honoured a socialist virtue. In 1980, Rot-Weiß Erfurt appeared in the East German Cup final, losing 3–1 to Carl Zeiss Jena. Reunification German reunification and the merger of the leagues of East and West Germany in the early 1990s brought exciting times to Rot-Weiß. A third-place finish in the NOFV-Oberliga in 1990–91 earned them a spot in the 2. Bundesliga, as well as qualification for the UEFA Cup. They eliminated Groningen in the first round, and went out against the eventual winners Ajax in the second round. This fixture made them the last side to appear internationally for East Germany. Through the 1990s and into the new millennium, Rot-Weiß remained a tier three side. They had a close call in 2001 when they avoided relegation only because SSV Ulm 1846 was denied a licence due to financial difficulties. During this period of time, the club went through to the regional cup final seven times. They came away as Thuringian cup winner each time which qualifies for the nationwide German cup (DFB-Pokal), although they never advanced beyond the first round. In 2004, the club was promoted to the 2. Bundesliga, but finished last and was relegated back to Regionalliga Nord (III). In 2008, Erfurt finished in seventh place in Regionalliga Nord (III) and therefore qualified for the new nationwide 3. Liga. They played at this level until they were relegated to the Regionalliga Nordost (IV) in 2018. Bankruptcy and reformation On 4 February 2020, the club ceased operations due to financial difficulties, and as a result, withdrew from the Regionalliga Nordost, with all their results being annulled and all further matches cancelled. The club formed a new team and organisation, playing in the Oberliga in the 2020/21 season; their first home game against FC Grimma was sold out. Honours League competitions DDR-Oberliga: Winners: 1953–54, 1954–55 Runners-up: 1950–51 Soviet Zone championship: Runners-up: 1948–49 Cup competitions FDGB-Pokal: Runners-up: 1949–50, 1979–80 DFV-Toto-Sonderrunde (de) Winners: 1974 Regional Verband Mitteldeutscher Ballspiel-Vereine: Champions: 1908–09 Thuringia Cup: (Tiers 3–7) Winners: 1993–94, 1997–98, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05‡, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2016–17 Runners-up: 1995–96, 1996–97, 2003–04‡, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2015–16 ‡ Won by reserve team. Players Current squad Managers 1964–1966: Helmut Nordhaus 1966–1970: Martin Schwendler 1970–1971: Gerhard Bäßler 1971–1973: Siegfried Vollrath 1973–1978: Gerhard Bäßler 1978–1982: Manfred Pfeifer 1982–1984: Siegmar Menz 1984–1987: Hans Meyer 1987–1988: Manfred Pfeifer 1988–1989: Wilfried Gröbner 1990–1991: Lothar Kurbjuweit 1991–1991: Rüdiger Schnuphase 1991–1992: Josip Kuže 1992–1995: Klaus Goldbach