SC Paderborn
SC Paderborn 07 can trace its roots rights back to 1907 when one of its many predecessor clubs was founded. The club we know today was formed in 1985 following a merger of two local sides and adopted its current name in 1997. Between then and 2005 Paderborn played in regional leagues and for the last 12 years, apart from one season in the Bundesliga, has moved between the 2nd and 3rd divisions.
In 2016/17 the club came very close to making history as the first football club to drop from the Bundesliga to the fourth division in three successive seasons. Having earned promotion to the Bundesliga for the first time in 2013/14 Paderborn endured a miserable season in the top division, finished bottom and dropped straight back into the 2 Bundesliga. In 2015/16 the misery continued, and Paderborn came bottom again. A third successive relegation in 2016/17 was avoided despite finishing in 18th place yet again because 1860 München, having been relegated from 2 Bundesliga, failed to meet DFB financial deadlines. As a result, the Bavarian club was refused a professional licence and put into a Regionalliga. This allowed Paderborn to hang onto league status.
So how did this happen? First of all the rise and rise of a small provincial club excited football romantics everywhere. Talented coaches like Andre Schubert, Roger Schmidt and Andre Breitenreiter all took their first steps into leadership at the Benteler Arena. And of course success breeds from success. As the club rose through the leagues, attendance and income from TV rose. This led to financial stability and the ability to attract and keep talented players. And this cycle continued until Paderborn finally broke into the top tier.
That first and only season in the Bundesliga began well – after four matches they were top, and they ended the first half of the season in tenth place. A second year of Bundesliga football seemed a definite possibility. But then it all started to go wrong. Paderborn never really recovered from a disastrous start to the Rückrunde losing 5:0 away to Mainz and 3:0 at home to Hamburg. The club was to only win three games in the entire second half of the season. Finishing bottom meant relegation to the second division.
An inevitable loss of talent followed. Coach Andre Breitenreiter, who had steered Paderborn into the Bundesliga, was signed by FC Schalke 04 and several top players moved to first division clubs. New coach Gellhaus lacked experience at this level, and also the resources to attract and retain good players. After a weak start to the season, Gellhaus was then replaced by former Borussia Mönchengladbach star Stefan Effenberg. His reign began with a 7:1 defeat to Dortmund in the cup and ended after a run of 12 games without a win. By this time Paderborn was back in the relegation zone. Effenberg’s assistant, Rene Müller, then took over but he was unable to stop the rot. Paderborn finished bottom and dropped down a division for the second successive year.
Life in the third division followed a similar pattern. Experienced and talented players left, and the club struggled to afford replacements. By November the club was just outside the relegation zone once more and sacked Müller. Stefan Emmerling became Paderborn’s fourth coach in 18 months. At first, there appeared to be an improvement in Paderborn’s fortunes, but fans’ hopes were very short-lived, and their club ended the season at the bottom of the league yet again.
Despite the last minute reprieve provided by 1860 München, Paderborn’s position remained extremely precarious. Average attendance in 2016/17 was down to 5,500 (compared to 15,000 in the Bundesliga season and 11,000 the following year). TV income, which was 18 million euros in the Bundesliga has dropped to 737,000 euros. The club required a loan from the sponsors of the Benteler Arena just to stay afloat.
But somehow Paderborn have managed to bounce back yet again. They finished the 2017/18 season in second place, just two points behind champions Magdeburg and 14 points clear of the third-placed Karlsruhe. So Paderborn begin the next season back in the 2 Bundesliga.
Stadium
The Benteler-Arena was opened in 2008. It has a capacity of 15,000, with 5,800 seats and 9,200 standing places. All parts of the ground are covered.
Tickets
Standing tickets cost 10 euros and seats cost between 20 and 27 euros. You can buy them at the Online Ticket Shop and at the club shop.
Directions
You can get to Paderborn from Düsseldorf in about 2.5 hours. The cheapest way to travel is to buy a Schöner Tag Ticket. It costs 30 euros for one person and 44 euros for up to five. It lets you travel for a whole day (after 9 am) right across North Rhine-Westfalia and on any train except Intercity, EC and Thalys.
The journey from Hannover takes about 1 hour 50 minutes. The cheapest way to travel is to buy a Quer-Durchs-Land-Ticket. This will cost 44 euros for one person and an extra 8 euros for each of up to four additional travellers. You can use it on any train for a whole day (after 9 am) except Intercity, EC and Thalys.
Your match ticket entitles you to free local bus travel from the town centre to the stadium. The number 68 towards “Schöne Aussicht” will take there from the station in about 15 minutes. You get off at “Arena/Almeaue”