60 years of Bundesliga
Club-by-club historical guide: Unterhaching
Unterhaching's stay in the Bundesliga didn't last long, but it produced a seismic moment in German football.
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SpVgg Unterhaching
Years in Bundesliga: 2 (1999-2001)
Most appearances: Danny Schwarz (68)
Most goals: Andre Breitenreiter (15)
Youngest player: Gerhard Tremmel (21 years, four months, 22 days)
Unterhaching is the smallest town to play host to Bundesliga football, being a suburb of the city of Munich. They steadily climbed the pyramid over the years before finally reaching the top level in 1999 and competing alongside local big boys Bayern Munich and 1860 Munich.
They exceeded all expectations, beating the likes of Borussia Dortmund and Schalke to finish above them both in a proud 10th. Their most famous win, however, was against Bayer Leverkusen on the final day of the 1999/2000 campaign.
Bayer only had to avoid defeat to be champions, with DFB representatives present at the Sportpark Unterhaching with the Meisterschale, but Die Werkself lost 2-0 after a Michael Ballack own goal that ultimately handed the title to Bayern, playing on the other side of Munich against Werder Bremen, who only lifted a replica trophy.
Even though they got famous home wins against both city rivals in the next season, they were relegated in 16th. That was followed by a second consecutive drop down to the Regionalliga. Haching had a mini recovery of four years back in Bundesliga 2, but have spent most of the last two decades in the third and fourth tiers. They are the only other club in Germany alongside Dortmund to be floated on the stock exchange.
Unable to compete long term with their bigger Munich neighbours, Unterhaching have turned themselves into a club that focuses on producing young players. Current Bundesliga players who first emerged at Haching include Karim Adeyemi, Janik Haberer and Florian Niederlechner, while Bastian Schweinsteiger’s brother Tobias (now coach of newly promoted Bundesliga 2 side Osnabrück) spent two years there.
It’s also been a springboard for a number of coaches, such as Ralph Hasenhüttl, Heiko Herrlich, Manuel Baum and, most recently, Sandro Wagner.
>>> Discover many more memorable moments and records in the Bundesliga's 60-year history!