# VfR Aalen

Verein für Rasenspiele 1921 Aalen e.V., known simply as VfR Aalen, is a German football club based in Aalen, Baden-Württemberg. The football team is part of a larger sports club which also offers its members gymnastics, table tennis, and cheerleading. The club's greatest success came in 2011–12 when it finished second in the 3. Liga and earned promotion to the 2. Bundesliga for the first time.

## History

The club was founded on 8 March 1921 out of the football department of the gymnastics club MTV Aalen and has led a largely unremarked existence as a lower division side. In 1939, Aalen was promoted to the first division Gauliga Württemberg, one of sixteen top-flight leagues established through the 1933 re-organization of German football under the Third Reich. They played there until 1945, typically finishing in the lower half of the table.
After the war the club was joined by Boxclub Aalen in 1950. They went on to the third tier Landesliga Württemberg and in 1951 captured the title in what had become the Amateurliga Württemberg (III). After a single season appearance in the 2nd Oberliga Süd in 1951–52 they returned to play in the III and IV divisions over the next two decades. The club slipped to fifth division play in the late 1970s for a couple of seasons before recovering itself. At the turn of the millennium, Aalen managed an advance to the third division Regionalliga Süd and played at that level as a mid-table side from 1999 onwards. A fourth-place finish in 2007–08 qualified them for the new 3. Liga. They were immediately relegated after just one season, but captured the Regionalliga title in 2011, and returned to third-tier play. A second-place result in 2011–12 earned the team promotion to the 2. Bundesliga. After two good seasons in the league the club finished last in the league in 2014–15 and was relegated.
Following relegation the club experienced financial difficulties and was initially unable to provide coverage for the required €5.6 million for a 3. Liga licence but was eventually able to apply for one. It deregistered its reserve team, VfR Aalen II, playing in the fifth tier Oberliga, to save money. In December 2016, the club filed for bankruptcy while competing in the 2016–17 season, leading to a nine point-deduction decided by the DFB on 10 March 2017, a further relegation to the Regionalliga Südwest ensued in 2019

## Honours

* $^‡$ Denotes title won by reserve team.

## Players
### Current squad

    As of 2 February 2024
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | GER | Michel Witte |
| 2 | DF | GER | Mario Szabo |
| 3 | DF | GER | Frederik Rahn |
| 4 | DF | DEN | Lasse Jürgensen |
| 6 | MF | GER | Vico Meien |
| 7 | MF | GER | Paolo Maiella |
| 8 | MF | GER | Jascha Döringer |
| 9 | FW | FRA | As Ibrahima Diakité |
| 10 | MF | ITA | Alessandro Abruscia |
| 11 | MF | GER | Benjamin Kindsvater |
| 12 | MF | GER | Rilind Kabashi |
| 14 | FW | GER | Levin Kundruwelt |
| 15 | DF | GER | Michael Schaupp |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 17 | DF | GER | Ali Odabas |
| 18 | GK | GER | Maurice Brauns |
| 19 | MF | GER | David Preu |
| 20 | FW | GER | Ephraim Eshele |
| 21 | MF | GER | Daniel Rapp |
| 23 | FW | GER | Steffen Kienle |
| 24 | DF | GER | Yannick Thermann |
| 25 | GK | GER | Andreas Wick |
| 27 | DF | GER | Johannes Kraus |
| 29 | FW | VIN | Oryan Velox |
| 33 | FW | GER | Marco Rienhardt |
| 34 | MF | GER | Stefan Wächter |

## Recent managers

Recent managers of the club:
| Manager | Start | Finish |
| Walter Modick | 19 October 1997 | 15 April 2000 |
| Helmut Dietterle | 16 April 2000 | 30 June 2000 |
| Willi Entenmann | 1 July 2000 | 13 August 2001 |
| Helmut Dietterle | 14 August 2001 | 7 December 2002 |
| Peter Zeidler | 8 December 2002 | 30 August 2004 |
| Slobodan Pajic | 31 August 2004 | 30 June 2005 |
| Frank Wormuth | 1 July 2005 | 8 December 2006 |
| Edgar Schmitt | 15 January 2007 | 27 August 2008 |
| Jürgen Kohler | 28 August 2008 | 16 November 2008 |
| Petrik Sander | 21 November 2008 | 5 May 2009 |
| Rainer Scharinger | 6 May 2009 | 27 December 2010 |
| Ralph Hasenhüttl | 2 January 2011 | 30 June 2013 |
| Stefan Ruthenbeck | 1 July 2013 | 12 June 2015 |
| Peter Vollmann | 12 June 2015 | 30 June 2018 |
| Argirios Giannikis | 30 June 2018 | 10 February 2019 |
| Rico Schmitt | 13 February 2019 | 30 June 2019 |
| Roland Seitz | 1 July 2019 | 21 March 2021 |
| Uwe Wolf | 24 March 2021 | 17 February 2022 |
| Christian Demirtaş | 17 February 2022 | Present |

## Recent seasons

The recent season-by-season performance of the club:
* 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.

### Key

| ↑ Promoted | ↓ Relegated |

## Stadium

The team plays its home matches in the OSTALB-ARENA – popularly known as the Rohrwang – which has a capacity of 11,183.