Wilfried Finke: the furniture entrepreneur was the club’s greatest backer in his lifetime. From April 1997 to May 2018 the native of Paderborn served as president and chief financier of his home club. Under him, SC went up to Bundesliga 2 four times - in 2005, 2009, 2011 and 2018 - and once to the Bundesliga, in 2014. Finke always believed in top-flight football for “his” club and pushed hard for the construction of a new stadium as well as the training and youth development centre.\n\nHe sometimes rubbed politicians up the wrong way with his drive, but within the club he was always valued.
That included his idea of spinning off the professional side into a corporation so that financial security would endure even after his departure. Without him, SC Paderborn would not be what it is today.