VfB Leipzig were the first ever German football champions. The club was formed on the 26th of May 1896 as the football department of the gymnastics club Allgemeine Turnverein 1845 Leipzig, and were one of the original 84 teams that came together in the city to form the German Football Association. Led by an ambitious coach/player named Theodor Schoffler, they were met with immediate success and played their way to the first ever German national championship final which was held in 1903.

 

Their opponents for the championship were not even a native German team. DFC Prag was a German-Jewish side from Prague, which in those days was located in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The DFB had invited many ethnic German clubs of the sort to participate in their competition in order to boost numbers in the new leagues. DFC Prag had made it to the final via an easy route that allowed them to avoid playing any playoff games, while VfB Leipzig had to battle their way through some hard fought matches to make it there. Prag, therefore, were heavily favoured.

 

However, on their arrival in Hamburg for the match, the Prague side took themselves off on an ill-advised pub crawl the night before the game. This was a bad idea, and the following morning they turned up for the contest in less than ideal shape. In addition, the match was delayed because the officials could not find a football that was in good enough condition to use. A local club, FC 93 Altona Hamburg, provided a new ball, and after 11 minutes Prag were already 1-0 up. Leipzig eventually equalised to make it 1-1 at half time, but then they pulled away in the second half and came out as the first ever winners of the Viktoria Trophy with a 7-2 victory. Leipzig again made the final in 1904, but it was called off. FV Karlsruhe were protesting over their disputed semi-final against Brittania Berlin, and the issue could not reach a resolution. As a result, the DFB cancelled the final just hours before it was supposed to start. Subsequently, there was no champion that year. The club went on to raise the Viktoria Trophy again in 1906 and 1913, and reached the final in 1911 and 1914. During this period, they established themselves as one of Germanys leading clubs and augural champions, qualifying for the final rounds in each of the 12 years leading up to World War I. However, the war decimated the team and they were unable to replicate their early successes.

Achievements: German Football Championship – Champions x3 Runners up x3
                            Central German Football Championship – Champions x3  Runners up x1