Club Friendly List | 07/10 16:00 | - |
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Germany Bundesliga II | 08/03 11:30 | 1 |
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Germany Bundesliga II | 08/10 11:30 | 2 |
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Germany DFB Pokal | 08/15 18:45 | 7 |
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Germany Bundesliga II | 08/24 11:30 | 3 |
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Germany Bundesliga II | 08/31 11:30 | 4 |
Addison/Sookton-Eng
vs
Arminia Bielefeld ![]() |
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Europe Friendlies | 07/05 12:00 | - |
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D | 2-2 | |
Germany DFB Pokal | 05/24 18:00 | 1 |
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L | 2-4 | |
Germany 3. Liga | 05/17 11:30 | 38 |
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W | 1-0 | |
Germany 3. Liga | 05/11 11:30 | 37 |
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W | 1-2 | |
Germany 3. Liga | 05/03 14:30 | 36 |
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D | 1-1 | |
Germany 3. Liga | 04/27 11:30 | 35 |
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W | 0-3 | |
Germany 3. Liga | 04/19 12:00 | 34 |
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W | 4-0 | |
Germany 3. Liga | 04/13 17:30 | 33 |
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W | 0-2 | |
Germany 3. Liga | 04/08 17:00 | 32 |
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W | 4-2 | |
Germany 3. Liga | 04/05 14:30 | 31 |
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W | 0-1 | |
Germany DFB Pokal | 04/01 18:45 | 2 |
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W | 2-1 | |
Germany 3. Liga | 03/29 15:30 | 30 |
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D | 2-2 |
Total | Home | Away | |
---|---|---|---|
Matches played | 52 | 31 | 21 |
Wins | 32 | 20 | 12 |
Draws | 11 | 7 | 4 |
Losses | 9 | 4 | 5 |
Goals for | 98 | 68 | 30 |
Goals against | 47 | 31 | 16 |
Clean sheets | 21 | 10 | 11 |
Failed to score | 8 | 2 | 6 |
DSC Arminia Bielefeld (pronounced [ˌdeːʔɛsˈtseː ʔaʁˈmiːni̯a ˈbiːləfɛlt]; full name: Deutscher Sportclub Arminia Bielefeld e.V. [ˈdɔʏtʃɐ ˈʃpɔʁtklʊp ʔaʁˈmiːni̯a ˈbiːləfɛlt]; commonly known as Arminia Bielefeld (German pronunciation: [aʁˌmiːnia ˈbiːləfɛlt] ), also known as Die Arminen [diː ˈʔaʁmiːnən] or Die Blauen [diː ˈblaʊən]), or just Arminia (pronounced [aʁˌmiːnia] ), is a German sports club from Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia.
Arminia is best known as a professional football club, having competed in the first tier of German football, the Bundesliga, for a total of 19 seasons. The club participates in the 2. Bundesliga, after being promoted from the 3. Liga at the end of the 2024–25 season. The club also offers field hockey, figure skating and cue sports departments. The club colours are black, white and blue.
Arminia have played home games at the Bielefelder Alm Stadium since 1926. The stadium's current capacity of 27,332 consists of space for 7,940 in terracing and 19,392 seats. Since 2004, the stadium has been named SchücoArena through a sponsorship deal. The club's supporters primarily originate from the Ostwestfalen-Lippe region, and supporters' groups primarily congregate in Bielefelder Alm's south stand during matches. Arminia's longest-standing rivalry is with SC Preußen Münster.
The club won two West German Championships, in 1922 and 1923. Other successful periods include the 1980s and 2000s, when the club played for five consecutive years in the Bundesliga in each decade. Arminia have earned a reputation as a yo-yo club, or Fahrstuhlmannschaft, for their regular promotions and relegations. They had prolonged spells in regional third-tier football in the 1950s and early 1990s, but have also been promoted to the Bundesliga eight times, and most recently played in the Bundesliga in 2021–22. The team reached the final of the DFB-Pokal for the first time in 2025, but lost 4–2 to Stuttgart.
Arminia Bielefeld was founded on 3 May 1905 as 1. Bielefelder FC Arminia. The fourteen men who founded the club were from the local bourgeoisie. Arminia's name derives from the Cheruscan chieftain Arminius, who defeated a Roman army in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. Two weeks later, the club played its first match against a team from Osnabrück. Neither the name of the opponent nor the result are known. The club was admitted to the German Football Association in the same year and started to play in a league (in one consisting only of Arminia and three teams from Osnabrück, at first) in 1906. In 1907, local rivals FC Siegfried joined Arminia, a move which strengthened Arminia's squad. Soon other clubs from Bielefeld joined League football.
After playing on various grounds, Arminia moved to a new home at the Pottenau in 1910. Their first league championship came during the 1912–13 season, when they won the Westphalian championship beating BV 04 Dortmund 5–1 in the final. The outbreak of World War I interrupted Arminia's rise, and between 1914 and 1918 the club played at the district level.
In 1919, Arminia merged with Bielefelder Turngemeinde 1848 to form TG Arminia Bielefeld. However, the two merged teams dissolved the merger in 1922 and both parent clubs were formed again. Arminia won the West German championship in 1922. Originally, they were level on points with Kölner BC 01, but Köln fielded an ineligible player in one match.[] Arminia played for the first time in the German Championships, but were eliminated in the quarter-finals after losing 5–0 to FC Wacker München. In 1923, Arminia won their second West German championship in a dramatic way.[] They trailed TuRU Düsseldorf 3–1 at half time of the final, but came from behind to win 4–3 after extra time. Arminia faced Union Oberschöneweide in the quarter-finals of the German championships. The match ended goalless, so a replay was held. Arminia led 1–0 and conceded the equalizer in injury time. The Berlin side won the match after extra time. Walter Claus-Oehler became Arminia's first player to win a cap in the German national team. Arminia won further Westphalian titles from 1924 to 1927, but were unable to repeat their success in the West German Championships. An away match against SC Preußen Münster in November 1925, which Arminia won 5–0, was the first football match to be broadcast on German Radio. On 30 January 1926, the club took its current name Deutscher Sportclub Arminia Bielefeld. Their next piece of silverware was won in 1932 by winning the Westphalian cup.
In 1933, Arminia qualified for the Gauliga Westfalen, from which they were relegated after the inaugural season. Three attempts of gaining promotion failed before their return to the top flight was won in 1938. Their best performance in the Gauliga was the 1939–40 campaign, where Arminia finished second. Two years later, Arminia was one of only two teams to win a match at Schalke 04. On 25 July 1943 Arminia merged with local rivals VfB 03 Bielefeld. The merger finished the 1943–44 season in last place.
After World War II, a new league with all teams who competed in the Gauliga Westfalen was formed. Arminia were relegated and were unable to win re-promotion. In 1947–48, Arminia were a third division side for the first time in their history. After a dominating season in the Bezirksklasse,[] Arminia was docked 14 points because they fielded an ineligible player. The next season was already under way when the Landesliga (II) was expanded by two teams. Arminia took their chance,[] won the league and gained promotion to the Oberliga West.
Arminia's time in the Oberliga lasted only one season. Arminia beat Schalke 04 4–2 at home but finished only second from the bottom. In 1954, Arminia were even relegated to the third tier, the "Landesliga Westfalen, Gruppe Ostwestfalen", a league only covering the north-eastern part of Westphalia. In 1956, Arminia qualified for a new third tier, the "Verbandsliga Westfalen, Gruppe Ostwestfalen", which encompassed a slightly larger area.
In 1962 Arminia become a second division side again (then: 2. Liga West, covering the whole of North Rhine-Westphalia). In 1962–63 they finished in seventh place to secure a spot in the newly formed Regionalliga West, which was situated directly below the new Bundesliga.
Arminia finished their first season in mid-table, but recorded a top-half finish in four of the following five seasons. In 1966, Arminia beat Alemannia Aachen to win the West German Cup for the first time. The following year, the forward Ernst Kuster joined the team. He went on to become the club's all-time leading goalscorer, until Fabian Klos beat his record more than half a century later. A 1–0 loss to Wuppertaler SV on the last day of the 1966–67 season stopped Arminia entering the Bundesliga promotion play-offs. Arminia were runners-up in the 1969–70 season, and won their first promotion to the Bundesliga after a 2–0 win at Tennis Borussia Berlin in the play-offs.
Halfway through their first Bundesliga season, Arminia were in 17th place, a relegation position, but went on to finish the season in 14th. However, near the end of the season, Horst-Gregorio Canellas revealed that Arminia had engaged in match-fixing; three of the ten Bundesliga games proven by the DFB to have been manipulated through bribery directly involved Arminia.[] Two players at the club were banned from football for life (Waldemar Słomiany and Jürgen Neumann).[] Arminia participated in the 1971–72 Bundesliga season while the investigation was ongoing, but were ultimately found guilty of match-fixing by the DFB and were denied a licence and forcibly relegated at the conclusion. Arminia finished mid-table in the following seasons, but did qualify for the newly formed 2. Bundesliga in 1974.
After returning to the 2. Bundesliga in 1974, Arminia became Herbstmeister during the 1976–77 2. Bundesliga season, but finished as runners-up behind St. Pauli and faced 1860 Munich in a two-legged promotion play-off. Arminia won the first match at home 4–0, but lost the second leg in Munich, also 4–0. A third match had to be played in Frankfurt, which Munich won 2–0.
The team recovered to win promotion to the Bundesliga for the 1978–79 season. Under the management of Otto Rehhagel, they won 4–0 at Bayern Munich on 10 March 1979, but finished in 16th place, unable to avoid relegation. The club kept the team together and were immediately promoted back to the Bundesliga after a record-breaking 1979–80 season. They won 30 of 38 matches, scored 120 goals, had a 28 match unbeaten streak and set a league record by beating Arminia Hannover 11–0.
Arminia had difficulty avoiding relegation, but stayed in the Bundesliga for five years. This period included two eighth-place finishes at the end of the 1982–83 and 1983–84 seasons, which remain Arminia's best finshes in the Bundesliga. Arminia also took part in the UEFA Intertoto Cup three times.
In August 1981, the Arminia Bielefeld midfielder Ewald Lienen was the victim of what the press referred to as "the most brutal foul in Bundesliga history". Werder Bremen's defender Norbert Siegmann slashed Lienen's right thigh in a tackle, exposing his muscles and femur. Attendances declined in the mid-1980s, increasing the club's financial problems. In 1984–85, Arminia finished third from bottom, and lost a relegation play-off against 1. FC Saarbrücken.
By the autumn of 1987, Arminia had debts of 4.5 million Marks.[] In 1987–88 they finished in last place in the 2. Bundesliga and were relegated into the Oberliga Westfalen. Ernst Middendorp became the new manager and assembled a young team for the next season. Arminia finished second in the Oberliga in 1988–89. They won the Oberliga a year later, but failed to advance after promotion play-offs against VfB Oldenburg and TSV Havelse. Four seasons of not qualifying for the 2. Bundesliga promotion play-offs followed, in which the team started well, but were unable to compete for the championship. In 1991, Arminia won the Westphalian Cup, the regional qualification cup for the DFB-Pokal, and beat FSV Mainz 05 in the first round of the 1991-92 DFB-Pokal.
In the spring of 1994, Arminia signed the veteran Bundesliga players Thomas von Heesen, Armin Eck and Fritz Walter. Arminia struggled at first but went on to become champions of the newly formed Regionalliga West/Südwest to end a run of seven seasons in local league football. They were then runners-up in the 1995–96 2. Bundesliga. Arminia signed Stefan Kuntz for the 1996–97 Bundesliga season, their first in 11 years and finished in 14th position.
In 1997, the club signed the first two Iranian Bundesliga players, Ali Daei and Karim Bagheri. In addition, the former SK Brann player Geirmund Brendesæter was signed and played 13 matches for the club. However, after a poor run after the winter break, Arminia were relegated shortly after Brendesæter had left the club. Bruno Labbadia became the league's top scorer with 28 goals during the 1998–99 season and the club immediately regained promotion to the Bundesliga by winning the 2. Bundesliga. The club entered the 1999–2000 season with a smaller budget due to financial problems and was subsequently relegated after becoming the third team in history to lose ten matches in a row.
Arminia struggled against relegation again the next season and avoided to drop into the Regionalliga with a 13th-place finish. In the following year, Arminia won their sixth promotion to the Bundesliga in 2001–02, with Artur Wichniarek scoring 18 goals. Arminia were unable to avoid relegation the following season, earning only two points from the last six matches.
The team earned promotion to the Bundesliga again in 2003–04, with Ghanaian striker Isaac Boakye scoring 14 goals in his debut season. They stayed in the top flight until 2009. In 2004–05, Patrick Owomoyela became Arminia's most capped German player with his third appearance for the national team. Owomoyela went on to appear in 6 national team matches at Bielefeld, a club record that still stands as of 2024. Both Owomoyela and Delron Buckley, scorer of 15 Bundesliga goals during the 2004–05 season, departed the club. In the DFB-Pokal, Arminia reached the semi-finals in 2005 and 2006. In both seasons, Arminia also kept away from the relegation zone virtually the whole time (except the season's beginnings). The campaign "Aktion 5000 +" began to in an effort to increase club membership beyond their 5,000th member, after reaching the 5,000th member milestone at the end of 2005. The 2007 demolition of the East Stand drew the attention of fans and the local media, with the club establishing a webcam to follow the project, as well as a daily attendance of roughly 300 fans to witness the works. The East Stand was notable at the time as being the last terraced stand along the touch line.
Players from the 2004–05 and the 2005–06 season departed the club, including Fatmir Vata and Heiko Westermann in 2007, Mathias Hain, Sibusiso Zuma and Petr Gabriel in 2008. Arminia avoided relegation during the 2006–07 season in part by winning four matches from the 30th to the 33rd matchday, led by manager Ernst Middendorp. The 2007–08 season began with the club winning 3 of its first 5 matches, resulting in the club being in second place by the fifth matchday. Despite this second place start, Arminia recorded its second largest Bundesliga defeat three matchdays later with an 8:1 away loss to Werder Bremen. Relegation was avoided only on the final matchday with 34 points due to 1. FC Nürnberg losing at home while Arminia drew against VfB Stuttgart.
The following season, Arminia finished in last place and were relegated to the 2. Bundesliga.
Players Rüdiger Kauf, Dennis Eilhoff, Jonas Kamper and Radim Kučera remained a part of the squad for the 2009–10 2. Bundesliga season. On 16 March 2010, Arminia were deducted four points for breaching the DFL's licensing regulations. Arminia were in 5th place prior to the point deduction, and finished the season in 7th place. their chances of promotion. The financial situation worsened, especially as costs for constructing the East Stand had proven to be much higher than originally planned for in 2007. The coach, the managing director and the club's president were replaced in the summer break. The 2010–11 season started with Arminia in last place after 11 matchdays, having earned only 4 points. In November manager Christian Ziege was let go and replaced by Ewald Lienen, former Bielefeld player and member of the fan-voted "Best XI" of all time. However, Arminia picked up 16 points and won only four games all season resulting in a last place finish and relegation to the 3. Liga.
A new team had to be formed with players formerly unknown in Bielefeld who would leave their mark[] on the following seasons: Patrick Platins, Manuel Hornig, Tom Schütz, Sebastian Hille, Thomas Hübener, Patrick Schönfeld, Johannes Rahn and from the second half of the season onwards[] especially Fabian Klos who would coin a whole era.[] Another formative player,[] Stefan Ortega Moreno, joined from the club's youth. After a poor start,[] they ended the 2011–12 season in 13th place. They also won the Westphalia Cup, in a final against arch rival SC Preußen Münster. By reaching the final, they also qualified for the 2012–13 DFB-Pokal, where they beat SC Paderborn 07, a team playing in the 2. Bundesliga, but lost in the second round in a close match against Bayer 04 Leverkusen, a Europa League participant. On 11 May 2013, Bielefeld beat VfL Osnabrück 1–0 to guarantee a top two finish and promotion back to the 2. Bundesliga for the 2013–14 season.
That season began quite hopeful:[] Arminia qualified for the second round of the DFB-Pokal again and at the 8th matchday they had even climbed up to the 3rd rank in the league table. But after a disastrous[] autumn and a mediocre[] winter Arminia fell down onto the 17th rank and the popular[] coach Stefan Krämer – the first manager having held office for more than two years since 2004 – had to leave. His successor Norbert Meier at first had only little more success:[] Arminia finished 16th in the 2. Bundesliga, and lost a playoff against SV Darmstadt 98 on away goals after a 122nd minute (extra time) goal gave Darmstadt the victory. Arminia had to go[] back into the 3. Liga.
But the next season could wipe out[] the bitterness[] of that disaster:[] In the 2014–15 DFB-Pokal, as a 3. Liga club, Arminia reached the semi-finals by defeating three Bundesliga teams (Hertha BSC, SV Werder Bremen and VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach). They also were the top team in the 3. Liga (after a bad beginning[] with only four points from the first four matches) for most part of the season. After the loss against VfL Wolfsburg in the semi-final of the DFB-Pokal, Arminia seemed to have lost their ability[] to win their matches in the 3. Liga as well. Even the qualification for the 2. Bundesliga seemed to become doubtful,[] but was secured after a 2–2 draw against SSV Jahn Regensburg, the last team in the league table, at the 37th matchday. Liberated from the pressure of a possible non-qualification,[] they also won the 3. Liga with a final 1–0 victory at the last matchday.
A stable season[] with a defeat in the first round of the DFB-Pokal, a lot of[] draws in the league (especially in the beginning: eight out of ten matches; in the end Arminia reached a record of 18) and only very few[] goals scored at home (only eight until the 30th matchday) followed so that the 4–2 over Greuther Fürth at the 31st matchday which secured Arminia's staying up was only Arminia's third win at home. That season's highlights probably[] were the draws against all three top teams away. In the league table Arminia never went deeper than rank 14 and finished 12th.
After the season, the coach Norbert Meier was bought by SV Darmstadt 98. A difficult[] 2016–17 season with two manager sackings followed.[] Arminia found themselves[] among the lowest four teams in the league table from the fourth matchday onwards, mostly on the 16th or 17th rank. On the other hand, Arminia reached the quarter-final in the DFB-Pokal. They avoided relegation as they finished in 15th after a 6–0 win over promotion candidate Eintracht Braunschweig and a 1–1 against Dynamo Dresden at the last two matchdays.
The 2017–18 season turned out easier. Having gathered 10 points out of the first four matches, Arminia hardly ever left the upper half of the league table (only at the 19th matchday: rank 10) and finished on the 4th rank – though in that season's very close league table this never meant much.[] In that season, Arminia also made a big step[] in lowering its debts through an alliance of sponsors and Fabian Klos replaced Ernst Kuster as the club's all-time top scorer.
In November 2018, Arminia were practically[] free of debt but had to sell its stadium. The team faced a more difficult situation when December started: Having gained less than one point per match on average, only the weakness of the competing relegation candidates kept them up and they were already out of the DFB-Pokal after a 0–3 defeat at home against MSV Duisburg – another relegation candidate – in the second round. Thus, the popular[] coach Jeff Saibene was replaced by Uwe Neuhaus, who managed Arminia back into mid table within four matchdays and into 7th place by the last matchday.
The 2019–20 season would turn out even better.[] When Arminia had climbed on the 3rd rank of the league table after a 2–0 victory away against Hannover 96 – who were originally regarded[] as a promotion candidate – at the 6th matchday, hardly anyone guessed[] they would stay in the promotion area of the league table for the rest of the season. They had just reached the second rank of the league table when they met FC Schalke 04 in the 2nd round of the DFB-Pokal on 29 October. In spite of Schalke clearly dominating[] the match in the first 70 minutes, Arminia thrilled[] the supporters in the last 20 minutes by scoring two goals and only closely missing extra time. They finished the 15th matchday on 1 December on the first rank of the league table where they would stay for the rest of the season in spite of competing with Hamburger SV and VfB Stuttgart who were originally estimated[] as main promotion candidates. After Arminia's 1–1 draw in Stuttgart on 9 March 2020, the season was interrupted because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even this interruption did not affect them: they finished the season with 68 points – 10 points more than VfB Stuttgart who finished 2nd. The promotion meant the club equalled the record for most promotions to the Bundesliga with their eighth promotion, a record they hold jointly with 1. FC Nürnberg.
In the 2020–21 season, they were the team with the lowest budget in the Bundesliga. After a defeat in the first round of the DFB-Pokal they had a quite promising[] start in the Bundesliga season, but from the 4th matchday onwards they could be found among the last five teams in the league table, from the 6th matchday onwards amongst the last four teams. In March, the popular[] manager Uwe Neuhaus was replaced by Frank Kramer. A 2–0 win over VfB Stuttgart on the final matchday secured their spot in the 2020–21 Bundesliga. They finished the 2021–22 season in 17th place and were relegated to the 2. Bundesliga. The following season, Arminia finished in 16th place, and lost the relegation playoff to Wehen Wiesbaden, recording back-to-back relegations. In their fourth season in the 3. Liga, team captain Fabian Klos announced his retirement from professional football, thus also ending his 13-year history with the club.
In 2025, the team reached the final of the DFB-Pokal for the first time after defeating previous champion Bayer Leverkusen 2–1. They were the first third division club to do since 2001, and the first such team to knock out four higher ranked Bundesliga teams in one season. Their American captain Mael Corboz in particular received international attention. They lost the final 4–2 to Stuttgart.