Good to Know — What Few People Know
Fan friendships with Dortmund, the greatest escape act in Bundesliga history, successful patronage — and the league's smallest budget.
Fan Culture and Rivalries
Not particularly aggressive, but with clear friend-foe lines.
Rivalries
FC Augsburg fans are considered peaceful — but not without enemies.
There is a pronounced enmity with supporters of TSV 1860 Munich. Matches against TSV Schwaben Augsburg are the city's biggest derbies but take place only irregularly. Further rivalries exist with fans of VfB Stuttgart (the Swabian derby), FC Ingolstadt and TSG Hoffenheim.
Fan Friendships and Augsburg Calling
Less well known than the rivalries: FCA maintains active fan friendships.
According to legend, the first fan friendship arose with SpVgg Oberfranken Bayreuth, though it is hardly cultivated anymore. Active friendships exist with Kickers Würzburg, SSV Ulm and Borussia Dortmund. The 'Augsburg Calling' fan project allows home and away fans to get to know the city and one another and to reduce the potential for violence.
The Great Escape 2012/13
One of the greatest survival acts in Bundesliga history.
9 Points at the Halfway Mark
FCA ended the first half of the 2012/13 season in 17th place with 9 points.
What followed was historic: 24 points in the second half, 7th in the Rückrunde table. In the end, survival with 33 points in 15th place.
- First half
- 9 points, 17th place
- Second half
- 24 points, 7th place
- Final standing
- 33 points, 15th
The Hidden Statistic
What even Augsburg insiders may not know: FCA did not win a single second half away from home that season.
Eight away draws, nine lost second halves away — just four away goals scored against 17 conceded in second halves. On the other hand: together with Eintracht Frankfurt and FC Bayern, the only team without a red card at home.
Buy Cheap, Sell High
Not a Swabian genetic defect, but sheer necessity.
Top Transfers
Due to limited means, FCA has repeatedly developed its own stars and sold them on profitably.
Abdul Rahman Baba left for Chelsea in 2015 for €20 million — FCA's record departure. Martin Hinteregger moved to Eintracht Frankfurt in 2019 for €12 million. Jeong-ho Hong was signed by Chinese club JS Suning in 2016 for €6 million.
- Record departure
- Baba — €20m (Chelsea)
- Hinteregger
- €12m (Frankfurt)
- Hong
- €6m (JS Suning)
Regularly the Smallest Budget
FCA repeatedly had the lowest squad budget in the Bundesliga — including in 2012/13 and 2017/18.
In 2016/17, Augsburg still had only the fourth-smallest budget behind Darmstadt, Ingolstadt and Freiburg. Even a noticeably increased budget the following season was not enough to shed bottom-club status in that ranking.
Successful Patronage
The counter-model to 1860 Munich.
Walther Seinsch and the Turnaround
After years of insignificance, it was only after investor Walther Seinsch came on board in 2000 that the sporting rise truly began.
Seinsch took over as club president and pushed through the spin-off of professional football operations into a GmbH & Co. KGaA with professional structures. FC Augsburg became a model example of a sensible investor partnership in German football.
Good to Know — Update 2020–2026
FC Augsburg are the survival artists of the Bundesliga.
FC Augsburg are the survival artists of the
FC Augsburg are the survival artists of the Bundesliga.
FC Augsburg are the survival artists of the Bundesliga. Uninterrupted top-flight members since 2011, the club from the Fugger city went through a managerial carousel between 2020 and 2026 that was remarkable even by Bundesliga standards. Heiko Herrlich took over from Martin Schmidt in spring 2020 — and immediately made himself unforgettable with a quarantine breach, more on that later. Herrlich was followed in 2021 by Markus Weinzierl, the man who had once taken FCA into the Europa League. But his second spell was far less glorious. After Weinzierl came Enrico Maassen, lured in from Dortmund’s reserve side and promising ambitious attacking football — which the team could not actually deliver. Maassen went, Jess Thorup arrived, Thorup went, and Sandro Wagner took over in 2025 as one of the league’s youngest coaches. Manuel Baum even had a second stint on the touchline in between. Six coaches in six years — and still no relegation. That is the real achievement.
Behind the scenes, 2022 brought a shift in
Behind the scenes, 2022 brought a shift in power: club president Klaus Hofmann, who had led the club since 2014, stepped down.
Behind the scenes, 2022 brought a shift in power: club president Klaus Hofmann, who had led the club since 2014, stepped down. Markus Krapf took over. Stefan Reuter remained the constant as managing director for sport — despite rising criticism of his transfer policy and a bizarre passport affair.