FSV Optik Rathenow is a German association football club who compete in the Oberliga. The club is situated in the city of

Rathenow Rathenow () is a town in the district of Havelland in Brandenburg, Germany, with a population of 24,063 (2020). Overview The Protestant church of St. Marien Andreas, originally a basilica, and transformed to the Gothic style in 1517-1589, and the ...

, near

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

, and play their home games at the Vogelgesang. In 1994, the club earned three promotions in quick succession under coach, Ingo Kahlisch, and reached Germany's 3rd tier, enjoying a three-season spell at that level competing against the likes of

FC Union Berlin 1. Fußballclub Union Berlin e. V., commonly known as 1. FC Union Berlin () or Union Berlin, is a professional German football club in Köpenick, Berlin. The club's origins can be traced to 1906, when its predecessor FC Olympia Oberschönewe ...

and

Dynamo Dresden Sportgemeinschaft Dynamo Dresden e.V., commonly known as SG Dynamo Dresden or Dynamo Dresden, are a German association football club based in Dresden, Saxony.Grüne, Hardy (2001). Enzyklopädie des deutschen Ligafußballs 7. Vereinslexikon. Ka ...

. Following their return to fourth-tier play in 1997, the Rathenowers were regulars in the competition until 2005. The club has featured twice in the

DFB Pokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...

main rounds, most recently against

2. Bundesliga The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...

club, FC St. Pauli. __TOC__

History

The earliest roots of football in the Rathenow area go back to the establishment of ''Spielvereinigung Rathenow'' in 1906. In the 1930s this club merged with ''Turnverein Vater Jahn Rathenow'' to create ''VfL Rathenow'', which went on to play second division football in Berlin-Brandenburg. A community sports club known as ''Sportgemeinde Rathenow'' was formed in 1945 in the aftermath of World War II out of the membership of ''VfL'' and ''Rathenower Ballspielclub''. This was renamed ''BSG Verkehr Rathenow'' in 1948. The current day club claims its origins in the reemergence in December 1950 of the former ''VfL'' out of ''SG'' as ''BSG Mechanik Rathenow''. This club became ''BSG Motor Rathenow'' in 1951. Playing in Soviet-occupied

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In t ...

, the team was an unremarked local side with less than a handful of appearances in the third division 2. DDR-Liga and the early rounds of the

FDGB Pokal The FDGB-Pokal (Freier Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund Pokal or Free German Trade Union Federation Cup) was an elimination football tournament held annually in East Germany. It was the second most important national title in East German football aft ...

(East German Cup) to its credit.Grüne, Hardy (2001). Vereinslexikon. Kassel: AGON Sportverlag On 10 February 1990, following

German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...

, the club took on the name ''Sportverein Optik'' based on a sponsorship arrangement with a local optical firm. On 21 February the following year, the football department became independent as ''Fußball Sportverein Optik Rathenow'' and made its only appearance to date in the

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...

(German Cup) tournament on the strength of a district cup win. The team advanced to fourth-tier competition in 1992 following a championship in the Verbandsliga Brandenburg (V) and continued its string of successes by winning promotion in qualification play for the Regionalliga Nordost (III) as part of the restructuring of German football in 1994. Their stay was short-lived as they were sent down to the Oberliga Nordost-Nord (IV) following a last place result in 1996. In Oberliga competition ''Optik'' consistently earned lower table results, but escaped relegation until being sent down after a 14th-place finish in 2005. The club returned to fourth-tier play after two seasons spent in the

Verbandsliga Brandenburg The Brandenburg-Liga (VI) (''formerly the Verbandsliga Brandenburg'') is the highest league for football teams exclusively in the German state of Brandenburg and at step six of the German football league system. Until the introduction of the 3. Li ...

(V). In 2012 they were promoted to

Regionalliga The Regionalliga () is the fourth tier in the German football league system. Until 1974, it was the second tier in Germany. In 1994, it was introduced as the third tier. Upon the creation of the new nationwide 3. Liga in 2008, it became the four ...

(IV), where they spent two successive seasons in the league before relegation. During their 2014 Regionalliga season, the club won the

Brandenburg Cup The Brandenburgischer Landespokal ( en, Brandenburg Cup), known as the '' Krombacher Pokal Brandenburg'' for sponsorship reasons, is an annual football cup competition, held by the ( en, Brandenburg Football Association). It is one of the 21 reg ...

, beating SV Babelsberg 3–1, thus securing a historic first-round appearance in the

. In that match, they were defeated by

club, FC St. Pauli, 3–1. In 2015, the club was promoted back to the Regionalliga at the first attempt but lasted just one season.Das deutsche Fußball-Archiv
Historical German domestic league tablesFSV Optik Rathenow at Fussball.de
Tables and results of all German football leagues In 2017–18, Rathenow were again crowned the champions of Oberliga-Nord and returned to the fourth tier. After four seasons in the Regionalliga, they were relegated back to the Oberliga at the end of the 2021–22 season.

Honours

The club's honours: * Landesliga Brandenburg ** Champions: 1990–91 *

Brandenburg-Liga The Brandenburg-Liga (VI) (''formerly the Verbandsliga Brandenburg'') is the highest league for football teams exclusively in the German state of Brandenburg and at step six of the German football league system. Until the introduction of the 3. Li ...

** Champions (V): 1991–92, 2006–07 *

NOFV-Oberliga Nord The NOFV-Oberliga Nord is the fifth tier of the German football league system in the northern states of the former East Germany and West Berlin. It covers the German states of Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and northern Saxony ...

** Champions (V): 2014–15, 2017–18 *

** Winner: 2013,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

** Runners-up: 2004,

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

* Bezirkspokal Potsdam (Potsdam Cup) ** Winner: 1958, 1978, 1990

References

External links

Official team siteDas deutsche Fußball-Archiv
historical German domestic league tables (in German)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rathenow, Optik FSV Football clubs in Germany Football clubs in East Germany Football clubs in Brandenburg Association football clubs established in 1991 1991 establishments in Germany Works association football clubs in Germany