Eisvögel USC Freiburg

Eisvögel USC Freiburg is a German women's professional basketball team based in Freiburg im Breisgau.

Eisvögel USC Freiburg
Eisvögel USC Freiburg logo
NicknameEisvögel (Kingfishers)
Leagues1. Damen-Basketball-Bundesliga
Founded1972
ArenaUniversitäts-Sporthalle
Capacity1,200
LocationFreiburg im Breisgau, Germany
Head coachVictor Herbosa
Websiteusc-eisvoegel.de

As of 2022, the team is the reigning champion of the 1. Damen-Basketball-Bundesliga, the highest level of basketball in Germany.

The team brought the first national championship to the city of Freiburg im Breisgau in 115 years.[1]

History

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After their promotion to the 1st women's basketball league in 2000, Eisvögel went on to be runners-up in the German 2001/02 season Championships. They maintained high ranking in the table when, in the 2005/06 season, the team placed second in the second half of the season.

The following year saw Eisvögel place fourth in the Bundesliga, with a much younger team. The team repeated their fourth position in the Budesliga in the 2007/08 season, achieving third place in the DBBL cup competition. The 2008/09 season ended with Eisvögel in ninth place.[2] Despite this setback, the team went on to finish third, in the season of 2011/12, before going on to win their first national title in 2013, at the final tournament in Freiburg.[3]

In 2017, after seventeen years of playing in the Budesliga, Eisvögel were relegated to the second division.[4] Under coach Pierre Hohn, they returned to the first division in the 2017/18 season,[5] after which point Hohn left the team. He was succeeded by Hanna Ballhaus.[6]

In the 2020/2021 anniversary season, the club's resources were impaired due to COVID-19 associated restrictions and regulations. Consequently, to improve finances, a crowdfunding endeavour was launched by the club, with Betty BBQ, a renowned Freiburg drag queen, acting as an ambassador for the cause.[7] Following the completion of the season, Hanna Ballhaus and Isabel Fernandez departed from the Eisvogel team, with Harald Janson taking their place.[8]

On April 29, 2022, Eisvögel won the German Championship with a 3-1 victory against the Rheinland Lions (formerly SG Bergische Löwen).

In 2021/22, the second team of Eisvögel was promoted to the second Bundesliga. Victor Herbosa, the previous assistant coach of the team, became head coach the same year.[9]

In May 2023, Janson returned to the position of head coach, with Herbosa returning to his native Spain.[10][11]

Notable players

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Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

Criteria

To appear in this section a player must have either:

  • Set a club record or won an individual award while at the club
  • Played at least one official international match for their national team at any time
  • Played at least one official NBA match at any time.

References

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  1. ^ a b Freiburg feiert Basketball-Meisterinnen der Eisvögel USC Freiburg Jan Ludwig (Südwestrundfunk), 4 May 2022. Accessed 24 December 2022.(in German)
  2. ^ DBBL. "DBBL - 1. Bundesliga - Saison 2008/09". DBBL. Archived from the original on 19 February 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  3. ^ "Freiburg: Basketball-Sensation im Freiburger "Hexenkessel": USC Eisvögel sind DBBL-POKALSIEGER 2013! - Bildergalerie vom knappen Finalsieg gegen Oberhausen! - RegioTrends". www.regiotrends.de. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
  4. ^ Zeitung, Badische (2017-03-16). "Freiburger Eisvögel steigen nach Schiedsgericht-Urteil in die zweite Liga ab". Badische Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 2023-07-04.
  5. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2018-08-25. Retrieved 2023-07-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ^ Zeitung, Badische (2018-06-08). "Neue Trainerin bei den Eisvögeln des USC Freiburg: Hanna Ballhaus kommt, Pierre Hohn geht". Badische Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 2023-07-04.
  7. ^ "Crowdfunding | USC Eisvögel". www.usc-eisvoegel.de. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
  8. ^ "Freiburg : Basketball: Hanna Ballhaus und Isabel Fernandez in kommender Saison nicht mehr Coaches der Eisvögel Freiburg - Beide Trainerinnen suchen nach neuen Herausforderungen - RegioTrends". www.regiotrends.de. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
  9. ^ "Herbosa übernimmt das Steuer | USC Eisvögel". www.usc-eisvoegel.de. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
  10. ^ "Harald Janson ist alter und neuer Cheftrainer der Eisvögel". www.baden.fm (in German). 2023-05-23. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
  11. ^ "Den Spanier zieht es zurück nach Spanien". Damen Basketball Bundesliga (in German). 2023-06-20. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
  12. ^ a b Die Eisvögel des USC Freiburg finden zu alter Stärke zurück Georg Gulde (Badische Zeitung), 18 December 2022. Accessed 24 December 2022.(in German)
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