Since 2003, the Marburg Mercenaries have been one of the most consistently successful American football teams in Germany’s GFL (German American Football League). They have won the EFAF Cup, and played in both the German Bowl and Eurobowl final. In fact, the team has only missed the playoffs once and finished either first or second in the South division ever since. This year, the Mercenaries are on pace again to make the playoffs and challenge for supremacy in football in Germany.

Marburg is a small university town in central Germany home to Philipps University of Marburg . With a population of roughly 80,000 people it would seem too small to support an American football team at the top of the German American Football League.

“We may be a small town, but people here feel that the Mercenaries are a part of the community,” said Vice President and General Manager Arik Brendendiek . “Everyone steps up to help including sponsors.”

Formed in 1991 by a couple of students from a local high school who had spent a year in the United States on a foreign exchange program, the club got off to a slow start. Gradually, though, they began to see improvement. Starting at the bottom of the lowest division at the time, Marburg slowly advanced through the divisions. In 1996 they captured the third division title moving them up to the second division or GFL2.

Marburg was a perennial winner of the GFL2 title but did not manage to win the promotional playoff until 2003 advancing to the top division in Germany, the GFL. That initial year, despite suffering through a rough 1-11 season and experiencing the relegation playoff in Germany’s top division, the club survived. In 2004, they proved they belonged by producing a brilliant turnaround and finishing first in the Southern Division with a 6-1-3 record.

Brendendiek has been with the team since 1995 both as a player (1995-2003) and a member of the board and staff and he has experienced the highs and the lows: “I think what sets our team and organization apart is that we all feel like family. Everyone who is involved has been a part of the Mercenaries their entire career. All our executives and staff are ex-players so they care about the club.”

Since 2004, the Marburg Mercenaries have finished either first or second in the GFL Southern division every year. In 2005, they won the EFAF Cup, beating Elancourt Templiers from France. The following season the team made it to the German bowl and to the Eurobowl finals. Very few clubs can boast that kind of success in the past decade in Germany.

“We run the organization as efficiently as we can and we treat people well. I believe that is also part of our success,” said Brendendiek. “Our success has led to more success as more and better players are encouraged to play for us.”

This well-run organization has set a standard for small market clubs and even big-city teams, that is difficult to match. As players and coaches recognize the excellence of Marburg’s operation, the flow of talent to the Mercenaries will grow. And the record of success will continue unabated.