FSV Zwickau

FSV Zwickau is a German association football club located in Zwickau, Saxony. Today's club claims as part of its complex heritage sides that were East Germany's first champions: 1948 Ostzone winners SG Planitz and 1950 DDR-Oberliga champions ZSG Horch Zwickau.

History

In addition to the earliest East German championship sides, current day club FSV Zwickau can name a long list of other local associations among its predecessors.

Planitzer Sportclub

Fusball-Club Planitz was established 27 April 1912 in a village of that name located south of Zwickau. On 28 August that year the team adopted the name Planitzer Sportclub and in 1918 was briefly known as Sportvereinigung Planitz, before again becoming SC on 2 February 1919. The club's first notable appearance was in the playoffs of the regional Mitteldeutschland (Central German) league in 1931 that saw them advance as far as the semi-finals.

Under the Nazis, German football was reorganized in 1933 into sixteen top-flight divisions known as Gauligen. Planitz played in the Gauliga Sachsen where they struggled early on, but improved steadily until in the early 1940s they regularly duelled rivals Dresdner SC for the division title, taking the prize in 1942. They advanced to the national level quarter finals where they were put out 2–3 by eventual vice-champions Vienna Wien. Through the late 1930s and early 1940s, Dresdner made several early round appearances in play for the Tschammerpokal, predecessor of today's DFB-Pokal (German Cup).

Ostzone winners in divided Germany

In the aftermath of World War II most German organizations, including sports and football clubs, were dissolved by the occupying Allied authorities. In 1945, the club became part of Sportgruppe Planitz, an association made up of several area clubs. Football competition quickly resumed throughout the country and SG emerged as champions of the Soviet-controlled Ostzone (East Zone) through a 1:0 victory over SG Freiimfel

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