SC Paderborn 07

Sport-Club Paderborn 07 e.V., commonly known as simply SC Paderborn 07 (pronounced [ʔɛs t͡seː paːdɐˈbɔʁn nʊl ziːbm̩]) or SC Paderborn, is a German association football club based in Paderborn, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club has enjoyed its greatest success since the turn of the millennium, becoming a mainstay in the 2. Bundesliga before securing promotion to the Bundesliga in the 2013–14 season. However, they got relegated to the 2. Bundesliga after only a season in the top division, and then again to the 3. Liga the season after. This relegation streak almost continued as low as the Regionalliga West, but were saved in the 2016-17 season because 1860 Munich were refused a license. The club returned to 2. Bundesliga, reaching 2nd place in the 2018–19 season and was promoted to the Bundesliga. The club finished 18th in the 2019–20 season and returned to the 2. Bundesliga.

SC Paderborn

Full name	Sport-Club Paderborn 07 e.V.
Founded	1907; 118 years ago (1907)
Ground	Benteler-Arena
Capacity	15,000
President	Elmar Volkmann
Head coach	Lukas Kwasniok
League	2. Bundesliga
2024–25	2. Bundesliga, 4th of 18
Website	scp07.de
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

History

Fusion into SC Paderborn

For most of the twentieth century, Paderborn had two football clubs: TuS Schloss Neuhaus and FC Paderborn, who remained rivals until the 1980s. After Neuhaus had been promoted to the 2. Bundesliga and finished last in 1983, this set-up had reached its athletic and financial ceiling. Thus, in 1985, the two clubs merged into TuS Paderborn/Neuhaus. In 1997, the club adopted its current identity by assuming the name SC Paderborn 07, named after TuS Neuhaus's founding date 1907.^[1]

Beginnings in amateur football (1985–2005)

During most of the 1980s, the recently merged club competed in the third-tier Oberliga Westfalen, where they counted among the leading teams but never achieved promotion. In 1994, Paderborn won the league and thereby qualified for the promotion playoffs. The team lost to Eintracht Braunschweig and Fortuna Düsseldorf, but secured a place in the newly formed third-tier of the German football pyramid, the Regionalliga West/Südwest. Except for a brief stint in the fourth tier, Paderborn enjoyed moderate success with regular trips to the DFB Pokal.^[2]

During one of these, in 2004/5, the club reached the round of 16, beating MSV Duisburg and Bundesliga side Hamburger SV on the way. It later emerged that latter match had been affected by match fixing; referee Robert Hoyzer had received a bribe to let Paderborn win the game. The incident remains the most significant betting scandal in the history of German football.^[3]

Coach André Breitenreiter in the 2013–14 promotion season

Consolidation in the 2. Bundesliga (2005–15)

Paderborn returned to the 2. Bundesliga for the first time in nearly thirty years at the end of the same season. The team's advance into professional football brought with it a professionalisation of its structures, and, in 2005, construction began on a new 15,000-seat stadium, which replaced the dated Hermann-Löns-Stadion. All of this helped to establish the club as a regular component of Germany's professional football landscape.^[4] This process culminated in the club's first promotion to the Bundesliga after the 2013/14 season under coach André Breitenreiter, who had only joined the club from TSV Havelse at the start of the season.^[5]

Bundesliga and years of turbulence (2015–present)

Having never been in the Bundesliga before, Paderborn were described as "the biggest outsider in Bundesliga history" going into the season. The team started well; in the fourth game of the campaign against Hannover 96, midfielder Moritz Stoppelkamp scored a volley from 83 metres out, headline a Bundesliga record for the furthest ever goal. This goal also put the team top of the Bundesliga table at the time.^[6]

Paderborn were 10th in the table at the halfway point, but suffered a number of heavy losses in the second half of the season. On the second last matchday of the season, they dropped to last place, and were relegated on the final day.^[7] Upon relegation, a number of key players such as Alban Meha, Mario Vrančić, Lukas Rupp, Marvin Ducksch and captain Uwe Hünemeier left the club, while coach Breitenreiter joined Schalke.

Starting the 2015–16 season with Markus Gellhaus in charge, Paderborn surprisingly gave former Germany international Stefan Effenberg his first coaching job in October 2015. In March, Effenberg was sacked, with the team bottom of the table and heading for a second consecutive relegation, which was later confirmed.^[8] Competing in the 3. Liga for the first time since 2009, Paderborn again found themselves at the bottom of the table. After Steffen Baumgart took over as coach in April, the team picked up 11 points from his five games in charge, but could not escape the relegation zone, finishing in 18th position. That should have been a third relegation in a row, this time to the non-professional Regionalliga West, but Paderborn were unexpectedly saved by 1860 Munich not receiving a license to play in the 3. Liga. 1860 Munich were forced to move to the Regionalliga Bayern, which allowed Paderborn to stay in the third tier.^[9]

Having been saved narrowly, Baumgart's team surprisingly finished second in the 2017–18 season and returned to the 2. Bundesliga. In 2019, a remarkable turn of events, the newly promoted side completed another top-two finish, which returned Paderborn to the Bundesliga after years of turbulence.^[10] The 2019–20 season, however, ended in the same way their first Bundesliga campaign did, as Paderborn finished last, meaning relegation back to the second tier in June 2020.^[11] The following season, Paderborn finished 9th in the 2. Bundesliga, the first time since 2012–13 that the club finished outside the promotion or relegation places.

Historical chart of Paderborn league performance

Recent seasons

Year	Division	Tier	Position
1985–86	Oberliga Westfalen	III	2nd
1986–87	Oberliga Westfalen		6th
1987–88	Oberliga Westfalen		8th
1988–89	Oberliga Westfalen		9th
1989–90	Oberliga Westfalen		2nd
1990–91	Oberliga Westfalen		8th
1991–92	Oberliga Westfalen		5th
1992–93	Oberliga Westfalen		5th
1993–94	Oberliga Westfalen		1st
1994–95	Regionalliga West/Südwest		9th
1995–96	Regionalliga West/Südwest		5th
1996–97	Regionalliga West/Südwest		10th
1997–98	Regionalliga West/Südwest		9th
1998–99	Regionalliga West/Südwest		7th
1999–00	Regionalliga West/Südwest		13th ↓
2000–01	Oberliga Westfalen	IV	1st ↑
2001–02	Regionalliga Nord	III	14th
2002–03	Regionalliga Nord		8th
2003–04	Regionalliga Nord		3rd
2004–05	Regionalliga Nord		2nd ↑
2005–06	2. Bundesliga	II	9th
2006–07	2. Bundesliga		11th
2007–08	2. Bundesliga		17th ↓
2008–09	3. Liga	III	3rd ↑
2009–10	2. Bundesliga	II	5th
2010–11	2. Bundesliga		12th
2011–12	2. Bundesliga		5th
2012–13	2. Bundesliga		12th
2013–14	2. Bundesliga		2nd ↑
2014–15	Bundesliga	I	18th ↓
2015–16	2. Bundesliga	II	18th ↓
2016–17	3. Liga	III	18th
2017–18	3. Liga		2nd ↑
2018–19	2. Bundesliga	II	2nd ↑
2019–20	Bundesliga	I	18th ↓
2020–21	2. Bundesliga	II	9th
2021–22	2. Bundesliga		7th
2022–23	2. Bundesliga		6th
2023–24	2. Bundesliga		7th
2024–25	2. Bundesliga		4th
2025–26	2. Bundesliga

Players

Current squad

As of 4 February 2025^[12]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  GER Manuel Riemann 4 DF  GER Calvin Brackelmann 5 MF  USA Santiago Castañeda 6 MF  GER Marvin Mehlem (on loan from Hull City) 7 FW  GER Filip Bilbija 11 FW  GER Sven Michel 12 GK  GER Florian Pruhs 17 DF  GER Laurin Curda 19 MF  GER Luca Herrmann 20 MF  GER Felix Götze 21 MF  GER Anton Bäuerle 22 MF  GER Mattes Hansen 23 MF  GER Raphael Obermair (captain)

No. Pos. Nation Player 24 MF  FIN Casper Terho (on loan from Union SG) 25 DF  GER Tjark Scheller 26 MF  GER Sebastian Klaas 29 FW  GER Ilyas Ansah 30 GK  GER Markus Schubert 32 DF  GER Aaron Zehnter 33 DF  GER Marcel Hoffmeier 35 GK  GER Arne Schulz 36 FW  GER Felix Platte 39 FW  GER Adriano Grimaldi 40 MF  GER Niclas Nadj 44 MF  GER Medin Kojic

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  GER David Kinsombi (at Preußen Münster until 30 June 2025) — FW  GER Mika Baur (at Dynamo Dresden until 30 June 2025)

No. Pos. Nation Player — FW  NED Koen Kostons (at Kortrijk until 30 June 2025)

SC Paderborn II

As of 15 January 2025^[13]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  GER Florian Pruhs 2 DF  GER Julius Bugenhagen 3 DF  GER Tom Wulf 4 DF  GER Kevin Krumme 5 DF  GER Tim Böhmer 7 FW  GER Joel Vega Zambrano 8 MF  GER Adrian Bravo Sanchez 9 FW  GER Marlon Lakämper 11 FW  GER Georg Ermolaev 12 GK  GER Jens Balzukat 13 DF  GER David Stamm 14 MF  GER Anton Bäuerle 15 DF  GER Martin Ens 16 MF  GER Arne Zajaczek

No. Pos. Nation Player 18 FW  GER Julius Langfeld 19 FW  GER Kevin Gleissner 20 FW  NED Travis de Jong 21 MF  GER Milan Hoffmeister 22 DF  GER Luis Flörke 23 DF  GER Tristan Zobel 24 MF  GER Jascha Brandt 25 MF  GER Marco Pledl 26 MF  GER Niclas Nadj 27 MF  GER Medin Kojic 29 FW  GER Henrik Koch 30 GK  GER Nico Willeke 38 MF  GER Max Ritter

Coaches

• Günther Rybarczyk (1993–2001)
• Uwe Erkenbrecher (2001–2003)
• Pavel Dochev (2003–2005)
• Jos Luhukay (2005–2006)
• Holger Fach (2007–2008)
• Pavel Dochev (2008–2009)
• André Schubert (2009–2011)
• Roger Schmidt (2011–2012)
• Stephan Schmidt (2012–2013)
• André Breitenreiter (2013–2015)
• Stefan Effenberg (2015–2016)
• René Müller (2016)
• Florian Fulland (2016) (interim)
• Stefan Emmerling (2016–2017)
• Steffen Baumgart (2017–2021)
• Lukas Kwasniok (2021–)