Luhe-wildenau

Every derby weekend in this corner of the Upper Palatinate has one address: SpVgg SV Weiden, the neighbouring club Luhe-Wildenau meets across the district leagues and, more recently, in a cup final that mattered more than its trophy suggested. In December 2024 the two sides met indoors for the SpVgg-SV-Weiden-Cup, and Luhe-Wildenau went for the jugular in the final, winning 5:3.

Eleven years ago there was no derby to speak of, because there was barely a club. In 2015 the first team stood on the brink of being deregistered altogether, and it was Siegfried Goschler who stepped in at the last minute to keep it alive. What followed under trainer Roland Rittner turned a side that had nearly disappeared into champions: the Bezirksligameister Oberpfalz Nord title in the 2022/2023 season brought promotion to the Landesliga, and the same campaign closed with the Oberpfalzmeister crown, sealed with a 4:0 win over Regenstauf in the final. The reserve side followed its own path two years later, taking the Kreisklasse AM/WEN Ost championship in 2025.

None of that history carried the club's name beyond Bavaria the way one signing did. Wolfgang Hesl spent a career in the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga goal at Hamburger SV, Dynamo Dresden, Greuther Fürth, Arminia Bielefeld, Würzburger Kickers and 1. FC Kaiserslautern. In the 2025/26 season he turned out for Luhe-Wildenau not between the posts but as a field player, a name from the top flight of German football lining up now at the Michael-Höbauer-Stadion.