ASK Voitsberg

ASK Voitsberg is an Austrian football club located in Voitsberg, a town in the state of Styria in the south-east of the country. They currently play in the Austrian Landesliga, the fourth tier of Austrian football.

ASK Voitsberg
Full nameArbeiter Sport-Klub Voitsberg
Founded1921
(year of foundation)
GroundHans Blümel Stadion,
Voitsberg
Capacity2000
ChairmanFrank Paizoni
ManagerMichael Zisser
LeagueSteirisch Landesliga[1][2]

History

Early years

ASK Voitsberg was formed in 1921 as part of a general sports club that also participated in other activities such as boxing; the ASK stands for Arbeiter Sports-Klub, the English translation being worker's sports club. In the first decades of existence the team played in black and white and competed in various regional leagues in Styria. In this period, they competed in the top state league only once, finishing 7th and bottom place in 1925. This league was known as the Steiermark 1. Klasse, the modern equivalent being the Landesliga Steiermark division of the fourth tier Austrian Landesliga.[3]

Under the Nazi occupation

During the annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany between 1938 and 1945, the club name was changed to Grün-Weiß Krems Voitsberg and the team colours became green and white.[4][5]

In this period the club enjoyed its first league title, winning the Steiermark 2. Klasse or Styrian second league for the 1937–38 season.[6] The club was promoted to a newly formed league for the 1938–39 season, the Bezirksklasse Süd, which included teams from the top state leagues in both Styria and neighbouring state Carinthia. The Bezirksklasse Süd was only in existence for one season, and Grün-Weiß Krems Voitsberg performed very poorly, finishing bottom of ten teams with no wins, two draws, 16 losses and 63 goals against.[5]

The post-war years

After World War II, the club promptly reverted its official name back to ASK Voitsberg, and rejected the green and white colours in favour of their traditional black and white.[4][5] The club languished in lower state leagues for several years until returning to the top Styria league, then known as Landesliga Steiermark, for the 1950–51 season. The team finished this campaign narrowly avoiding relegation in second-bottom ninth place.[7] This league was extended to twelve teams for the 1951–52 season, and ASK Voitsberg finished in the bottom half of the table for several seasons until coming fifth in the 1956–57 season.[8]

The club continued to compete in this league into the 1960s, enjoying a successful campaign in 1961–62, winning the title, becoming Styria state champion and gaining promotion to the central division of the then second tier Austrian Regional League.[9] In 1962–63, however, the club finished second bottom of the Austrian Regional League central in 13th place and was relegated back to the Landesliga Steiermark.[10]

ASK Voitsberg won the Landesliga Steiermark again in 1966–67, and in 1967–68 avoided relegation from the Austrian Regional League Central by finishing mid-table.[9][11] The team kept their place in this league until becoming relegated for a second time in 1970–71.[12]

The team was confined to the state and regional leagues for the next decade. In 1974, the regional leagues lost status due to the creation of the nationwide Austrian Football First League division, which became the second tier league immediately below the Austrian Bundesliga. The Austrian Regional League Central was also temporarily disbanded, and the winners of the three state leagues (Styria, Carinthia and Upper Austria) would instead face a play-off competition to send one club to the First League. In 1982–83, the club won both the Landesliga Steiermark title and the promotional play-off, reaching the First League for the first time.[13] In 1983–84, it finished in a respectable 12th position of 16 teams in its first season in a national division.[14] Despite finishing 9th the following season, the club was relegated back to the regional leagues along with all clubs who did not achieve a top five position as a result of league restructuring.[15]

Recent seasons

Since then, the club has competed in the third tier Austrian Regional League Central (which was restored in 1994–95) and the fourth tier Landesliga Steiermark, winning the latter on two occasions in 1994–95 and 2006–07.[4] In 2010–11, the club finished bottom of the Austrian Regional League Central, and will compete in the Landesliga Steiermark once again in 2011–12.[16] Speaking in June 2011, manager Jürgen Auffinger told a Styrian amateur football website that while relegation was a big disappointment, he believed the team had enough quality to make a swift return to the Austrian Regional League Central.[17] In the 2010/11 season, the club had the second oldest team in the division and was only one of three clubs whose players were all of Austrian nationality.[18] In recent seasons the club has also competed in the Austrian Cup.[19]

Stadium

ASK Voitsberg play their home matches in Voitsberg's Hans Blümel Stadion. The stadium's capacity is 2000.[20] The team's average home attendance for the 2010–11 season was 640.[18]

Current squad

As of 6 July 2011.[21]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK  AUT Markus Hiebler
— MF  AUT Martin Hiden
— MF  AUT Stefan Rieger
— MF  AUT Christian Maderthoner
— MF  AUT Jürgen Hiden
— FW  AUT Dominik Maschutznig
— DF  AUT Emanuel Klug
— FW  AUT Patrick Hoisser
— DF  AUT Joachim Trost
— DF  AUT Markus Edler
— DF  AUT Gernot Sauer
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF  AUT Markus Pehsl
— DF  AUT Hannes Höller
— DF  AUT Thomas Groiss
— DF  AUT Marco Sundl
— FW  AUT Patrick Hierzer
— MF  AUT Gerald Strafner
— MF  AUT Manuel Ruess
— FW  AUT Sascha Harb
— FW  AUT Patrick Hausegger
— FW  AUT Matthias Sagmeister

Achievements

See also

References
  1. https://www.ligaportal.at/stmk/landesliga/tabelle
  2. "Austrian Regional League Central 2010–11 season final standings". Austria: Regional Liga. 1 June 2011. Archived from the original on 28 February 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  3. "Austria – Steiermark – 1925 league table". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  4. "A history of ASK Voitsberg" (in German). AT: ASK Voitsberg. Archived from the original on 26 March 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  5. "Austria – Steiermark – 1938–39 league table". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  6. "Austria – Steiermark – 1937–38 league table". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  7. "Austria – Steiermark – 1950–51 league table". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  8. "Austria – Steiermark – 1956–57 league table". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  9. "Austria – Steiermark – List of champions". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  10. "Austria Final League Tables (First and Second Level) 1962–63". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  11. "Austria Final League Tables (First and Second Level) 1967–68". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  12. "Austria Final League Tables (First and Second Level) 1970–71". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  13. "Austria Final League Tables (First and Second Level) 1982–83". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  14. "Austria Final League Tables (First and Second Level) 1983–84". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  15. "Austria Final League Tables (First and Second Level) 1984–85". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  16. "Austrian Regional League Central 2010–11 season final standings". AT: Regional Liga. 1 June 2011. Archived from the original on 28 February 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  17. "Part 1: ASK Voitsberg". Regional season review (in German). AT: Steirerliga. 4 June 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  18. "Austrian Regional League Central 2010–11 season statistics". AT: Regionalliga. 1 June 2011. Archived from the original on 1 March 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  19. "Austrian Cup 2008–09". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  20. "Hans Blümel Stadion". weltfussball.de. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  21. "ASK Voitsberg first team (official site)". askvoitsberg.at. Archived from the original on 28 November 2010. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
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