Energie CottbusEnergie Cottbus is a club from the Lusatia region whose roots trace back to East Germany's SC Cottbus, founded in 1963, though 31 January 1966 is generally recognised as the founding date of the club in its current form. The club's name reflects the energy industry that for decades formed the economic backbone of the Lusatia region and the city of Cottbus. During the East German era, the team rarely held its place in the top division, with authorities regularly forcing it to hand over its best players to Berlin's BFC Dynamo.
The most remarkable chapter in the club's history unfolded in the 1996-97 season, when Energie Cottbus, then playing in the third tier, reached the final of the DFB-Pokal, the German Cup. On 14 June 1997, at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, in front of more than 76,000 spectators, the Lusatian side lost 2-0 to VfB Stuttgart, yet the achievement of reaching the final from such a low level of the football pyramid remains one of the most remarkable feats in the competition's history.
Three years later, in 2000, Cottbus was promoted to the Bundesliga, becoming only the third club from the former East Germany to reach the top flight since reunification. The club's best league finish came in the 2006-07 season, when it ended the campaign in 13th place. In total, Energie spent seventeen seasons shuttling between the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga before dropping out of the top flight for good in 2014.
The team plays its home matches at the Stadion der Freundschaft (Stadium of Friendship) in Cottbus, a venue closely tied to the club's history since the East German era. Although Energie has spent recent years in the lower tiers of German football, it remains one of the most recognisable football brands in eastern Germany, and its supporters still recall the 1997 cup final as the moment a small club from Lusatia briefly stood at the centre of German football's attention.