Continental has been a partner of the long established club  Hanover 96 – the “Reds” – since the 2002/2003 season. The partnership includes hoardings at the team‘s home matches as well as a ticket contingency that Continental utilises for visits to the games together with customers and journalists. Hanover 96 players additionally also make appearances for Continental at trade fairs and promotions from time to time.

Conti Partner Hanover 96: a driving force – the “Reds”

They call themselves the “Reds” and they dream of a “football revolution” in Germany. The “ninety-sixers” is another much loved sobriquet. These nicknames do not refer to a footballing commune or to a group of skat – a German card game – enthusiasts. They refer to Hanover 96.

The “Hanoversche Sportverein von 1896 e.V.” was always one of the driving forces of German football. But with the way the things are in sport, hard times also followed. After plummeting into the third division, Hanover now belong to the German football establishment. The club’s story in the past two decades is unique.

Hanover 96 is now a modern Bundesliga club. With a state of the art stadium which has been completed well before the FIFA World Cup 2006™ and a successful Bundesliga team, prospects look very rosy indeed.

The club’s finest hours date back to the “past century” and in all three cases they were pretty much a sensation. Sensation No 1 occurred in 1938: the German championship was Hanover’s first major trophy. Schalke 04, the favourites, were beaten 4-3 aet in front of a crowd of 95,000.

Sensation No 2 followed in 1954: After first winning the north German championship, the club went on to win the German championship. The “Reds” took their second title after thrashing the favourites 1. FC Kaiserslautern 5-1. Five players appeared for Kaiserslautern on that day who only months later went on to win the World Cup in Bern, Switzerland.

23 May 1992 and sensation No 3: Hanover 96 is the first second division club to win the German cup when beating Borussia Mönchengladbach on penalties. Goalkeeper Jörg Sievers was the hero, as he was in the semifinal against Werder Bremen. 50,000 ecstatic Hanovarians celebrated with their team on the square in front of the town hall.

“Reds” fans are again dreaming of similar times. Hanover is now a solid and well-organised club. Former club boss Martin Kind, who handed over the club chairmanship to Gerd von Fromberg in 2005, led the 4000 member club back on the road to success.

Ilja Kaenzig, Reiner Calmund’s former assistant at Bayer Leverkusen, was brought in as General Manager. Ewald Lienen was made head coach. From March 2004 to November 2005, Lienen worked with a great deal of success on the River Leine. The tenth place at the end of the 2004/05 season marked the best position since being promoted back to the Bundesliga and it was the reward for  countless attractive games. But in autumn 2005 Lienen was forced to make way for Peter Neururer. The team remained undefeated under the new head coach in the games leading up to the winter break.

Hanover only returned to the second division in May 1998 after winning the so-called relegation play-off against Tennis Borussia Berlin. They then sealed promotion to the Bundesliga in March 2002 under coach Ralf Rangnick. In the first two seasons back at the top, the team placed 11th and 14th.

Quite a few experts believe Hanover will soon be appearing in European club competitions. The team has been systematically strengthened. Goalkeeper Robert Enke, once a Mönchengladbach, Benfica and Barcelona player, is now considered one of the best keepers in the Bundesliga. Defender Per Mertesacker shot up from the club’s own youth team into the German national team. The former German international, Michael Tarnat joined the club from Manchester City. Highly talented Sören Halfar turned out in his first Bundesliga games at the age of 18 and is following in Per Mertesacker’s footsteps.

Hanover 96 radiates a strong image. No wonder then that the club is supported by all political colours. The former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (SPD) and Lower Saxony’s Minister President Christian Wulff (CDU) are both “Reds” supporters.