruptcy and establish itself again in the regional division. Finally in 2004 followed the much longed for rise into the 2nd Bundesliga but the disappointing season 2004/2005 without a away victory the fall into the regional division Nord followed immediately. Even the sacking of Jürgen Gelsdorf just before the end of the season and the installation of Uwe Neuhaus as new chief trainer colud not prevent this end.Picture Copyright : http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bild:Deutsche_Meisterschale.JPG

The club celebrated its greatest successes in the fifties. Rot-Weiss Essen won in 1953 against Alemannia Aachen the DFB-Cup 1953, two years later, on the 26th of June 1955, RWE became for the first and only time German Champion through a 4:3- win over 1. FC Kaiserslautern.
Rot-Weiss Essen was represented in the Cup Winner's Cup season 1955/56 of the national champions. The club was the first German club (apart from the 1. FC Saarbrücken, who played for the still independent Saarland) in this European championship. But Essen dropped out already in the first round against the Scottish champion Hibernian Edinburgh with 0:4 and 1:1. The RWE was also able in 1994 to reach the DFB-Cup finale in Berlin against Werder Bremen.
Rot-Weiss Essen rose altogether three times into the Bundesliga (1966, 1969 and 1973). The club played in the season (2003/2004) in the regional division Nord; at the end of the season the rise into the 2nd Bundesliga could be celebrated but was followed by immediate relegation in season 2004/2005 down to the regional division Nord. In the season 2005/2006 the favoured Essen players are in first position and aspire to move up.
Rot-Weiss Essen plays the home matches at the Georg-Melches-Stadion in Essen.
Pelé became an honorary member in November 2005 (membership number 23101940) of Rot-Weiss Essen. Pelé said during the bestowal of the membership certificate: 'It is a great honour for me to belong to a club now where the 'boss' Helmut Rahn played.'
With a goal-less draw against the second team from Werder Bremen the Essen players secured on Sunday the 20.05.2006 after only one season the return to the 2nd Bundesliga. Over 20.000 spectators came for the meeting to the Hafenstraße to celebrate the advancement Picture Copyright : http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bild:Schalke_DFBpokal_2001_a.jpg