Greuther Furth: Europe’s worst top-flight team

LONDON. — Seventeen games played, 14 defeats, 49 goals conceded, and bottom of the table by 11 points.

Greuther Furth aren’t just breaking records in the German Bundesliga for all the wrong reasons, they also currently hold the unwanted title of being the worst top-flight football team in all of Europe’s major leagues.

The newly-promoted Bavarians, who won three German championships between 1914 and 1930 in the pre-Bundesliga era, have the lowest points total of any team in Europe’s top five leagues this season, sitting bottom of the table with just five points after 17 games.

Their run of 14 matches without a win means they made the worst start to a season in the history of the Bundesliga, before a 1-0 victory against Union Berlin finally stopped the rot. That remains their only win of the campaign to date.

Furth are called “Kleeblatter”, which means cloverleaves, but luck has not been on their side in just their second ever season in the German Bundesliga.

The situation during the past months became so dire that head coach Stefan Leitl pleaded with the public that no one should feel sorry for them. “The next goal: applause instead of pity,” a large sports magazine headlined one of their stories.

There has not been a lot of applause — with only 13 goals scored — with even opposing fans unsure whether they should cheer the fourth or fifth goal against Furth.

The low point was reached when Leitl’s side were outclassed and beaten 7-1 by Bayer Leverkusen in early December.

Performances like the one against Leverkusen have called into question the quality of the squad. Furth were promoted to the Bundesliga last summer and the club’s hierarchy subsequently made a few signings.

Former Dutch internationals Jetro Willems and Nick Viergever as well as German midfielders Sebastian Griesbeck, Max Christiansen, Jeremy Dudziak and Nils Seufert arrived last summer. — BBC Sport.