SK Vorwärts Steyr is an Austrian association football club based in Steyr. It was founded in 1919. They play at the Vorwärts Stadium. Currently the club has about 500 members. Is one of the oldest football clubs in Upper Austria. In 1999 the club went bankrupt and reformed in lower leagues later in 2001. In 2011 Vorwärts was promoted to the Regional League (Middle) which is part of the third division of Austrian league football. In 2018 they were promoted to the Austrian Second League.

SK Vorwärts Steyr
SK Vorwärts Steyr logo
Full nameSportklub Vorwärts Steyr
Founded1919; 105 years ago (1919)
GroundVorwärts Stadium
Capacity5,800
ChairmanMarkus Knasmüller
ManagerMarkus Eitl
LeagueRegionalliga Mitte
2023-24Regionalliga Mitte, 10th of 16

History

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Historical chart of SK Vorwärts league performance

The club was founded as Steyrer Fußballklub Vorwärts with the club colours of red and white, the official founding ceremony was held at the Casino Steyr on 14 April 1919. The first match of Vorwärts Steyr was on 15 June 1919 in Linz against Linzer ASK (result 2–2). Already in its first year, the club won the Upper Austrian League; a national league did not exist at that time. In 1949 after dominating the state leagues, they managed to get to the Austrian Cup final which was held in Vienna against Austria Vienna which they lost 2–5, however reaching the final is still considered a major success even to this day. In the 1960s and 1970s, the club spent all its time in the Regionalliga Mitte or the Upper Austrian League. This twenty-year dry spell ended in 1979, when they returned to the Second Division. From 1982 Vorwärts established themselves in the second division until in 1988, after 37 years, when they gained promotion to the highest Austrian league, the Bundesliga where the club remained until 1996. The early-1990s saw the club reach its best ever league position in the 1990/91 and 1991/92 seasons, seventh place in the table. In 1995 they played in the Intertoto Cup and won the group stage remaining unbeaten (2–1 away win against Eintracht Frankfurt) and missed out on the UEFA Cup qualifiers only after an away defeat to Racing Strasbourg. By 1995 the club was deeply in debt with about 15 million shillings owed, so they required a bailout in the form of a guarantee from the town of Steyr. The bitter 0–2 defeat against LASK Linz on 29 May 1999 sealed the relegation from the top flight. Finally, the club had their license permanently withdrawn on 11 January 2000, ceasing operations and forfeiting the remaining matches. With an application for compulsory settlement, bankruptcy proceedings were opened. The club restarted from the lowest amateur division in August 2001. Since then the club has steadily risen through the amateur leagues and in 2018 returned to the 2nd tier of Austrian football.

Season Division (Tier) Position W L D +/- Pts.
2001/02 2. Klasse Ost (VIII) 002 15 05 02 +53 050
2002/03 2. Klasse Ost (VIII) 001 16 04 02 +47 052
2003/04 1. Klasse Ost (VII) 006 08 05 09 0+3 029
2004/05 1. Klasse Ost (VII) 001 21 04 01 +66 067
2005/06 Bezirksliga Ost (VI) 001 17 06 03 +46 057
2006/07 2. Landesliga Ost (V) 002 17 04 05 +34 055
2007/08 2. Landesliga Ost (V) 002 14 08 04 +25 050
2008/09 2. Landesliga Ost (V) 001 16 06 04 +25 054
2009/10 OÖ Liga (IV) 005 12 06 08 +16 042
2010/11 OÖ Liga (IV) 001 15 10 01 +35 055
2011/12 Regionalliga Mitte (III) 014 06 09 15 −22 027
2012/13 OÖ Liga (IV) 001 17 02 06 +17 053
2013/14 Regionalliga Mitte 012 11 04 15 −10 037
2014/15 Regionalliga Mitte 002 18 05 07 +16 059
2015/16 Regionalliga Mitte 012 09 07 14 −13 034
2016/17 Regionalliga Mitte 006 12 08 10 0+7 044
2017/18 Regionalliga Mitte 003 17 04 09 +32 055
2018/19 2. Liga (II) 014 05 06 19 −36 021
2019/20 2. Liga 007 11 08 11 0+6 041
2020/21 2. Liga 015 07 09 14 −25 030
2021/22 2. Liga 010 10 07 13 −13 037
2022/23 2. Liga 014 08 08 14 −18 032
2023/24 Regionalliga Mitte 010 10 08 12 0−6 038
Green: Promotion | Red: Relegation

Honours

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Before the bankruptcy

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  • 1 Austrian Cup Finalist: 1949
  • 13 Upper Austrian Champions
  • 2 Upper Austrian Cup Winners
  • 12 Bundesliga seasons: 1950–1951, 1988–1996, 1999

Since the reformation

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  • 2. Liga Ost OÖ Winners: 2003
  • 1. Liga Ost OÖ Winners: 2005
  • Bezirksliga Ost OÖ Winners: 2006
  • OÖ Landespokalsieger Winners: 2009
  • Upper Austrian Cup Winners: 2010, 2013
  • Fourth Division Champions: 2011, 2013

Fans

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The club has seen a sharp decline in attendances since the bankruptcy however the team is still often accompanied by many fans even at away games; in big games the away following frequently exceeds more than 1000 'red-whites'. The largest fan club, Südchaos-Steyr, was founded in 2009 and is considered to be an ultras group, and they usually occupy the South stand of the stadium. They publish a fanzine called Bengalen, Bier und Bosna.

Current squad

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As of 15 July 2024. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   AUT Josef Gruber
3 DF   AUT Lukas Prokop
4 DF   AUT Stefan Goldnagl (on loan from SKU Amstetten)
5 MF   ESP Martin Coello
7 MF   AUT Hazar Eminazari
9 FW   AUT Mirnes Cinac
10 FW   AUT Alexander Weinstabl
11 MF   BIH Eman Lidan
14 MF   ESP Alvaro Suarez Collazo
17 FW   AUT Michael Oberwinkler (on loan from WSC Hertha Wels)
20 MF   GER Pepe Brekner
No. Pos. Nation Player
23 GK   AUT Niklas Radner (on loan from Union Pettenbach)
24 MF   AUT Mirsad Sulejmanovic
25 GK   AUT Michael Fauland
28 DF   AUT Michael Lageder
29 FW   AUT Daniel Bilic
33 DF   AUT Aleksandar Maric
55 GK   AUT Maximilian Fahler
70 DF   AUT Stjepan Kovacevic
73 MF   AUT Oliver Filip
77 DF   AUT Michael Martic
78 MF   SVN Amir Pasic


Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
FW   AUT Jakob Kolb (on loan to FC Gleisdorf)
No. Pos. Nation Player
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