Saarbrucken

The club began its existence as the football department of Turnverein Malstatt formed in 1903. That department split off in 1907 to form the independent football club FV Malstatt-Burbach and on 1 April 1909 was renamed FV Saarbrücken.

The club became part of the tier-one Kreisliga Saar in 1919 where it played with moderate success. A second-place finish in the league's last season in 1922–23 was their best result. From 1923, the club played in the Bezirksliga Rhein-Saar – Saar division, winning the title in 1927–28 but later missing out on qualification to the new national first division Gauliga in 1933.

Nazi era (1933–1945)

The team did make its way to first division play in 1935 in the Gauliga Südwest, one of sixteen regional divisions established in the re-organization of German football in the Nazi era. A league shuffle saw them in the Gauliga Südwest-Saarpfalz in 1940 and they won the division the next year. In 1943, they again won their division – now called the Gauliga Westmark – and advanced through the playoff rounds to the national final where they were defeated 0–3 by Dresdner SC. The next year, they only made it as far as the quarterfinals where they were put out by 1. FC Nürnberg. During the latter years of World War II from 1943 to 1945, the club played as part of the combined wartime side Kriegsspielgemeinschaft Saarbrücken with SC Altenkessel.

Post war and French exile

After the war, the occupying Allied authorities dissolved most organizations within Germany, including sports and football clubs, as part of the process of de-Nazification. The team was allowed to reform late in 1945, but under the new name 1. FC Saarbrücken. The club played its first three seasons of post-war football in the first division Oberliga Südwest-Nord, winning the division championship in 1946.

The German state of Saarland, where the city of Saarbrücken is located, was occupied by the French after the war. They made various efforts to see the state become independent of Germany or join France. In sport, this was manifested as separate 1952 Olympic and 1954 FIFA World Cup teams for Saarland and the establishment of a short-lived football league for the state called the Ehrenliga. In 1948, 1. FC Saarbrücken was one of a number of sides forced out of German football, but unlike other clubs, they did not play in the puppet league. Instead, the strong side became part of the French second division in the 1948–49 edition as FC Sarrebruck. They won the division but were refused promotion or further participation, mainly due to the resistance of other clubs, among them Strasbourg, which had been forced to play in German competition during World War II.

Saarbrücken withdrew from the league and began to play in a series of friendlies over the next two years. They organized a tournament in 1949–50 called the Internationaler Saarlandpokal ("International Saarland Cup") that had them play 15 home matches against teams from Austria, Denmark, France, Sweden, Switzerland and Yugoslavia. The top three sides then joined hosts Saarbrücken in a playoff round, which the home team eventually won in a 4–0 victory over Stade Rennais UC of France. The next year, fellow Saarlanders VfB Neunkirchen co-hosted the tournament which this time included more German sides. The tournament was abandoned for 1952 as an agreement was reached to allow teams from the Saarland re-admission to the German Football Association (DFB).

This episode in the history of German football would play itself out with the odd appearance of a separate side from Saarland in the 1954 World Cup preliminary rounds. Without a proper home in either the German or French leagues, Saarland had established a separate football association with membership in FIFA. 1. FC Saarbrücken sent ten players to that national side and the Saarlanders acquitted themselves well, finishing second in their group ahead of Norway and behind group winner West Germany.

Saarbrücken would also make an appearance in the first edition of the European Cup (nowadays UEFA Champions League) as Saarland's representative, marking the only time the team (and any team representing Saarland or from the state of Saarland) ever played in UEFA competitions. Despite a 4–3 win at the San Siro in the first leg, they were eliminated by Milan in the first round after a comeback from the Italian team in Saarbrücken (1–4).

Return to German football and entry to the Bundesliga

Saarbrücken returned to the Oberliga Südwest in 1952 and continued their winning ways by winning the division and advancing to the national final for the second time, losing a 1–2 decision to VfB Stuttgart. They continued to field strong sides, but over the next decade, could only manage one more Oberliga title, in 1961.

In 1963, West Germany finally saw the creation of a top flight national league with the formation of the Bundesliga. Sixteen teams were selected to play in the new league based on their performance, financial health and a geographical distribution intended to fairly represent all parts of the country. The first eight selections were straightforward and included divisional champions and the national finalists. Saarbrücken's selection to the new league was arguably the most controversial as the club's recent record was not as strong as their divisional rivals Neunkirchen, FK Pirmasens and Wormatia Worms. The belief is that their advantage lay in the fact the club had a long association with Hermann Neuberger, an extremely influential figure in German football – and a member of the selection committee.

At the end of the inaugural Bundesliga season in 1963–64, Saarbrücken found themselves last, seven points short of safety. The club was relegated to the second tier Regionalliga Südwest where they finished strongly in each of the next three seasons, but were unable to advance through the Bundesliga promotion rounds. They were finally able to make their way back to the top flight after a first-place finish in the 2. Bundesliga Süd in the 1976 season. After two seasons there, the team returned to the second division and by 1981 had slipped to the Amateur Oberliga Südwest (III). There were two more turns in the Bundesliga, in 1986 and 1993, both ending in relegation. A financial crisis in 1995 led to the club being denied a license and being sent down to the Regionalliga West/Südwest (III). Saarbrücken has since become a yo-yo club with frequent moves between the second and fifth tiers. During this time, the club has remained a strong local side with several Saarland-Pokal wins to its credit.