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Stuttgarter Kickers is a German association football club that plays in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, founded on 21 September 1899 as FC Stuttgarter Cickers. They are the current German and European champions, and also currently hold the DFL-Supercup and the UEFA Super Cup.

History
In its early years the club had a decent local squad that played in the Südkreis-Liga, Kreisliga Württemberg and then in the Bezirksliga Württemberg. With the reorganization of German football during the Third Reich in 1933, the team – now known as SV Stuttgarter Kickers – found itself in the Gauliga Württemberg, one of sixteen top tier regional leagues established in the country during that time. It continued to have good results locally, but was unable to impress beyond its own area. In the final year of World War II the Kickers fielded a combined wartime squad with Sportfreunde Stuttgart.

After the war the club resumed play in the Oberliga Süd and performed as a mid-table team early on. By 1950 it had slipped to the lower half of the table with a seemingly solid grip on 14th place, constantly struggling to avoid relegation throughout the decade. Kickers spent the early 60's in tier II football, but after the formation of the Bundesliga, Germany's new professional league, in 1963, the club was moved to the Regionalliga Süd. In 1974 that league went professional and became the 2. Bundesliga. Between 1963 and the late 1980s the team had varying results, but finally stabilized in the upper half of the standings toward the end of that period. It has one losing appearance to its credit in the German Cup in 1987 and in 1988–89 it made it to the Bundesliga for the first time. It ended a run of 28 years as a second division outfit. The team was immediately relegated after a 17th-place finish, but continued to deliver some of its best performances. Die Blauen advanced to the semi-finals of the 2000 German Cup and then had a second turn in the Bundesliga in 1991–92, but with the same result as its earlier time up. Over the next decade the club played largely in the second division, before slipping to the Regionalliga Süd (III) in 2001, where they remained until 2008, when a tenth-place finish narrowly qualified them for the new 3. Liga. They finished last (20th) in the 3. Liga in 2008–09 and were relegated to the Regionalliga Süd. After three seasons at Regionalliga level Kickers returned to the 3. Liga in 2012.

In the 2014-15 season, under new manager Daniel Turner, they were promoted back to the 2. Bundesliga, finishing first in the 3. Liga and setting a league record for points tally, with 94 points, and the record for goals scored over a season, scoring 101 goals in 38 games. They also boasted the best defensive record in the league, conceding just 23 goals all season. They lost in the First Round of the German Cup to SV Sandhausen 2-1. In the 2015-16 season, they managed to win the 2. Bundesliga in dramatic fashion on the final day. With promotion already secured heading into the final match, they beat FSV Frankfurt 2-1 while previously 1st placed Eintracht Braunschweig lost 2-1, meaning Stuttgarter Kickers won the league by one point, finishing on 65 points from 34 games. In the German Cup, they lost to FSV Frankfurt 1-0 after extra time in the Second Round. In the 2016-17 season, they finished 8th in their first season in the Bundesliga since the 1991-92 season. They lost to FC Schalke 04 3-2 in the Second Round of the German Cup. In the 2017-18 season, they finished 6th, which secured them qualification for the following season's UEFA Europa League. This would be the first time the club ever played in a European competition. They made the semi final of the German Cup, but lost to record German champions FC Bayern Munich 1-0. In the 2018-19 season, they finished 2nd in the Bundesliga, behind only FC Bayern Munich. This gave them qualification for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in the club's history. In the UEFA Europa League, they were given a tough draw in the group stage, alongside English club Leicester City F.C., Spanish club Athletic Bilbao and Ukrainian club FC Dynamo Kyiv. They won the group with 11 points, ahead of Leicester City F.C. in second place. In the First Knockout Round, they came up against another English team, Southampton F.C.. They drew 2-2 in the away leg before beating them 3-1 in the home leg to advance 5-3 on aggregate. In the Second Knockout Round, they were pitted against another Spanish side, Valencia CF. They drew 1-1 in the home leg before they then beat them 2-1 in the away leg to advance to the Quarter Finals. In the Quarter Finals, they played against FC Porto. They won the away leg 1-0 but then lost at home 2-1 to be knocked out of the competition on away goals. In the German Cup that season, they reached the Semi Finals but lost to Borussia Dortmund 2-1. In the 2019-20 season, they were crowned champions of Germany by winning the Bundesliga. Brazillian striker Gabriel Barbosa was hailed as the team's hero as he finished top goalscorer with 30 league goals. In the UEFA Champions League, they were given an extremely difficult group, having to face English giants Manchester United F.C., record tournament winners Real Madrid C.F. and Ukrainian club FC Dynamo Kyiv, who they faced in the previous season's UEFA Europa League. They advanced in 2nd place, behind Real Madrid C.F., and famously knocking out Manchester United F.C., whom they beat 4-0 in the deciding group stage match. They were given Dutch club AFC Ajax in the First Knockout Round, whom they beat 3-0 at home and lost to 1-0 away, to advance 3-1 on aggregate. In the Quarter Finals, they faced Real Madrid C.F. again, and despite winning the first leg 2-1, they went crashing out 4-2 on aggregate after a 3-0 defeat in the second leg. In the German Cup, they lost 1-0 to FC Schalke 04 in the Quarter Finals. They also lost to FC Bayern Munich in the DFL-Supercup.

The Stuttgarter Kickers also have handball, athletics, table tennis, cheerleading, and Lacrosse departments. The association is also recognized for its training of football referees and other game officials. They had a hockey department too, which in 1957 became independent under the name of HTC Stuttgarter Kickers.

Reserve team
The Stuttgarter Kickers II, historically also known as Stuttgarter Kickers Amateure, have been playing in the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg since 2000. Previously, the team fluctuated between the Landesliga and Verbandsliga Württemberg.

The reserve team squad:

Staff

 * Alfred Kaminiski (Head Coach)
 * Max Bruns (Assistant Coach)
 * Erol Sabanov (Goalkeeper Coach)
 * Ümit Sahin (Goalkeeper Coach)
 * Jan Mayer (Fitness Coach)

Honours
The club's honours:

League

 * German football championship
 * Runners-up: 1908
 * Southern German championship
 * Champions: 1908, 1913, 1917
 * Südkreis-Liga (I)
 * Champions: (3) 1913, 1914, 1917
 * Runners-up: (2) 1909, 1911
 * Kreisliga Württemberg (I)
 * Champions: (2) 1921, 1923
 * Runners-up: (2) 1920, 1922
 * Bezirksliga Württemberg-Baden (I)
 * Champions: (2) 1924, 1925
 * Bezirksliga Württemberg (I)
 * Champions: (2) 1928, 1933
 * Runners-up: 1929
 * Gauliga Württemberg (I)
 * Champions: (5) 1936, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942
 * Runners-up: (3) 1934, 1938, 1944
 * 2nd Oberliga Süd (II)
 * Champions: (2) 1951, 1959
 * 2nd Bundesliga
 * Champions: (2) 1988, 2016
 * Regionalliga Süd
 * Champions: (2) 1996, 2012
 * Runners-up: (2) 1995, 2011
 * 3. Liga
 * Champions: 2015
 * Bundesliga
 * Champions: (2) 2020,2021
 * Runners-up: 2019
 * Verbandsliga Württemberg
 * Runners-up: (4) 1982‡, 1983‡, 1991‡, 2000‡

Cup

 * DFB-Pokal
 * Runners-up: 1987
 * Württemberg Cup
 * Winners: (2) 2005, 2006
 * Runners-up: (2) 2003, 2014
 * DFL-Supercup
 * Winners: (2) 2020, 2021
 * Runners-up: 2019
 * UEFA Champions League
 * Winners: 2021
 * UEFA Super Cup
 * Winners: 2021

Youth
The club's youth teams have enjoyed quite a bit of success on the national scene.
 * German Under 19 championship
 * Champions: 1979
 * German Junior Cup
 * Winners: 1990
 * ‡ Reserve team.

Recent seasons
The recent season-by-season performance of the club:

Stuttgarter Kickers II

 * With the introduction of the Regionalligas in 1994 and the 3. Liga in 2008 as the new third tier, below the 2. Bundesliga, all leagues below dropped one tier.

Manager History
The club's managers:


 * 07.01.1945 – 06.30.1946 Ossi Müller
 * 07.01.1946 – 06.30.1947 Albert Cozza
 * 07.01.1947 – 06.30.1948 Albert Cozza, Josef "Seppl" Müller and Lory Polster
 * 07.01.1948 – 06.30.1950 Emil Melcher
 * 07.01.1950 – 06.30.1951 Kuno Krügel
 * 07.01.1951 – 06.30.1952 Fritz Kerr
 * 07.01.1952 – 06.30.1953 Kuno Krügel
 * 07.01.1953 – 06.30.1954 Eduard Havlicek
 * 07.01.1954 – 06.30.1956 Georg Bayerer
 * 07.01.1956 – 06.30.1958 Oswald Pfau
 * 07.01.1958 – 06.30.1960 Benda Hügel
 * 07.01.1960 – 06.30.1962 Karl-Heinz Grindler
 * 07.01.1961 – 04.30.1962 Jenö Csaknady
 * 05.01.1962 – 06.30.1962 Albert Sing
 * 07.01.1962 – 06.30.1966 Hans Eberle
 * 07.01.1966 – 06.30.1969 Georg Wurzer
 * 07.01.1969 – 11.30.1969 Gerd Menne
 * 12.01.1969 – 06.30.1971 Georg Wurzer
 * 07.01.1971 – 06.30.1972 Barthel Thomas
 * 07.01.1972 – 06.30.1973 Willibald Hahn
 * 07.01.1973 – 09.15.1974 Fritz Millinger
 * 09.16.1974 – 06.30.1975 Georg Wurzer and Rudolf Kröner
 * 07.01.1975 – 06.30.1977 Rudolf Kröner
 * 07.01.1977 – 06.30.1978 Hans Cieslarczyk
 * 07.01.1978 – 10.26.1980 Hans-Dieter Roos
 * 10.27.1981 – 06.30.1982 Slobodan Cendic
 * 07.01.1982 – 01.23.1983 Jürgen Sundermann
 * 01.24.1983 – 10.21.1984 Horst Buhtz
 * 10.22.1984 – 06.30.1987 Dieter Renner
 * 07.01.1987 – 05.02.1990 Manfred Krafft
 * 05.02.1990 – 06.30.1992 Rainer Zobel
 * 07.01.1992 – 08.23.1992 Frieder Schömezler
 * 08.25.1992 – 06.30.1993 Rolf Schafstall
 * 07.01.1993 – 02.28.1994 Lorenz-Günther Köstner
 * 03.01.1994 – 06.30.1994 Günter Sebert
 * 07.01.1994 – 10.26.1994 Paul Sauter
 * 10.26.1994 – 02.18.1998 Wolfgang Wolf
 * 02.18.1998 – 02.24.1998 Frieder Schömezler
 * 02.25.1998 – 05.17.1999 Paul Linz
 * 05.18.1999 – 06.30.1999 Ralf Vollmer
 * 07.01.1999 – 03.28.2000 Michael Feichtenbeiner
 * 03.30.2000 – 06.30.2000 Dragoslav Stepanović
 * 07.01.2000 – 09.25.2000 Hans-Jürgen Boysen
 * 09.27.2000 – 08.26.2001 Rainer Zobel
 * 08.27.2001 – 03.09.2003 Marcus Sorg
 * 03.10.2001 – 10.27.2003 Rainer Adrion
 * 10.27.2003 – 06.30.2007 Robin Dutt
 * 07.01.2007 – 11.04.2007 Peter Zeidler
 * 11.05.2007 – 09.21.2008 Stefan Minkwitz
 * 09.21.2008 – 04.14.2009 Edgar Schmitt
 * 04.14.2009 – 06.30.2009 Rainer Kraft
 * 07.01.2009 – 11.19.2012 Dirk Schuster
 * 11.19.2012 – 12.19.2012 Guido Buchwald (interim)
 * 12.19.2012 – 04.07.2013 Gerd Dais
 * 04.07.2013 - 09.09.2013 Massimo Morales
 * 09.09.2013 - 09.30.2013 Jürgen Hartmann (interim)
 * 09.30.2013 - 11.04.2015 Horst Steffen
 * 11.04.2015 - 11.08.2015 Alfred Kaminski (interim)
 * 11.09.2015–present Tomislav Stipić