Bundesliga club-by-club historical guide: SC Paderborn 07
Paderborn's stays in the Bundesliga may have been brief, but they've left a historic mark.
bundesliga.com is taking you through all the teams to have graced Germany’s first division over the last 60 years – based on the number of seasons they’ve played up to and including 2023/24.
Discover many more memorable moments and records in the Bundesliga's 60-year history!
SC Paderborn 07
Years in Bundesliga: 2 (2014/15, 2019/20)
Most appearances: Uwe Hünemeier (48)
Most goals: Elias Kachunga (six)
Youngest player: Mirnes Pepic (19 years, one month, 19 days)
SC Paderborn trace their history back to 1907, but the club as it’s known now was the result of a merger in 1985 that saw the team begin life in the third tier. Bar the 2000/01 season, which was spent at the fourth level due to a restructuring of divisions, they remained on the third rung until promotion to Bundesliga 2 in 2005. They played in the second division for eight of the following nine campaigns before a historic first Bundesliga promotion in 2014 under Andre Breitenreiter. They even topped the table after four matchdays, but the joy was short-lived as they finished bottom and went straight back down in 2014/15.
And down and down they went for what turned out to be the start of the ultimate footballing rollercoaster. Paderborn came bottom in Bundesliga 2 in 2015/16 for back-to-back relegations. It was so nearly three in a row in 2016/17, finishing in the bottom three for what should have been demotion to the Regionalliga, but they were handed a lifeline thanks to 1860 Munich’s licencing issue that saw them demoted to the fourth tier and Paderborn given a reprieve.
Watch: Stoppelkamp's historic long-range goal
They took it with both hands under coach Steffen Baumgart, finishing runners-up in the 2017/18 3. Liga and 2018/19 Bundesliga 2 campaigns to secure back-to-back promotions to the Bundesliga once again. They are one of eight teams to have achieved the feat of reaching the top flight after only one year in the second division. Again, the Bundesliga fun was short-lived as they finished bottom once more. This time there was no freefall as they re-established themselves in Bundesliga 2.
While Paderborn’s impact on the Bundesliga may appear minimal, with two 18th-place finishes, but they do hold a record that will take some beating. On 20 September 2014, a capacity 15,000 crowd at the Benteler-Arena witnessed Moritz Stoppelkamp score from the furthest distance ever seen in the Bundesliga, finding the back of the Hannover net from 82.3 metres in added time to wrap up a 2-0 win and send Paderborn top of the table as mentioned above. It was voted German football’s Goal of the Month by broadcaster ARD but only came second in Goal of the Year. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was beaten by Mario Götze’s winner in the World Cup final. The ‘Stoppelkamp-Allee’ in front of Paderborn’s stadium was named in memory of the goal and measures exactly 82.3 metres.
Discover many more memorable moments and records in the Bundesliga's 60-year history!
