SVWW narrow defeat to Champions in season finale
Pros |
History: They don't come much more tradition-steeped than Hannover 96, who celebrated their 120-year anniversary in 2016. The Reds' roots can be traced back to April 1896 and – as was custom back in those days – it was a group of school pupils who founded the Hannoverscher Fußball-Club von 1896. In December that same year, the youths who were interested in football started to chronicle the club's history. What is remarkable is that this work has been continued right through to the present day by the successors of the founding fathers. The 96ers' greatest successes include two German championship titles (1938 and 1954) and the 1992 DFB Cup.
The stadium: For many years, the Hannover 96 senior squad played their home games at the Eilenriedestadion. Their youth teams still play at the ground to this day, but the pros began to regularly play their home games at the Niedersachsenstadion in the 1960s. The venue, whose naming rights were later sold to the HDI Group in 2013, boasts a capacity of 49,200 and has played host to several major football events – including five matches at the 2006 World Cup.
The coach: Kenan Kocak was a defensive midfielder who played for several clubs including Waldhof Mannheim – and he went on to become their head coach. The tactician was then the boss of SV Sandhausen for 82 matches before being named Mirko Slomka's successor at Hannover 96 in November last year. Results have been mixed under Kocak's leadership, with Hannover picking up two victories, one draw and three defeats.
Head-to-head record: The reverse fixture at the BRITA-Arena, which SVWW lost by a 3-0 scoreline, was the first meeting between the two clubs in any competition. That said, they did go head to head in a friendly in Belek during their 2016 winter training camp, with Hannover emerging 2-1 victors.