Decline
Back in the Landesliga Bayern-Mitte, the ASV tried hard to regain Amateurliga Bayern status, finishing second three times in a row in 1978, 1979 and 1980. The first two times, it missed out on top-spot by only one point, in 1979 to local rival FC.[20] After this, the club declined further and was never in contention for the Landesliga title again. The FC didn't fare much better, fluctuating between Landesliga and Bezirksliga after its final relegation form the now Amateur-Oberliga Bayern in 1981. By 1989, both Herzogenaurach clubs had left the Landesliga for good.
The ASV lost its Landesliga status in 1987, when a player revolt over unpaid travel expenses made it lose its complete team and it had to field its youth side instead.[18] The club declined rapidly and was handed down all the way to the lowest division, the C-Klasse. Sponsor Adidas had by then mostly withdrawn its support, too.
A small revival followed in 1998, when the club briefly rose to the local Kreisliga again but it could not sustain this level and was promptly relegated again.
The club played in the A-Klasse Erlangen/Pegnitzgrund (X) in 2008–09, the lowest level of play in the region, and finished third in this league in 2008–09.[21] Its old rival the 1. FC Herzogenaurach had fallen down not quite as far in the league system, playing one level above in the Kreisliga Erlangen/Pegnitzgrund (IX) in 2008–09.[22]
In 2009–10, ASV won its league and earned promotion to the Kreisklasse, where it met FCH once more. While its rival earned promotion in 2010–11, ASV was a distant last in the league and relegated.
The old rivalry between the two clubs may have lost some of its punch, as has the local rivalry between the two sports brands. The town of Herzogenaurach is certainly not as divided any more as it once was.[23] In March 2007, a merger of the three local clubs was even discussed, the ASV and FC together with the SC Nord should form one club which would then be capable to reach Regionalliga level.[24]
The rivalry of the two companies, and with it to some extent the local football club issue, gained some international attention during the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, when a number of international news organisations picked up on it.[25]
By 2014 the club had fallen to new lows, dropping to the B-Klasse Erlangen/Pegnitzgrund 1, a league where 12 out of 15 teams were reserve sides but also included another former Bayernliga club, the BSC Erlangen.[26]
