In Profile: TSV 1860 München

It is impossible to talk about German football without immediately thinking of the beautiful city of Munich and it's legendary club Bayern, however until the late 60's it was the now little mentioned TSV 1860 which was the city's flagship club. Beginning life in 1848 as a gymnastic association the club was not formally recognised until 1860, having been banned by local authorities who believed sports clubs to be promoting 'Republican activities'. Despite the name it was not until1899 that the football team would be formed and another three years until it would play regularly.In 1911 the famous Lion from which the club gets it's nickname 'Die Löwen' was added to the crest. In the same year the team moved to a plot of land in Grünwalder Straße which by 1926 had grown into a 40,000 capacity stadium and where 1860 would continue to play until the 1990's. The inter-war years were solid if unspectacular for 1860 who were by now competing in Germany's upper leagues, with two appearances ( and defeats) in the German National Championship being the highlights. It was not until 1942 when with football going ahead despite the war, they lifted their first silverware beating Shalke 04 in the German Cup final.After the war 1860 continued to play as a top flight Oberliga Sud side (although briefly suffering relegation between 1953 and 1956) and slowly began to establish themselves as one of the top sides in Germany.The 60's were to the Lion's most successful era, in 1963 they won the Oberliga Sud gaining promotion to the newly formed Bundesliga, and a year later winning the German Cup for the second time. The next two seasons were to be the climax of 1860 rise when in 1965 they finished runners to West Ham in the UEFA Cup before going on to win the Bundesliga for the first and only time in 1966. Success however can be cruelly short-lived and three seasons after being crowned Champions 1860 were relegated whilst city rivals Bayern were beginning to lay the foundations of what would go on to be Germany's most successful club. For the next 20 years 1860 would languish in relative obscurity until a brief two season return to the Bundesliga in 1980 led to relegation and bankruptcy with the club being demoted two divisions in 1982 to the Amateur Oberliga Bayern. 1860 would spend the next decade in the wilderness of the regional leagues.In the early nineties the club was rebuilt thanks mainly to the hard work of President Karl-Heinz Wildmoser. Having recently moved in to the Olympic Stadium to ground share with Bayern, the Lions earned successive promotions in 1994 and 1995 to reclaim their place in the Bundesliga. By mixing shrewd signings of proven veterans like Thomas Häßler, Jens Jeremies and Peter Nowak with a strong youth set up, 1860 were able to establish themselves as a solid mid table side which hit a peak by qualifying for the 1996 UEFA cup. There would be one final jaunt into Europe when in 2000 1860 finished 4th in the Bundesliga (doing the double over city rivals Bayern) gaining entry to the Champions League qualifying rounds. Although they were knocked out before the group phase they were able to enter the UEFA Cup reaching the 3rd round before losing to Italian side AC Parma.Sadly in 2004 1860 crashed out of the Bundesliga and did not make the immediate return that many fans were expecting despite moving into to the newly built Allianz Arena which they will again share with Bayern. They are currently sitting in 6th place in Bundesliga 2 (as of the 2006/2007 Winter break) 10 points off leaders Karlsruher SC, but are mounting a strong challenge for the play-off places.