competition in the league was much stronger than in the past: 1860 Munich, SpVgg Bayreuth, SpVgg Fürth, Jahn Regensburg, MTV Ingolstadt, FC Schweinfurt 05 and Bayern Hof had all played with Augsburg in the 2. Bundesliga in recent years. While the club was one of the top sides in the league, another title did not seem to materialise; a second-place finish in 1985 being the best result, one point behind champions SpVgg Bayreuth. Again, the club changed managers frequently but had settled into the Bayernliga for good, it seemed. It was only when Armin Veh took over the team in 1991 that fortunes for the team seemed to improve, not harmed by the fact 1860 Munich made its "escape" from the league and returned to professional football that year. In 1993, the club won its one and only national championship to date, when 1. FC Kaiserslautern was defeated in the German Under-19 championship final. In 1994, the club had another try at promotion in the last year of promotion play-offs to the 2. Bundesliga. However, this time the Bavarian champion was not grouped with the other Southern German clubs as in previous years, and thus had to face stronger clubs in the northern group that included Eintracht Braunschweig and Fortuna Düsseldorf. Despite being overmatched and unable to advance, they still received strong support in the region with crowds of over 20,000 turning up at the games. While the performance was not enough to gain entry to the 2. Bundesliga, FCA did qualify for the new Regionalliga Süd, which was slotted between the second division and the Bayernliga as the new third tier. Regionalliga: 1994 to 2000 Augsburg spent the first four years in the new league as a mid-table side, never getting anywhere near the promotion ranks. The fifth season then saw a decline, with the team only finishing 14th and only two points clear of a relegation spot. The following year was once more a qualifying season, with the number of Regionalligas being reduced in numbers from four to two. FCA fulfilled the on-the-field requirement, finishing eighth, its best Regionalliga result to that date. Financially, however, the club was in dire straits, with a real possibility of the club folding. While the latter threat was averted, FCA was refused a Regionalliga licence when a potential investor backed out and the German Football Association (DFB) relegated it to the Bayernliga,