Grazer AK
 |
|
| Full name | Grazer Athletik-Klub |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) |
Die Roten (The Reds) |
| Short name | GAK |
| Founded | 1902 |
| Ground | Sportzentrum Weinzödl (football section) |
| Capacity | 2,000 |
| League | Oberliga - Mitte West Steiermark (V) |
Die Roten (The Reds)
Rotjacken (The Red Jackets)
Die Roten Teufel (The Red Devils)
Grazer AK, founded 18 August 1902 as Grazer Athletik-Sport Klub (in Austria the abbreviation GAK is more common), is an Austrian sports club, from the city of Graz in the federal state of Styria (Steiermark). The football section is one of the most traditional Austrian clubs, most successful in the decade 1995–2005. The other sections are basketball, diving and tennis, which however all act as separate legal entities. The "GAK" football section was dissolved in 2012; however, it has since been revived and now plays in the amateur divisions of Austrian football. The club has a big rivalry with neighbours Sturm Graz.
The club arose from an informal association of local academics around the medical student Georg August Wagner from Prague, later a professor at the Charles University and the Charité in Berlin. Acquainted with football from his hometown, he organised the first public match in present-day Austria on 18 March 1894 in the Graz municipal park. The Grazer Athletik-Sport-Club – modeled after the Wiener AC – was established eight years later on the 72nd birthday of Emperor Francis Joseph.
Between 1962–1983 GAK has been involved in European competitions. Their first match was against Odense BK in the Cup Winners Cup in 1962. The club has made regular appearances in European cups ever since, with regular UEFA Cup appearances since the 1980s, but the highlight came on the domestic scene in 1981 when they won the Austrian Cup. The Golden years arrived in the first half of the 2000s, when they won the Austrian Cup two more times in 2000 and 2002. Their biggest success was in 2004 where they did "the double" – they managed to win the cup yet again but also the Austrian title. Their last appearance in Europe was a disappointing 5–0 away defeat to RC Strasbourg in 2005 in Round 1 of the UEFA Cup.
...
Wikipedia