Admira Wacker

Admira Wacker
Full nameAdmira Wacker
Nickname(s)Admiraner
Südstädter
Founded17 June 1905; 119 years ago (1905-06-17)[1]
GroundDatenpol Arena,
Maria Enzersdorf[2]
Capacity10,600
PresidentChristian Tschida[3]
Head coachThomas Silberberger
League2. Liga
2022–232. Liga, 10th of 16
WebsiteClub website
Current season

Admira Wacker is an Austrian professional football club based in Maria Enzersdorf, a town in the Mödling District of Lower Austria. The team competes in the 2. Liga, the second tier of the Austrian football league system.

The club was formed as Admira/Wacker in 1971 through the merger of SK Admira and SC Wacker, making it the legal successor to both clubs and inheriting their combined titles and achievements. SC Wacker, founded in 1907 in Vienna's Obermeidling district, won the Austrian Championship and Austrian Cup once each. SK Admira, founded in 1905 in the Jedlesee district of Vienna and based in Südstadt since 1967, won eight Austrian Championships, five Austrian Cups, and one Austrian Supercup. Admira's greatest international achievement was reaching the Mitropa Cup final in 1934, while the merged club reached the quarter-finals of the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1990.

History

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Historical chart of league performance of Admira Wacker and its predecessors

SK Admira Vienna

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SK Admira Vienna was formed in the Vienna district of Jedlesee as a merger between two football clubs named Burschenschaft Einigkeit and Sportklub Vindobona in 1905.[4] In 1919, Admira were promoted to the first tier of the Austrian league system for the first time in their history. The club soon became one of the more successful teams during the inter-war period, capturing seven Austrian national championship and three Austrian Cup titles. Several Admira players were also regulars in the Austria national football team at this time.

After the Anschluss in 1938, Admira played for several seasons in the Gauliga Ostmark, one of the top-flight regional leagues created through the reorganization of German football under the Third Reich. Their win of the 1938–39 Gauliga Ostmark qualified them for the 1939 German football championship, in which Admira made their way to the final against Schalke 04, which was the dominant German football team of the era. They lost overwhelmingly by a score of 0–9. This effort marked the last major success for Vienna before the end of World War II.

Post-War

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The post-war period led to a slow, but steady decline due to lack of funds to buy more competitive players. It eventually culminated into the first brief relegation from the top tier after forty years in 1960. The club underwent two name changes in that period, playing as ESV Admira Vienna after a merger with the railroad sports club ESV Vienna in 1953 before changing to ESV Admira-NÖ Energie Vienna in 1960 due to a sponsorship agreement with regional energy suppliers NEWAG/NIOGAS. Soon thereafter, Admira (or Admira Energie, as it was called in most media during the time) regained some of its earlier strength, winning the Austrian Cup in 1964 and the Double of league and cup titles in 1966.

The revelation of financial scandals within NEWAG/NIOGAS in the late 1960s led to an abrupt end of the steady flow of funds and brought the club onto the brink of administration, which would narrowly be avoided. Nevertheless, Admira began looking for a merger partner, and particularly targeted Austria Vienna. However, after the creation of Admira-Austria was declined twice, Admira eventually began talks with SC Wacker Vienna, which were successfully concluded in 1971.

SC Wacker Vienna

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Wacker Vienna was formed in 1908 in the Vienna district of Meidling. The club reached the first tier of the Austrian league system for the first time in 1914. Being a mid-table side until the second half of the 1930s, Wacker became a top-team in the 1940s and 1950s, winning the double in 1947 and ending as league runners-up eight more times between 1940 and 1956.

During the last decade as an independent club it became a bona-fide yo-yo club, with eight straight relegations from or promotions to the Austrian top tier between 1961 and 1968. A fifth relegation in 1971, combined with financial and stadium problems, eventually led to a merger with Admira, forming FC Admira/Wacker Vienna.

VfB Mödling

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Logo from 2017 to 2024.

VfB Mödling was formed on 17 June 1911 in the Lower Austrian town of Mödling. Since their foundation, Mödling were playing in the highest Lower Austrian league. With the introduction of an Austria-wide national league in 1949, the club was classified into the second tier. Playing most of its existence in second- and third-tier leagues since then, the club enjoyed three brief stints in the top division during the 1952–53 and 1987–88 seasons as well as between 1992 and 1995 before eventually merging with Admira/Wacker in 1997.

In 1997, after a financial crisis, VfB Mödling and Admira Wacker merged. In 2004 Iranian Majid Pishyar purchased the club. His stewardship of the club led to on-field and off-field difficulties. The club was relegated after the 2005–06 season. With further financial trouble, Pishyar sold the club to Richard Trenkwalder in 2008. Trenkwalder made a series of changes to the club, including changing the club's name to FC Trenkwalder Admira. His changes eventually paid off, with the club gaining promotion back to the Austrian first division following the 2010–11 season. (Majid Pishyar, meanwhile, notably also caused similar financial problems at a Swiss club, Servette, in the 2011–12 season.)

In 2017, Würzburg-based online printing company Flyeralarm acquired the naming rights for the club, meaning the club will be known as "Flyeralarm Admira" for ten years.[5]

Admira Wacker

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On 1 July 2024, the club officially reverted to its historic name, Admira Wacker, as part of a broader effort to return to its roots.[6] One month earlier, the club had unveiled a newly designed crest, which drew heavily on the 1971 emblem but incorporated modern elements. The decision to reinstate the original club name and update the crest was welcomed by the fan base, particularly by fan clubs that had advocated for this change for many years. The club's traditional colors—black, white, and red—remain unchanged, though black and white have been given renewed emphasis in the club's branding.[7]

Honours

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European tournaments history

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Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
1964–65 European Cup Winners' Cup 1R Poland Legia Warsaw 1–3 0–1 1–4
1966–67 European Cup 1R Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Vojvodina 0–1 0–0 0–1
1973–74 UEFA Cup 1R Italy Internazionale 1–0 1–2 2–2
2R Germany Fortuna Düsseldorf 2–1 0–3 2–4
1982–83 UEFA Cup 1R Czechoslovakia Bohemians Praha 1–2 0–5 1–7
1987–88 UEFA Cup 1R Finland TPS Turku 0–2 1–0 1–2
1989–90 European Cup Winners' Cup 1R Cyprus AEL Limassol 3–0 0–1 3–1
2R Hungary Ferencváros 1–0 1–0 2–0
QF Belgium Anderlecht 1–1 0–2 1–3
1990–91 UEFA Cup 1R Denmark Velje BK 3–0 1–0 4–0
2R Switzerland FC Luzern 1–1 1–0 2–1
3R Italy Bologna 3–0 0–3 3–3[a]
1992–93 European Cup Winners' Cup 1R Wales Cardiff City 2–0 1–1 3–2
2R Belgium Royal Antwerp 2–4 4–3[b] 6–7
1993–94 UEFA Cup 1R Ukraine Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 2–3 0–1 2–4
1994–95 UEFA Cup 1R Poland Górnik Zabrze 5–2 1–1 6–3
2R France Cannes 1–1 4–2 5–3
3R Italy Juventus 1–3 1–2 2–5
2012–13 UEFA Europa League 2Q Lithuania Žalgiris Vilnius 5–1 1–1 6–2
3Q Czech Republic Sparta Prague 0–2 2–2 2–4
2016–17 UEFA Europa League 1Q Slovakia Spartak Myjava 1–1 3–2 4–3
2Q Azerbaijan Kapaz 1–0 2–0 3–0
3Q Czech Republic Slovan Liberec 1–2 0–2 1–4
2018–19 UEFA Europa League 2Q Bulgaria CSKA Sofia 1–3 0–3 1–6
Notes
  1. ^ Admira lost on a penalty shootout 5–6.
  2. ^ The tie went to extra time.

Players

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Current squad

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As of 21 September 2024

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 Austria AUT Dennis Verwüster
3 DF Scotland SCO Matthew Anderson (on loan from Celtic)
4 DF Austria AUT Fabian Feiner
5 MF Austria AUT Thomas Ebner
6 MF Austria AUT Lukas Malicsek
7 FW Nigeria NGA Reinhard Young
8 MF Austria AUT Raphael Gallé
9 FW Austria AUT Deni Alar
10 MF Austria AUT Albin Gashi
11 FW Bosnia and Herzegovina BIH Salko Mujanović
13 GK Austria AUT Lukas Jungwirth (on loan from LASK)
15 DF Croatia CRO Matija Horvat
17 FW Germany GER Anouar El Moukhantir
18 DF Austria AUT Manuel Holzmann
No. Pos. Nation Player
19 FW Austria AUT Lukas Brückler
21 MF Austria AUT Nadir Ajanovic
22 FW Austria AUT Filip Ristanic
23 DF Austria AUT Stefan Haudum
26 DF Austria AUT Adrian Koreimann
28 MF Slovakia SVK Ján Murgaš
29 DF Austria AUT Alexander Leidinger
30 MF Austria AUT Yannick Maierhofer
33 DF Austria AUT Josef Weberbauer
35 GK Austria AUT Florian Kaltenböck
36 MF Austria AUT Nicolas Zdichynec
77 MF Serbia SRB Andrej Stevanovic
MF Austria AUT Marco Schabauer (on loan from LASK)
MF Scotland SCO Ben Summers (on loan from Celtic)

Out on loan

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
MF Austria AUT Tizian Marth (at ASV Draßburg until 30 June 2024)

Former players

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Coaches

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References

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  1. ^ FC Admira Wacker | Worldfootball.net
  2. ^ "BSFZ-Arena | Stadiumguide.com". Archived from the original on 27 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  3. ^ "FC Flyeralarm Admira erweitert Führungsteam - Christian Tschida neuer Präsident". Admira Wacker (in German). 13 February 2023. Archived from the original on 27 February 2024. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  4. ^ "Die Verbindungen zwischen Admira Wacker Mödling, den Würzburger Kickers und Flyeralarm". www.spox.com. 25 April 2017. Archived from the original on 24 September 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  5. ^ "Flyeralarm signs on with Admira Wacker Mödling - SportsPro Media". www.sportspromedia.com. 20 March 2017. Archived from the original on 26 July 2023. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  6. ^ "Neues Wappen, neuer Name: Admira kehrt zu den Wurzeln zurück". kicker (in Austrian German). 22 June 2024. Archived from the original on 22 June 2024. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  7. ^ "Zurück zu den Wurzeln: Aus FC Flyeralarm Admira wird Admira Wacker". Admira Wacker (in German). 22 June 2024. Archived from the original on 23 June 2024. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  8. ^ "Knaller zieht sich zurück - Lederer übernimmt". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
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