Spielvereinigung Unterhaching () is a German
sports club
A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports.
Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...
in
Unterhaching, a semi-rural municipality on the southern outskirts of the Bavarian capital
Munich
Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
. The club is widely known for playing in the first-division
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
league
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...
alongside its more famous cousins,
Bayern Munich and
1860 Munich, for two seasons between 1999 and 2001, while the club's
bobsleigh
Bobsleigh or bobsled is a winter sport in which teams of 2 to 4 athletes make timed speed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobslei ...
department has captured several world and Olympic titles. The football team won promotion into the
3. Liga
The 3. Liga is a professional association football league and the third division in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2. Bundesliga and the fourth-tier Regionalliga.
The modern 3. Liga was formed for t ...
(third tier) after beating Cottbus 4–1 on aggregate in June 2023.
History
Early history
Originally part of the gymnastics and sports club TSV Hachinger, SpVgg Unterhaching was established as an independent football club on 1 January 1925. Their first promotion to a higher division came in 1931 and they went on to be promoted to the A-Klasse a year later. However, the club was dissolved in 1933 as it was regarded as "politically unreliable" by the
Nazis
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
and was not re-established until after the end of World War II in 1945 to resume play in the amateur fourth division B-Klasse.
A rise through the ranks

Unterhaching's football team was only an anonymous local amateur team with no significant successes until a climb through league ranks that began in 1976 with promotion from B-Klasse to A-Klasse play. A first-place finished earned the club quick promotion to the Bezirksliga in 1977. Continued good play put the team into the fourth-division
Landesliga Bayern-Süd in 1979 and then the
Oberliga Bayern (III), the highest amateur division at the time, by 1981.
Unterhaching finished first there in 1983 to earn an appearance in the playoff round for the
2. Bundesliga, but failed to advance. They suffered a similar fate in 1988 when they next appeared in the promotion round.
The club finally emerged from the Oberliga to play in the 2. Bundesliga in 1989, but were quickly relegated after a 20th-place finish. Promoted a second time in 1992, they were once again sent down after a marginally better 18th-place result. Unterhaching next appeared in the second division in 1995 after a first-place finish in the new
Regionalliga Süd (III).
Unterhaching in Bundesliga
With their return to the 2. Bundesliga in the 1995–96 season the club would begin a period that would see them earn their best ever results. They finished 4th that season, then slipped to 6th and 11th-place results in their next two campaigns before securing promotion to the top-flight
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...
after a 2nd-place finish in 1999 season.
They went on to surprise everyone with a respectable 10th-place result in their inaugural Bundesliga season and also famously played the spoiler's role in deciding who would win the championship that year. Their first Bundesliga win came in just their second match of the season, with a 2–0 victory over
MSV Duisburg
Meidericher Spielverein 02 e. V. Duisburg, commonly known as simply MSV Duisburg (), is a Football in Germany, German association football club based in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia. Nicknamed ''Die Zebras'' for their traditional striped jer ...
at home. While struggling in away matches, Unterhaching remained undefeated at home in nine games before losing 0–2 to their stronger neighbours,
Bayern Munich. Prior to this loss, they had earned wins at home in matches against highly favoured teams like
VfB Stuttgart
Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V. (), commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German professional sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's Association football, football team is currently part of Germany's f ...
and
Borussia Dortmund
Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund () or by its initialism BVB (), or just Dortmund by International fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...
, beating them 2–0 and 1–0 respectively. They earned their first away win in the Bundesliga by beating VfB Stuttgart 2–0 once again.
On the final matchday of the season, visiting
Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It competes in the B ...
needed only a draw in Unterhaching to secure their first national title, but instead went down to defeat to the determined home side. Things took a sinister turn for Leverkusen when
Michael Ballack
Michael Ballack (; born 26 September 1976) is a German former professional footballer. He was selected by Pelé as one of FIFA's 100 Greatest Living Players, and as the UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year in 2002. He won the German Footballer of ...
scored an
own goal
An own goal occurs in sports when a player performs actions that result in scoring points for the opposition, such as when a Association football, footballer puts a ball into their own net.
In some parts of the world, the term has become a met ...
that put home side ahead in the 20th minute. Their title hopes ended when Haching midfielder
Markus Oberleitner made the score 2–0 in the 72nd minute. Meanwhile, Bayern Munich beat
Werder Bremen 3–1 at home and were able to overtake Leverkusen on goal difference to snatch away the title. With a 10th-place result, Unterhaching finished ahead of long-established sides Borussia Dortmund and
Schalke 04. They ended the season with the league's fifth best home record with 10 wins and 5 draws in 17 matches having lost only to Bayern Munich and
1. FC Kaiserslautern
1. Fußball-Club Kaiserslautern e. V., also known as 1. FCK, FCK (), FC Kaiserslautern (), K'lautern or colloquially Lautern (), is a German sports club based in Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate. In addition to Association football, football ...
.
Goalkeeper
Gerhard Tremmel, defenders
Alexander Strehmel and
Jochen Seitz, midfielders
Markus Oberleitner and
André Breitenreiter and striker
Altin Rraklli were among the most memorable players of a team that impressed by its discipline. Breitenreiter and Rraklli scored 13 Bundesliga goals between them that season.
However, the start of the
2000–01 season was a nightmare for Unterhaching as they would win only one and draw two of their first eight matches. While the team went undefeated in its next six matches, they were unable to maintain that form and at the mid-season break were only out of the relegation zone on goal difference. The second half of the season was just as dismal, and although they earned wins over local rivals
Bayern Munich and
1860 Munich, their campaign would end with a 16th-place result and relegation.
As the season drew to a close Unterhaching was once again in a position to help Bayern Munich win another title. Needing only to hold second-place
Schalke 04 to a draw in their final match to ensure Bayern's win, Unterhaching held 2–0 and 3–2 advantages before finally succumbing 3–5 to Schalke. Bayern then had to make their own way to the championship with at least a draw against
Hamburger SV
Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), or HSV (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its Association football, football department. Though the current HSV was founde ...
which they only narrowly managed on a
Patrik Andersson equalizer (1–1) deep into stoppage time.
Ironically, in the middle of their poor season, SpVgg Unterhaching would emerge as winners of the last
DFB-Hallenpokal, an indoor football tournament staged during the winter break of the Bundesliga season from 1987 to 2001.
Recent history
The club's struggles continued after their relegation to the
2. Bundesliga. Needing an away win in their final match of the season in order to avoid being sent down to the Regionalliga Süd (III), they instead went down to a 0–3 defeat to
Karlsruher SC
Karlsruher Sport-Club Mühlburg-Phönix e. V., better known as Karlsruher SC, is a Football in Germany, German association football club, based in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg that currently plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of Germa ...
and finished in 15th place. They re-bounded the following season, taking the Regionalliga title, and making their way back to second division competition. Subsequently, Haching has delivered poor results in the 2. Bundesliga, narrowly avoiding being relegated again in both 2004 and 2006 before finally dropping into the Regionalliga in 2007, finishing 16th in the table due to
FC Carl Zeiss Jena
FC Carl Zeiss Jena () is a German football club based in Jena, Thuringia. Founded in 1903, it was initially associated with the optics manufacturer Carl Zeiss. From the 1960s to the 1980s it was one of the top-ranked clubs in East Germany, won ...
's 2–1 win against
FC Augsburg
Fußball-Club Augsburg 1907 e. V., commonly known as FC Augsburg (), is a Football in Germany, German professional football club based in Augsburg, Bavaria. FC Augsburg play in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system. T ...
.
In the 2007–08 season, the club was never really in contention for a 2. Bundesliga return but did qualify for the new
3. Liga
The 3. Liga is a professional association football league and the third division in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2. Bundesliga and the fourth-tier Regionalliga.
The modern 3. Liga was formed for t ...
. In its first season in the new, nationwide 3. Liga, the club was close to promotion, but a loss 3–4-loss against Carl Zeiss Jena on the 37th matchday earned them a fall from second to fourth place, and a prolonged stay in the third league.
In 2009–10 the club started well, but went down the table during winter. 2008–09's successful coach
Ralph Hasenhüttl got replaced by the 1990-world champion
Klaus Augenthaler, who led the team to a finish on a secure 11th place.
The club finished one place above the relegation zone in the 3. Liga in 2013–14, coming 17th but was relegated to the tier four
Regionalliga Bayern
The Regionalliga Bayern () is the highest association football league in the state of Bavaria () and the Bavarian football league system. It is one of five Regionalligas in German football, the fourth tier of the German football league system, b ...
at the end of the 2014–15 season. It qualified for the
2015–16 DFB-Pokal where it knocked-out
FC Ingolstadt 04
Fußballclub Ingolstadt 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Ingolstadt 04 or FC Ingolstadt, is a German football club based in Ingolstadt, Bavaria. The club was founded in 2004 out of the merger of the football sides of two other clubs: ESV Ingolsta ...
and
RB Leipzig
RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V. (), commonly known as RB Leipzig or informally as Red Bull Leipzig, is a German professional association football, football club based in Leipzig, Saxony. The club was founded in 2009 by the initiative of the company ...
before losing to
Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It competes in the B ...
in the third round.
In the
2022–23 season, Unterhaching returned to the 3. Liga as champions of the
Regionalliga Bayern
The Regionalliga Bayern () is the highest association football league in the state of Bavaria () and the Bavarian football league system. It is one of five Regionalligas in German football, the fourth tier of the German football league system, b ...
.
Honours
The club's honours:
League
*
2. Bundesliga (II)
** Runners-up: 1998–99
*
Regionalliga Süd (III)
** Champions: 1994–95, 2002–03
*
Bayernliga (III)
** Champions: 1983, 1988, 1989, 1992
** Runners-up: 1991
*
Regionalliga Bayern
The Regionalliga Bayern () is the highest association football league in the state of Bavaria () and the Bavarian football league system. It is one of five Regionalligas in German football, the fourth tier of the German football league system, b ...
(IV)
** Champions: 2016–17,
2022–23
*
Landesliga Bayern-Süd (IV)
** Champions: 1981
** Runners-up: 2001
‡
*
Bezirksoberliga Oberbayern
The Bezirksoberliga Oberbayern was the seventh tier of the German football league system in the Bavarian ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Upper Bavaria (). Until the introduction of the 3. Liga in 2008 it was the sixth tier of the league system, until t ...
(VI)
** Champions: 1999
‡
Cup
*
Bavarian Cup
** Winners:
2008
2008 was designated as:
*International Year of Languages
*International Year of Planet Earth
*International Year of the Potato
*International Year of Sanitation
The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
, 2012,
2015
2015 was designated by the United Nations as:
* International Year of Light
* International Year of Soil __TOC__
Events
January
* January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
** Runners-up:
2016
2016 was designated as:
* International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly.
* International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
,
2025
So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...
* Oberbayern Cup
** Winners: 2004
‡, 2008, 2009
Youth
*
Bavarian Under 19 championship
** Champions: 2004, 2008, 2011
** Runners-up: 2007, 2015, 2016
*
Bavarian Under 17 championship
** Champions: 2002, 2004, 2011, 2016
** Runners-up: 2007, 2009
*
Bavarian Under 15 championship
** Champions: 2011
** Runners-up: 1993, 2004, 2006, 2013, 2015, 2016
*
‡ Reserve team
Friendships
The various fan groups maintain fan friendships with fans of
FC Ingolstadt 04
Fußballclub Ingolstadt 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Ingolstadt 04 or FC Ingolstadt, is a German football club based in Ingolstadt, Bavaria. The club was founded in 2004 out of the merger of the football sides of two other clubs: ESV Ingolsta ...
.
Players
First-team squad
Out on loan
Recent managers
Recent managers of the club:
Recent seasons
The recent season-by-season performance of the club:
[Das deutsche Fußball-Archiv]
Historical German domestic league tables. Retrieved 20 September 2014[Fussball.de – Ergebnisse]
Tables and results of all German football leagues. Retrieved 20 September 2014
*With the introduction of the
Regionalliga
A (, plural ) is a regional league in numerous Sports governing body, sports governing bodies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, usually located in the upper or middle tiers of the sports leagues.
The term is often associated with the Germa ...
s in 1994 and the
3. Liga
The 3. Liga is a professional association football league and the third division in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2. Bundesliga and the fourth-tier Regionalliga.
The modern 3. Liga was formed for t ...
in 2008 as the new third tier, below the
2. Bundesliga, all leagues below dropped one tier.
;Key
Reserve team
SpVgg Unterhaching II (or ''SpVgg Unterhaching Amateure'') belong to the Bayernliga since 2001, coming ninth in the 2007–08 season of this league. Due to a number of clubs in the league not receiving a licence for the Regionalliga, the team gained entry to the Regionalliga Süd for the 2008–09 season. The team returned to the Bayernliga again after being relegated in 2009.
In March 2015, the club announced that it would withdraw its reserve team at the end of the 2014–15 season after a rule change that allowed 3. Liga Clubs to do so. SpVgg Unterhaching stated financial reasons for this step.
Unterhaching meldet U23 aus Bayernliga ab
fupa.net, published: 10 March 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2015
Stadium
SpVgg Unterhaching's home stadium is the municipal Stadion am Sportpark (capacity 15,053), now known as Alpenbauer Sportpark under a sponsorship arrangement with the club. The club's fan base is local in character, although it has developed a small following as one of Germany's "Kult" teams.
Until 1960, Haching played their home matches at the Jahnstraße football field and moved then to the Grünauer Allee stadium, which has about 4,000 standing places and where they played before the Sportpark stadium opened in April 1992. The Grünauer Allee stadium is now home ground of the club's reserve squad, Haching II, which is currently playing in the fourth-division Oberliga Bayern.
The Grünauer Allee stadium is also the home ground of Fortuna Unterhaching, established in 1992 and playing close to the bottom end of the German league system. During winter, Fortuna Unterhaching shares the artificial football pitch owned by SpVgg Unterhaching.
Bobsleigh
In 1975, local entrepreneur and club sponsor Anton Schrobenhauser († 1982) founded the bobsleigh department, which he presided over until 1979. The club's bobsledders have since achieved a number of excellent results on the national and international level.
Numerous Olympic medals and world championship titles make Christoph Langen Unterhaching's outstanding bobsledder. His honours include:
*Olympics 2-man crew: 2002 (Gold); 1992, 1998 (Bronze)
*Olympics 4-man crew: 1998 (Gold)
*World champion 2-man crew: 1993, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001
*World champion 4-man crew: 1996, 2001
*World Cup 2-man crew: 1996, 1999, 2004
*World Cup 4-man crew: 1996, 1999
*European champion 2-man crew: 1994, 1995, 1996, 2001, 2004
*European champion 4-man crew: 1996, 1999
References
External links
*
*
SpVgg Unterhaching profile
at Weltfussball.de
{{DEFAULTSORT:Unterhaching, SpVgg
Association football clubs established in 1925
Football clubs in Germany
Football clubs in Bavaria
Multi-sport clubs in Germany
Football in Upper Bavaria
1925 establishments in Germany
Bundesliga clubs
Munich (district)
2. Bundesliga clubs
3. Liga clubs