1. FC Cologne

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1. FC Cologne
1.FC Cologne escudo.png
Coat of arms without a billy goat
society
Template: Infobox football company / maintenance / no picture
Surname 1. Football Club Cologne 01/07 e. V.
Seat Cologne , North Rhine-Westphalia
founding February 13, 1948
Colours Red White
Members 111,599 (as of May 8, 2020)
president Werner Wolf
Football company
Template: Infobox football company / maintenance / no picture
Surname 1. FC Köln GmbH & Co. KGaA
Limited partner 1. FC Köln e. V.
General partner GmbH 1. FC Köln Verwaltungs-GmbH
→ 100%: 1. FC Köln e. V.
Management
(general partner GmbH)
Horst Heldt (sports)
Alexander Wehrle (commercial)
Website fc.de
First team
Head coach Markus Gisdol
Venue Rheinenergiestadion
Places 50,000
league Bundesliga
2019/20 14th place
home
Away
Alternatively

The 1. FC Köln : (full name the first football club Cologne 7.1 eV. Is) with 111,599 members the largest sports club in Cologne and the sixth largest in Germany .

The club was founded on February 13, 1948 through the merger of the two football clubs Kölner BC 01 and SpVgg Sülz 07 . He was three times German champion , four times DFB Cup winner , reached the 1986 UEFA Cup final and eight times in a European Cup semi-finals.

The founding member of the Bundesliga stayed in the top German division for 35 years without interruption until 1998, where it is again active after its sixth promotion in the 2019/20 season . 1. FC Köln occupies eighth place in the Eternal Table of the Bundesliga and third place in the Eternal Table of the Oberliga West , the top division for West German clubs before the Bundesliga was introduced.

Since March 6, 2002, the professional football division (first team, U21, U19 and U17) has been outsourced to 1. FC Köln GmbH & Co. KGaA . The registered association holds 100 percent of the share capital (2.5 million euros) in the KGaA and is the sole shareholder of the general partner , 1. FC Köln Verwaltungs GmbH , who is authorized to manage the company and is fully liable .

history

Predecessor clubs and merger

Up until the Second World War there were several football clubs of roughly equal strength in Cologne, such as VfL Cologne 1899 and VfR Cologne 04 rrh. (which later became FC Viktoria Köln ), SpVgg Sülz 07 and Cologne BC 01. These clubs were primarily district clubs. No one was strong enough to assert themselves permanently against the large clubs from the Ruhr area or southern Germany. Between 1903 and 1933, Cologne clubs won the West German Championship only four times , including the Cologne BC 01 in 1912 and the SpVgg Sülz 07 in 1928, and then only reached the quarter-finals of the German Championship. From 1933 to 1944 the Gauliga Mittelrhein was the top division. There it was more possible to prevail against the competition from Aachen, Trier or Koblenz, but the end for the Cologne clubs in the subsequent final round almost consistently came in the preliminary round. The two clubs that later merged to form 1. FC Köln were Cologne BC 01 and SpVgg Sülz 07. They came to Bayenthaler SV, SV 1927 Köln and SV Victoria Köln exactly seven days earlier, which again in the same year merged to form SC Fortuna Köln .

Cologne Ball Game Club 1901

Coat of arms of Cologne BC 01

The Cologne Ball Game Club 1901 (short: Kölner BC 01) was founded as Cölner BC 01 on June 12, 1901 by dissatisfied members of the Borussia Cologne football club, which was established in May 1899 , the club colors were red and black. The club was in its first season 1902/03 in the top division, the district championship Cologne, divided, in which he finished third. He played his competitive games at the beginning on the Mülheimer Heide in the Riehl district and on the Volkswiese in the city ​​forest , before the "Platz an der Vitalisstraße" in Müngersdorf was chosen as the new venue in 1904 . However, the venue kept changing. From 1907, the club found a permanent location for home games in Klettenberg , near today's Geißbockheim .

In terms of sport, the club regularly reached mid-table positions in the first few years in the Cologne district championship and later in the southern Rhine district, in which between five and seven clubs participated. The ball game club mostly lost out against the inner-city competition from Cölner FC 1899 as well as against Bonn's FV or Alemannia Aachen . The best placement was achieved at the last edition of the district league in 1908/09 when they finished second. When the West German Game Association founded a new association league for the 1909/10 season , in which the strongest clubs from West Germany were to compete, Cologne BC was also divided there and reached third place. In this "ten league" you measured yourself for the first time with clubs outside the district. An important pillar of the team was the defender Robert Hense , who in October 1910 also became the first player from Cologne BC to be appointed to the German national team.

The first big success in the club's history was recorded by BC in Cologne in 1912. As a champion of the association league, he was qualified for the final of the West German championship . The final, at the same time the first duel with Borussia Mönchengladbach (at that time still Borussia München-Gladbach ), won the Cologne 4-2. As a result, Cologne BC took part in the final round of the German championship for the only time in its history , but in the quarter-finals they had no chance against the later finalists Karlsruher FV and lost 8-1. In the following season, the defending champion could not meet the expectations in the association league and was only eighth. In the last season before the First World War , no association league was held, instead the Cologne BC was sovereign champion of the district championship Rheinischer Südkreis . After the war, KBC dominated the local competition in this league, which from 1920 onwards was called the Gaume Championship Rheinischer Südkreis ; between 1919 and 1924 he was district or Gaumeister. Part of the team at that time included Franz Bolg, who later was one of the driving forces behind the merger to form 1. FC Köln, and midfielder Karl Flink , who became KBC's second German national player in July 1922 and the first coach of the 1. FC Köln was. In addition, Franz Kremer , who later became the first president of 1. FC Köln, joined KBC in 1919. During the successful time at the local level, the club was also twice runner-up in the West German championship. In the 1919/20 season they lost in the final VfTuR Munich-Gladbach with 1: 3 after extra time. Two years later, the club took second place behind Duisburg SpV .

In the 1921/22 season , Cologne BC won the decisive game for the West German championship against Arminia Bielefeld 2-1 and was thus actually established as West German champions. Subsequently, however, the Essen TB protested against the rating of his game against Cologne, which ended 2-2. The reason was the alleged lack of eligibility to play for Cologne's Scottish defender Gregor Smith. The Essen protest was allowed and a replay was scheduled, to which the Cologne team did not appear in protest. The Essenes were then declared the winner of the game and Bielefeld became champions. In the 1922/23 season there was the first duel against the later merger partner, SpVgg Sülz 07. After the successes at local level, there was a drop in performance in 1925, the series champion was last without a win. The new driving force in the city was VfR Köln 04 rrh. and SpVgg Sülz 07, which were also West German champions in 1926 and 1928. The KBC, on the other hand, could no longer keep up, finished second again in the district championship Rhine group 1 in 1930/31 and otherwise occupied places in the lower table region. After the National Socialists came to power and the league system switched to Gauligen, the Cologne Ballspiel Club only played once in the top division, the Gauliga Mittelrhein , and came in tenth. It was during this season that Hennes Weisweiler , who later became the master coach of 1. FC Köln, made his debut as a player at Cologne BC when he was 17.

Most of the KBC venue was destroyed during the war, and after the end of the war, the club was in a sporty and economic slump. In February 1947, Franz Kremer became the first chairman of the now only third-class club. At first Kremer wanted to rebuild Cologne BC; a year later, however, he became the most important figure in the merger with SpVgg Sülz 07 to form 1. FC Köln, which meant the end of the Cologne ball game club from 1901.

titles and achievements

Spielvereinigung Sülz 07

Stadium entrance, then to the main arena, today to the Rheinenergiestadion

The Spielvereinigung Sülz 07 (short: SpVgg Sülz 07) was founded in August 1907 as Spielverein Sülz 07 , the club colors were red and white. The first chairman was Karl Büttgen, who was honorary president of 1. FC Köln from 1948 until his death in 1970. In the first few years it was difficult for the club, which was founded relatively late, to compete against the many urban competitors that had been founded years earlier. A merger with FC Hertha Köln in 1919 was intended to make the club, now known as Spielvereinigung Sülz 07, more competitive. 15 years after it was founded, the Sülzer rose to the top division, the Gauliga Rheingau . The club played its home games on the cycling track in Müngersdorf. However, important games were held in the main arena in the "Sportpark Müngersdorf", which had space for 80,000 spectators and was the largest sports facility in Germany until the Olympic Stadium was built in Berlin. Today the Rheinenergiestadion stands at this point . The Sülzer clubhouse was Fort VI b , on whose foundation the billy goat home stands today.

In the first season 1922/23 in the Gauliga Rheingau, the club was sixth. Also in the following years they occupied places in the middle of the table. A steady development was noticeable, however, in 1925/26 the SpVgg had already advanced to third place, a year later it was sovereignly first in the Rhein-Südkreis 1 . In the season 1927/28 Sülz became champion, this time in the Rhine group II . This was followed by the first participation in the final round of the West German Championship. In this, the game association triumphed, led by the Austrian player- coach Ferdinand "Ferdl" Swatosch , among other things in Duisburg outclassed the series champion of the regional league Ruhr FC Schalke 04 with 7-2 and secured the West German championship with four more clear victories. With this success, the game association took part in the final round of the German championship . In the round of 16, the team built on their strong performance and surprisingly beat Eintracht Frankfurt 3-1. In the quarter-finals you had to travel to Munich, where you lost 2: 5 to Bayern .

In the game round 1928/29 Sülz again won a Rhine group, this time Group I. In the playoffs for participation in the final of the West German championship, Borussia Munich-Gladbach had to admit defeat. In the following year , SpVgg won the local championship for the third time in a row, now known as the Rhine regional championship and increased to 13 teams. A 4: 2 after extra time over Fortuna Düsseldorf gave them approval for the final round of the German championship. After a 4-2 win over FC Titania from Stettin in the second round, Hertha BSC visited Müngersdorf in the quarter-finals . The game ended 1: 1, so a replay was scheduled in Berlin, in which Sülz was outclassed by the future German champions Hertha BSC with 1: 8.

The 1929/30 season in West German football was overshadowed by the scandal surrounding the payment of footballers at FC Schalke 04 . There were also efforts to make football more professional. This led to the founding of the German Professional Football Association in October 1931 . Swatosch appeared here as part of 1. FC Köln , which consisted primarily of players from Sülz. That was also the first time that this club name appeared. Schalke, F. Sp. V. Cologne, FC Munich Gladbach Rheydt and 1. FC Wuppertal were also involved in this venture. There was also interest in clubs from Düsseldorf and Krefeld. The efforts were unsuccessful. Rather, Sülz 07 separated from Swatosch, probably also to wash away the professionalism again and to be politely amateurist. Thereupon there were legal disputes between Sülz 07 and Swatosch over outstanding payments. In the process that Swatosch won, it turned out that he received a monthly salary of 750 marks, which was about five times the wage of a mechanic.

In West German football, SpVgg Sülz 07 was one of the few clubs that already had professional structures and coaches and players were well paid. However, the West German Game Association wanted to comply with the amateur statutes, which is why the star of the team, Ferdl Schwatosch, was declared a professional player and banned. Sülz 07 was closed from May to the end of August 1931.

In 1932 they won again the Rhine group II , then failed in the semifinals of the West German championship at Borussia Fulda . In the last season of the West German Championship, Sülz was also champion of a Rhine group in 1933 . The club then failed again in the final round, this time clearly 7-0 to Fortuna Düsseldorf. In 1937, the club played for the first time in the Tschammerpokal , today's DFB Cup , which the later merger partner KBC never did. After a 2-0 win against Eintracht Frankfurt, they lost 0-2 to Eimsbütteler TV . In 1939 and 1942, two more participations in the cup competition followed, both of which ended with the second final round. After the introduction of the Gauligen, the Sülzer played a good role there. In the Gauliga Mittelrhein they played regularly with the top, after three third places they won the championship in 1939. In the final round of the German championship , the team beat Viktoria Stolp twice , but was again twice defeated by Fortuna Düsseldorf, which was not enough to advance. Georg “Schorsch” Euler was one of the defining figures of this time. In 1936 he became the only German national player for SpVgg Sülz 07. In 1944 the game association acted together with VfL Cologne in 1899 as a war community and won the Gauliga Mittelrhein. In the final round of the German championship they were defeated in the first round by a war community from Duisburg with 0: 2.

Just like KBC, the Sülz Spielvereinigung did very badly after the war, the club was only second class. Those responsible, Heinz Bremm and Fritz Plate, were quickly of the opinion that KBC boss Franz Kremer's idea should be followed and the two clubs should be merged into a new large club.

titles and achievements

Merger to form 1. FC Köln

When football started again in West Germany in 1947, rrh played with VfR Köln 04. and Preußen Dellbrück two clubs from Cologne in the top division, the newly founded Oberliga West , but with no promising chance to play a relevant role there. So both found themselves quickly in the lower table and had to relegate to the district league.

Founding document of 1. FC Köln

KBC boss Franz Kremer saw the failure as an opportunity to establish a major Cologne club. According to Kremer's ideas, this should not only be involved in the upper league, but also be able to intervene in the fight for the German championship. It was only when the SV Union Köln, which Kremer had requested, refused to merge with KBC, that attention turned to SpVgg Sülz 07. Although both clubs had a traditional rivalry, Kremer managed to remove most of the doubts at both clubs. Among other things, he advertised with the slogan “Do you want to become German champion with me?”, Which was quite daring, as it was a merger of a second-class with a third-class club. Even the intended name, First Football Club Cologne, which expressed the new club's claim, was neither justified by the age nor by the sporting importance of the merged clubs at the time, which other clubs in the city found presumptuous.

The longstanding chairman of the SpVgg, Karl Büttgen, advocated the merger and drove it on. Most of the club members who were against the merger justified this with the fact that they did not want to give up the tradition of the respective club, but they were in the minority.

"Tradition only makes sense if there is the will to do even greater things."

- Franz Kremer : The big clubs: 1. FC Köln, 1978

On February 13, 1948, 121 of 156 members of SpVgg Sülz 07 finally voted for a merger. The members of the Cologne BC also voted 156 to 10 in favor. On the same day, 1. FC Köln was officially founded in the “Roggendorf” pub in Sülz ( Luxemburger Strasse 188). Franz Kremer was unanimously elected first president. Kremer held the office for 19 years until his death and is still undisputedly the most important personality in the club's history.

1948–1960: Quick establishment in West German football and first titles

Coat of arms of 1. FC Köln from 1948 to 1967

The first years after the merger were characterized by the motivation to live up to the club name 1. FC Köln in terms of performance. After this was quickly substantiated, the club also quickly established itself in the upper third of the table in the Oberliga West, the top division for West German teams, in the 1950s. FC won this league for the first time in 1954. Outside of the playing field, this epoch was shaped by the authoritarian but far-sighted management of President Franz Kremer. Kremer anticipated that football in Germany would soon become more professional and organized the club accordingly early on. This fact gave the club advantages in a national comparison, especially in the early 1960s and when the Bundesliga was founded. In the 1950s, 1. FC Köln was still unsuccessful in the finals of the German championship against the big clubs from the south and north.

Beginnings after the establishment

Hans Schäfer (left, 1957)
season league space Points
1947/48 Rhine District League 1 36:22
1948/49 Rhine District League 1 49: 03
highlighted in green: promotion to the Oberliga West

Just two days after it was founded, Cologne's 1st football club played its first competitive game in the Rheinbezirks-Liga Group 1 . In front of 2,432 spectators in Sülz, FC won against SuS Nippes 12 with 8: 2 (see also: match dates for the first competitive game in 1948 ). The FC took over the place in the second-class Rheinbezirks-Liga from one of the previous clubs, the SpVgg Sülz 07 . The group was won and you qualified for the playoffs for promotion to the Oberliga West . The team fought two close duels against Rhenania Würselen , but ultimately lost out after the two games (0-0 and 0-1).

In the 1948/49 season, the first full season played by 1. FC Köln, Hans Schäfer made his debut, one of the most formative players of 1. FC Köln, who is the club's record scorer with a total of 304 goals. Hennes Weisweiler acted as player- coach . The FC dominated the district group at will and qualified with a sovereign 49: 3 points again for the decisive games for the promotion to the top class. The opponent this time was Bayer 04 Leverkusen and after goals from Franz Alexius and Walter Radant , FC won 2-0. The Cologne team also won the second leg 3: 1, making the promotion to the Oberliga West perfect (see also: game dates for the promotion game to Oberliga West 1949 ). After that, 1. FC Köln remained first class for 49 years straight until relegation from the Bundesliga in 1998 . Since 1951 it has also been the best club in Cologne without interruption in terms of placement in league games.

Establishment in the Oberliga West

Frans de Munck (1957)

In the first league season in 1949/50 , FC was fifth, narrowly missing out on admission to the final round of the German championship and also had to give way to local rivals Prussia Dellbrück , who was runner-up in the league. In 1950/51 Dutch goalkeeper Frans de Munck , who scored two goals in 100 games, and Josef "Jupp" Röhrig , who became the first German national player for 1. FC Cologne in November 1950, joined the club. The Cologne team continued to improve their game and were involved in a four-way battle for the West German championship for a long time, where they ultimately had to give way to the Ruhrpott clubs Borussia Dortmund and FC Schalke 04 as well as Prussia Münster and came in fourth. The club's games took place in the main arena built in 1923 in the Müngersdorf sports park , where SpVgg Sülz 07 already played their important games. Until the construction of the “new” Müngersdorfer Stadium in 1971, the venue remained the home of FC.

season league space Points
1949/50 Oberliga West 5 37:23
1950/51 Oberliga West 4th 38:22
1951/52 Oberliga West 5 33:27
1952/53 Oberliga West 2 43:17

On February 13, 1950, exactly two years after the club was founded, the circus director Carola Williams and Johann Thelen, who was the circus director at the time, presented the FC with a young billy goat at a carnival meeting , which was supposed to serve as a lucky charm for the club. The gift was accepted and the animal was named " Hennes " after the player- coach Hennes Weisweiler . Within a few years, the billy goat, which was always present at the club's home games, became an object of identification. The team was nicknamed "The Billy Goats".

In 1951/52 they played with the top again, this time fifth. For the game round 1952/53 the FC Hennes Weisweiler had to cope with the departure, which joined the Rheydter SV . Unimpressed by this, the club played a terrific season, won the first eleven games and was about to win the West German championship for the first time, which was handed over to Borussia Dortmund after a weaker second half. As a runner-up they qualified for the first time for the final round of the German championship , where the team could not prevail in the preliminary round against Eintracht Frankfurt and the eventual champions 1. FC Kaiserslautern . The game round brought another title, however, the FC won the West German Cup with a 2-0 win against Rot-Weiss Essen .

West German master for the first time

The 1953/54 season was the most successful in the club's young history. By winning the West German Cup, FC qualified for the DFB Cup for the first time . The team, reinforced by players like Hans Graf , Georg Stollenwerk or Herbert Dörner , reached the final after winning over BFC Viktoria 1889 and Hamburger SV . In this first big final in club history, FC in Ludwigshafen was defeated by VfB Stuttgart 1-0 after extra time (see also: game dates for the 1954 DFB Cup final ). In the top league, FC Lange Zeit fought a three-way battle for the title with FC Schalke 04 and Rot-Weiss Essen, in which Cologne finally prevailed and became West German champions for the first time. In the final round of the German championship they met again on Kaiserslautern and Frankfurt. Cologne held up better this time, beating Frankfurt 3: 2 and lost to 1. FC Kaiserslautern 3: 4 in the decisive game for a place in the final.

The billy goat home (1996)
Karl-Heinz Schnellinger (1968)
season league space Points DFB Cup
1953/54 Oberliga West 1 41:19 final
1954/55 Oberliga West 7th 29:31 Round of 16
1955/56 Oberliga West 7th 32:28 -
1956/57 Oberliga West 3 39:21 -
1957/58 Oberliga West 2 40:20 -
1958/59 Oberliga West 2 39:21 -
highlighted in blue: West German master

Outside the field, 1. FC Köln continued to develop steadily. The construction of the billy goat home , at that time one of the most modern club houses in football, which opened in September 1953, was symbolic of this . As early as 1949, at the suggestion of President Franz Kremer, the club set up a special account for the "creation of a large sports facility", to which 10 percent of every game income of the 1st team was paid.

Paul Mebus , who had been with FC since 1951, and Hans Schäfer when they became world champions with the German national team at the 1954 World Cup attracted a lot of attention . Schäfer played a major role in this, he scored four goals in five games and played the final over the full distance. The defending champion was only seventh in “everyday life in the Oberliga” in 1954/55 , and in the round of 16 of the DFB Cup it was even 7-0 against 1. FC Kaiserslautern. In the following year they were seventh again in the league. In the 1956/57 season things went up again in tabular form. In the end, the team came third behind Borussia Dortmund and Duisburg SpV .

In the season 1957/58 met Karl-Heinz Schnellinger for FC, in 1962, the first German Footballer of the Year of the 1. FC Köln was and was from 1958 to 1963 fundamental part of the Cologne team. In addition, the season was the last of the second term of office of Hennes Weisweiler, who had returned in 1955 after ending his playing career exclusively as a coach. The FC was just behind FC Schalke 04 runner-up in the Oberliga and took part in the final of the German championship for the third time . There they first met 1. FC Kaiserslautern, who had previously appeared as a "fearful opponent", and defied the Palatinate 3: 3 after extra time. In a replay, Cologne prevailed 3-0 and reached the group stage. In this one met Hamburger SV and for the first time also the record champions at the time, 1. FC Nürnberg . The team lost against both of them, but there was a 1-1 draw against FK Pirmasens . In the West German Cup they reached the final and lost to Fortuna Düsseldorf .

A year later , FC strengthened enormously with striker Christian Müller . Between 1958 and 1966, Müller scored 128 goals for the billy goats in 181 games. 1. FC Köln was again runner-up in the Oberliga West, this time behind the surprise champion Westfalia Herne . In the fourth participation in the final of the German championship, they ran in the group stage ahead of Werder Bremen and FK Pirmasens, but clearly behind Eintracht Frankfurt, the eventual champions, in second.

1960–1970: Top club in Germany, dramas in Europe

The era of the 1960s was the most successful in the history of 1. FC Köln. During this time, the club became German champions twice, runners-up three times, West German champions four times and DFB Cup winners once. In addition, the FC fought numerous "battles" in the European Cup, once reached the quarter-finals of the European Cup and the semi-finals of the European Cup Winners' Cup and the Messestädte Cup . At that time, 1. FC Köln was considered the leading football club in Germany, also because of its very modern organizational structure and sporting methodology for the time.

German champion, series champion of Oberliga West and debut in European Cup

Oswald Pfau (left, 1956)

In 1960, Josef Röhrig was a well-deserved player who left the club, who had played 242 games and scored 35 goals in ten years. In the Oberliga game round 1959/60 , FC West German champions. Had part in it and Helmut Rahn , who was this season at FC active and scored 11 goals, coach was Oswald Pfau . In the West German Cup, the Cologne team reached the final, which was lost to Borussia Mönchengladbach. In the final round of the German championship , FC prevailed in the preliminary round for the first time, won the group with Werder Bremen, FK Pirmasens and Tasmania Berlin and reached the final of the championship for the first time. The FC lost the game in Frankfurt against Hamburger SV 2: 3. Christian Breuer and Christian Müller scored the goals for Cologne . But the decisive man on the pitch was Hamburg's Uwe Seeler , who scored two goals (see also: game dates for the final of the German championship in 1960 ).

In the following season there was no way around 1. FC Köln in the league. Driven by Hans Schäfer, who scored 20 goals, FC were West German champions for the third time with three points ahead of Borussia Dortmund. Further pillars were Fritz Ewert and Leo Wilden . In the championship final against the eventual champions 1. FC Nürnberg as well as Werder Bremen and Hertha BSC, however, things went less well. They only won one game and in the DFB Cup they failed in the round of 16 against Werder Bremen.

Zlatko Čajkovski (1967)
season league space Points DFB Cup European Cup
1959/60 Oberliga West 1 44:16 - -
1960/61 Oberliga West 1 42:18 Quarter finals -
1961/62 Oberliga West 1 44:16 Quarter finals MP, 1st round
1962/63 Oberliga West 1 42:18 - LC, 1st round
yellow background: German champion (also West German champion)
blue background: West German champion
LC: European Champion's Cup, MP: Messestädte-Pokal

For the league season 1961/62 , Franz Kremer signed the Yugoslav Zlatko "Tschik" Čajkovski as a coach, who was already active as a player at FC from 1955 to 1958. Cologne was Čajkovski's first coaching position, but Kremer was convinced that Čajkovski would be a perfect fit for the team. In addition, Matthias Hemmersbach was a new member of the club, who quickly became a regular and should play 249 Bundesliga games at FC in twelve years. At the beginning of the season, 1. FC Köln competed in a European Cup for the first time. In the Messestädte-Pokal , players from FC have already played, but together with players from other Cologne clubs than Cologne XI . When they first participated as 1. FC Köln, they faced seven-time Italian champions Inter Milan . After a 4: 2 in the first leg in Cologne, FC lost 2: 2 in Milan and there was a play-off, which Inter won 5: 3. In the DFB Cup, the quarter-finals against Eintracht Frankfurt were the final destination.

For the third time in a row and for the fourth time in total, the billy goats won the West German Championship - albeit by just one point ahead of FC Schalke 04. This time everyone involved wanted to finally take the last step and fully exploit their potential in the final round of the championship . In the group stage, as often before, they faced rivals Eintracht Frankfurt and Hamburger SV as well as the outsider FK Pirmasens. After a 3-1 win against Frankfurt, the team also won against HSV in Hanover: Christian Müller scored the golden goal for 1. FC Köln in an exciting 1-0. In the final home game against Pirmasens, FC won 10-0 and qualified for the final of the German championship for the second time after 1960. There the FC met the eight-time German champions and last year's winner 1. FC Nürnberg. With goals from Hans Schäfer, Fritz Pott and two goals from Ernst-Günter Habig , 1. FC Köln cleared Nuremberg 4-0 in the Berlin Olympic Stadium and were German champions for the first time (see also: Match dates for the 1962 German championship final ) .

Championship trophy

The championship team in 1962

The 1962/63 season was dominated by participation in the European Champion Clubs' Cup . The first game in the club's history in this most important competition for European club teams, the forerunner of the UEFA Champions League , ended in the biggest defeat at this level to date. The FC lost at the Scottish champions FC Dundee with 1: 8. The 4-0 success in the second leg was not enough to advance. In the last season of the Oberliga, however, things went much better as usual and FC secured the West German championship for the fifth time. In the “Eternal Table” of the Oberliga, 1. FC Köln took third place with 14 out of 16 possible seasons and 543 points. In the decision-making round for the German championship , FC prevailed convincingly in its group against 1. FC Nürnberg, Hertha BSC and 1. FC Kaiserslautern and reached the last final of the German championship. In Stuttgart, a goal by Karl-Heinz Schnellinger was not enough against Borussia Dortmund, Cologne lost 1: 3 (see also: game data for the final of the German championship in 1963 ).

First Bundesliga champion

season league space Points DFB Cup European Cup
1963/64 Bundesliga 1 45:15 Quarter finals MP, semifinals
MP: Exhibition Cities Cup>
Wolfgang Weber (1968)

When the Bundesliga was founded in 1963 - FC President Franz Kremer had been one of the most energetic advocates of the introduction of this new league - Cologne also found their place there as the reigning West German champions. The team was strengthened for the season with Wolfgang Overath and Wolfgang Weber , who will shape the club in the coming years and will also become pillars of the national team. Overath played 542 competitive games for 1. FC Köln, making it the club's record player. Weber made 470 competitive appearances. Georg Knöpfle was the new coach at the beginning of the season , as Zlatko Čajkovski moved to Bayern Munich .

Georg Knöpfle (1955)

1. FC Köln became the first Bundesliga champions in the 1963/64 season . This title was won in a sovereign manner, which made it clear that the Cologne team were way ahead of the competition at that time, which was also due to the fact that 1. FC Köln was best at the dawn of the professional era in German football was prepared. The team was only not top of the table on matchday four for the whole season. In the DFB Cup, the team surprisingly failed in the quarter-finals to Hertha BSC , but this did not change their dominance in the Bundesliga.

In addition, the FC won another title with the West German Cup. The competition, which was won a second time, was no longer played at that time; rather, the award was presented to the club that achieved the best placement among the western clubs in the DFB Cup. At the end of the league they had a six point lead over Meidericher SV and Eintracht Frankfurt. The top scorers in the first Bundesliga season for FC were Karl-Heinz Thielen with 16 and Christian Müller with 15 goals.

The championship team in 1964

The club was also involved in the championship season at European level. In the Messestädte-Pokal they first prevailed against KAA Gent , Sheffield Wednesday and AS Roma and reached the semi-finals against FC Valencia . FC lost 4-1 in the first leg in Spain and won 2-0 in the second leg, which just meant they were eliminated.

Death of Franz Kremers, bad luck in Rotterdam and first DFB Cup victory

In the second Bundesliga season 1964/65 , the Cologne team was the defending champion and the favorite to win the championship again. New to the team was Hannes Löhr , who was to stay for 14 years and during this time scored 186 goals in 386 games. After a bad start to the season, the team worked their way up the table and were leaders on matchday 16. The most consistent team, however, was Werder Bremen and in the end second Bundesliga champions; FC was runner-up with three points less. In the DFB Cup, the Cologne team failed in round one at 1. FC Nürnberg.

Rotterdam coin toss

In the European Champions Cup, FC sold significantly better than when they last played there two years earlier. In the first round they met Partizan Tirana , who were beaten 2-0 after a 0-0 first leg in Cologne. Against Panathinaikos Athens , the FC achieved a 1-1 draw and won the second leg 2-1. For the first time, 1. FC Köln was among the eight best teams in Europe. In the quarter-finals, the billy goats met six-time English champions Liverpool FC . The Cologne team went into the duel as outsiders, and there was also no veteran Hans Schäfer due to injury, who ended his career at the end of the season. The first leg in Cologne ended goalless, in the second leg FC goalkeeper Toni Schumacher fended off Liverpool's continuous bombardment over 90 minutes, and the second leg also ended 0-0. The play-off took place in the neutral Rotterdam De Kuip , and it came to one of the most memorable European Cup games ever. Wolfgang Weber broke his fibula after 20 minutes, but continued to play after a short treatment. Liverpool in the meantime scored two goals and were 2-0 up. Karl-Heinz Thielen shortened shortly before the break and shortly after the restart, Hannes Löhr managed to equalize to 2-2. The duel did not find a winner in extra time either. At the time, UEFA rules stipulated that the winner should be determined by tossing a coin . Referee Robert Schaut did not use a coin, but a small wooden disc with a red and white side. He identified red as the color of Liverpool. After the throw the disc got stuck upright in the grass, after the second throw the disc showed red and the FC was eliminated (see also: coin toss of Rotterdam ).

season league space Points DFB Cup European Cup
1964/65 Bundesliga 02 38:22 1 round LC, quarter-finals
1965/66 Bundesliga 05 44:24 Round of 16 MP, round of 16
1966/67 Bundesliga 07th 37:31 Round of 16 -
1967/68 Bundesliga 04th 38:30 winner MP, 2nd round
1968/69 Bundesliga 13 32:36 1 round PS, semi-finals
1969/70 Bundesliga 04th 43:25 final -
LC: European Champion Clubs 'Cup, PS: European Cup Winners' Cup, MP: Messestädte-Pokal
Monument to Franz Kremer
DFB Cup

In the Bundesliga season 1965/66 it became clear that FC would initially be given supremacy to other clubs, such as Borussia Dortmund or the two Munich clubs FC Bayern, which also failed in the second round of the Cup, and TSV 1860 , the champions , had submitted. Nevertheless, it was enough for the FC to fifth place. In the Messestädte-Pokal , the club tried to forget its European trauma from the previous year at a slightly lower level. After victories over Union Luxemburg , which were swept 13-0 out of the stadium in Cologne, which is the highest competitive win in the club's history to date and the highest European Cup victory of a German team of all time, and Aris Thessaloniki was in the third round against Újpesti Dózsa SC (3: 2, 0: 4) End of the line. The club management decided after the season to change the coaching position, Willi Multhaup succeeded the master coach Georg Knöpfle. The following season ended the FC, who strengthened with goalkeeper Milutin Šoškić , among others , in a disappointing seventh place. In the DFB Cup, the team lost to the eventual cup winner Hamburger SV in the round of 16.

On November 11, 1967 (FC had won the Bundesliga at Eintracht Frankfurt a few hours earlier), the club was shaken by the sudden death of President Franz Kremer. Kremer was 63 years old and was president of 1. FC Köln for 19 years. A small stadium next to the Geißbockheim, which was still planned by Kremer and completed in 1971, was named in 1977. His successor was initially temporarily Werner Müller , before Oskar Maaß was elected as the new president in 1968 .

Heinz Flohe (1976)

In the 1967/68 season , the FC strengthened themselves with Heinz Simmet and Carl-Heinz Rühl , mixed in the league for a long time and finished fourth. Heinz "Flocke" Flohe , who was signed in the previous year and who was to become one of the best players in the club's history, also contributed with 5 goals in 17 games . Hannes Löhr became the first Bundesliga top scorer of the FC with 27 goals . In Europe they competed in the Exhibition Cities Cup , first defeating Slavia Prague and then losing to the Glasgow Rangers . In the cup , the Cologne team reached the final for the second time since 1954. After victories over FC 08 Homburg , Eintracht Frankfurt, Eintracht Braunschweig and Borussia Dortmund, the opponent in the Ludwigshafen final was VfL Bochum . After the lead for FC Bochum equalized immediately. The decisive player in the final was then newcomer Carl-Heinz Rühl, who scored the 2: 1 and 3: 1, followed by 4: 1 by Hannes Löhr. This was the first time that 1. FC Köln won the DFB Cup (see also: match dates for the 1968 DFB Cup final ).

In the 1968/69 season , after winning the cup the year before, FC took part in the European Cup Winners' Cup , the second most important European competition at the time. In the coaching position, Hans Merkle replaced the cup winner coach Willi Multhaup. After two serious injuries to Milutin Šoškić, Paul Heyeres was the new regular goalkeeper this season. Moreover met Peter Blusch and Werner Biskup new to the team. The Cologne team confidently eliminated Girondins Bordeaux , ADO Den Haag and Randers Freja in the first rounds before they went to the semi-finals against eight-time Spanish champions FC Barcelona . In the first leg, the teams separated 2-2, in the second leg the Cologne team had no chance at Camp Nou : Josep Fusté scored three goals and Barcelona won 4-1. Carl-Heinz Rühl was the top scorer of the competition with six goals . The long activity in the European Cup paid tribute to the performances in the national competitions. While the defending champion of the cup broke the sails against VfB Stuttgart in the first round, the team in the Bundesliga was also worse than ever. Cologne lost 13th of their 17 away games. It was thanks to their strength at home that they still came in 13th. Nevertheless, the FC was in relegation until the last day of the game. On the 34th matchday it came to a duel with the previous year's champions 1. FC Nürnberg, who only helped a victory to avoid relegation, which in turn would have meant the relegation of 1. FC Köln. Wolfgang Overath scored 1-0 shortly after half-time, then Rühl and Hornig increased to 3-0 and 1. FC Köln held the class; 1. FC Nürnberg was relegated.

In the 1969/70 season , attacker Bernd Rupp joined FC, who hit the mark and scored a total of 55 goals in his three years at the club. He joined the established Wolfgang Overath, Wolfgang Weber, Hannes Löhr and goalkeeper Manfred Manglitz , all of whom were in the German squad at the 1970 World Cup . Heinz Flohe also finally prevailed this season and became an essential regular player in Cologne. In Cologne they won 14 of the 17 games and were in first place in the table after 27 match days, but the important games against the eventual champions Borussia Mönchengladbach and FC Bayern Munich were lost, so that in the end they reached fourth place. In the cup competition, the billy goats reached the final for the third time. After they had prevailed against Rot-Weiss Essen, MSV Duisburg, Borussia Mönchengladbach and Alemannia Aachen , they met the second division Kickers Offenbach in the final in Hanover . The clearly favored FC had to find out that they were inferior to the Hessians. The Kickers were leading 2-0 after 64 minutes, before Hannes Löhr reduced it to 1: 2. Shortly before the end, Werner Biskup had a great chance to equalize with a penalty, but he missed. Offenbach's cup victory against Cologne is considered to be one of the biggest cup sensations (see also: game dates for the 1970 DFB Cup final ).

1970–1980: Under Weisweiler to "double" and regular guest in the European Cup

1. FC coat of arms from 1967 to 1973

The decade of the 1970s brought 1. FC Köln 1978 the “ double ” consisting of the championship and the DFB Cup. This had previously only been achieved by FC Bayern Munich; FC is one of only four clubs that have celebrated this double success so far. In addition, the FC won the DFB Cup the year before and it went three times as a loser from the cup final; he was also runner-up in 1973. However, the 1970s era in German football was shaped by Bayern Munich and Borussia Mönchengladbach, who made eight of the ten championship titles among themselves. The Gladbachers developed during this time also because of the geographical proximity to the archenemy of the FC. At the European level, the club was represented every year with one exception, mainly in the newly created UEFA Cup . The team reached the semi-finals once there as well as in the European Champions Cup and in the Messestädte Cup.

Two European semi-finals, DFB Cup final trauma and home games in the "Radrennbahn"

season league space Points DFB Cup European Cup
1970/71 Bundesliga 11 33:35 final MP, semifinals
1971/72 Bundesliga 04th 43:25 Semifinals UC, 2nd round
1972/73 Bundesliga 02 43:25 final UC, round of 16
1973/74 Bundesliga 05 39:29 Quarter finals UC, quarter-finals
1974/75 Bundesliga 05 41:27 Round of 16 UC, semi-finals
UC: UEFA Cup, MP: Exhibition Cities Cup

The 1970/71 season was overshadowed by the Bundesliga scandal . The goalkeeper Manfred Manglitz from Cologne was also involved, who was demonstrably bribed in three FC games against relegation-threatened clubs. FC won two of the three games and lost one 2: 4. Manglitz was therefore suspended, and Gerhard Welz was the new goalkeeper . Jupp Kapellmann and Bernd Cullmann were the most important player commitments this year. Cullmann was to stay for 13 years and play 341 games for FC. Under the new coach Ernst Ocffekt , who should only stay this one season, Cologne reached the semi-finals of the Messestädte-Pokal for the second time , which was held for the last time. On the way there, the team eliminated CS Sedan Ardennes , Fiorentina , Spartak TAZ Trnava and Arsenal FC . Opponent in the semifinals was the 13-time Italian champion Juventus Turin . In the first leg in Cologne it was only enough to make it 1-1, in Turin FC lost 2-0 and missed the final. The performances in the Bundesliga suffered greatly from the exhausting participation in European competition, with FC only finishing eleventh. In the cup , 1. FC Köln made it into the final for the fifth time. After a 3-2 away win at FC Schalke 04, they met FC Bayern Munich in the final. Bernd Rupp put Cologne in the lead, but Franz Beckenbauer equalized. In extra time, the Munich team scored the winning goal shortly before the end (see also: match dates for the 1971 DFB Cup final ).

Cologne Cycle Stadium, site of the Müngersdorfer Radrennbahn at that time

As a cup finalist, the billy goats reached international business the following season under coach Gyula Lóránt and with the newcomers Gerhard Welz, Jürgen Glowacz and Harald Konopka - who stayed for twelve years and played 335 competitive games. In the UEFA Cup , which was held for the first time , they first prevailed against AS Saint-Étienne and met in the second round against FC Dundee, which they had historically been defeated by seven years earlier in the national championship cup . This time, too, the team failed because of the Scots: After a 2-1 win in Cologne, they lost 4-2 in Dundee. In the Bundesliga you reached higher regions again and came fourth in the end. In the DFB-Pokal , there were exciting comparisons with Kickers Offenbach (1: 3, 4: 0) and Bayern Munich (0: 3, 5: 1), in which Cologne high away defeats due to even higher ones, due to a change in mode to the first and second legs Made up for home wins. In the semi-finals against FC Schalke 04, however, it was Schalke who had the advantage of the home game in the second leg and equalized a 1: 4 from the first leg in Cologne. In the penalty shootout, Schalke finally prevailed.

Harald "Toni" Schumacher (1982)

At that time, 1. FC Köln played all home games in the Müngersdorfer Radrennbahn , as the main arena in the Müngersdorf Sports Park was demolished and the new Müngersdorfer Stadium was built in the same place, which was completed in 1975. The four years in the cycling track were economically difficult to cope with. While there was still space for 60,000 spectators in the main arena, it was only 22,000 in the beginning and later 28,000.

1972/73 came Toni Schumacher for FC. In the first few years he was a substitute goalkeeper behind Gerhard Welz, but after his ongoing injury he became the new regular goalkeeper and stood 541 times for FC between the posts in 15 years. In addition, the team was reinforced with defender Herbert Hein and midfielder Herbert Neumann , who were immediately important components of the team. The coach this season was Rudi Schlott . FC played the best season in eight years and was eleven points behind the outstanding FC Bayern Munich for the fourth time. The 1972/73 DFB Cup was dominated by one of the highest-quality finals in DFB Cup history between FC and arch rivals Borussia Mönchengladbach, after Cologne sovereignly defeated Hamburger SV (2: 2, 4: 1), Eintracht in the semifinals Braunschweig (5: 0, 3: 2) and Kickers Offenbach (5: 0, 1: 1) had prevailed. After an early lead for Mönchengladbach, Herbert Neumann equalized shortly before the break. The top player of Borussia, Günter Netzer , sat on the bench and was constantly challenged by the Gladbach fans, but stayed out at his own request for the time being. In extra time, Netzer took on himself without the Gladbach trainer Hennes Weisweiler intervening. In the 94th minute of the game, Netzer scored the winning goal to make it 2-1. For the billy goats it was the third cup final in four years that was lost (see also: DFB Cup final 1973 ).

World Champion 1974: Wolfgang Overath (left)

In the UEFA Cup , after victories over Bohemians Dublin and Viking Stavanger, they also failed to Mönchengladbach. After a 0-0 win in Cologne, the team in the Niederrhein region clearly lost 5-0. Peter Weiand became the fourth president of 1. FC Köln in 1973. His 14-year tenure was the second longest in the club's history. For the 1973/74 season , the new club management installed the 1962 master coach , "Tschik" Čajkovski ; the most important new player was the striker Dieter Müller , whose signing was an absolute stroke of luck. Müller scored 159 goals in 248 Bundesliga games for 1. FC Köln. Cologne finished the game round in fifth place. In the UEFA Cup, FC initially knocked out Eskişehirspor , Olympique Marseille and OGC Nice before the team failed in the quarter-finals to Tottenham Hotspur (1: 2, 0: 3). In the cup, the quarter-finals against Eintracht Frankfurt also ended.

Germany became world champions for the second time in 1974 . As in 1954, FC players were also part of the national team. With Wolfgang Overath, Heinz Flohe and Bernd Cullmann there were three players from 1. FC Köln in 1974 who won the world championship. While Overath appeared in all seven World Cup games and scored two goals, Flohe and Cullmann each came on three appearances.

The defenders Gerd Strack and Herbert Zimmermann , who had acted as strikers for Bayern Munich , were signed for the 1974/75 Bundesliga . Both stayed with the club for over a decade and were mostly regulars. 1. FC Köln could not maintain the high level of the early days in the Bundesliga and established themselves in the top five of the table, which usually qualified them for the UEFA Cup. So also in this game round, which the team finished fifth. In the cup, Cologne failed early on Fortuna Düsseldorf. In the UEFA Cup , the FC reached the semi-finals for the first time. After beating Kokkolan Palloveikot , Dinamo Bucharest , Partizan Belgrade and FC Amsterdam , the opponent in the semifinals was once again Borussia Mönchengladbach. In the first leg in Cologne, one of the last FC games in the Radrennbahn, the Gladbachers laid the foundation for the final with a 3-1 away win, and Borussia also won the second leg 1-0.

Müngersdorfer Stadium (1997)

Moving into the Müngersdorfer Stadium and second DFB Cup victory

In November 1975 the Müngersdorfer Stadium was opened, which relieved the FC economically. Initially there was space for 61,000 spectators in the new stadium, but over the years the capacity has been reduced to just under 50,000. New signings at the start of the season were Roland Gerber and Dieter Prestin . The former FC player in Oberliga times Georg Stollenwerk replaced Zlatko Čajkovski as coach during the season and stayed until the end of the season. In the first Bundesliga season after moving into the new stadium, the Cologne team came fourth, in the cup they failed in the quarter-finals at Bayern Munich. The team also dropped out relatively early in the UEFA Cup . After they prevailed against Boldklubben in 1903 , they lost in the second round to Spartak Moscow (0: 2, 0: 1).

Hennes Weisweiler started his third tenure as coach of 1. FC Köln in the 1976/77 round , which ended in 1980. During this time he was responsible for the greatest success in the club's history by winning the double in 1978. Also new to the club was Belgian winger Roger Van Gool , who scored 28 goals in 98 games. In the league, FC finished fifth, while Dieter Müller was the club's second top scorer with 34 goals. In the UEFA Cup, after victories against GKS Tychy and Grasshopper Club Zurich, the last sixteen against Queens Park Rangers was the final destination. In the DFB Cup , 1. FC Köln made it into the final for the sixth time. After they won 4-2 after extra time against Fortuna in Düsseldorf and beat Rot-Weiss Essen 4-0 in the semifinals, the opponent in the final in Hannover was Hertha BSC. The game ended 1-1 and even after extra time there was no winner. This led to the peculiarity that the winner of the DFB Cup was determined for the only time in its history in a replay, which took place two days later in the same place. FC won this game 1-0 with a goal from Dieter Müller and secured their second DFB Cup victory (see also: game dates for the 1977 DFB Cup final ).

season league space Points DFB Cup European Cup
1975/76 Bundesliga 4th 39:29 Quarter finals UC, 2nd round
1976/77 Bundesliga 5 40:28 winner UC, round of 16
1977/78 Bundesliga 1 48:20 winner PS, 1st round
1978/79 Bundesliga 6th 38:30 Round of 16 LC, semi-finals
1979/80 Bundesliga 5 37:31 final -
LC: European Champion Clubs 'Cup, PS: European Cup Winners' Cup, UC: UEFA Cup

The “double” and among the four best in Europe

"Double" trainer 1978: Hennes Weisweiler

The 1977/78 season was the most successful in the history of the club. The team brought both the championship and the cup to Cologne and thus won the "double". In the European Cup Winners' Cup , the team failed in the double season in the first round at FC Porto (2: 2, 0: 1). At the beginning of the Bundesliga season, the most important player transfer was Yasuhiko Okudera , who came from Japan and was to stay for three years. In the DFB Cup , the Cologne team made it into the final as defending champions, in which it went against Fortuna Düsseldorf in Gelsenkirchen. With goals from Roger Van Gool and Bernd Cullmann, FC won 2-0 and won the DFB-Pokal for the third time (see also: game dates for the 1978 DFB-Pokal final ).

FC also played a consistently strong round in the league and was at the top of the table before the last matchday due to the ten goals better goal difference than arch rivals Borussia Mönchengladbach. Gladbach won against Borussia Dortmund 12-0 on the last day of the match , which would have brought Borussia the championship even if Cologne had won 2-0. However, FC won 5-0 at FC St. Pauli and ultimately became German champions with three fewer goals scored with the same number of goals. This means that 1. FC Köln won their first championship since 1964 and the third overall (see also: game data for the 5-0 win against FC St. Pauli ).

Dieter Müller also defended his title of top scorer with 24 goals, but had to share it with namesake Gerd . Dieter Müller also scored six goals in a 7-2 draw against Werder Bremen on matchday three, a Bundesliga record. After winning the double, some important regular players ended their active careers (e.g. Hannes Löhr), or changed clubs (e.g. Wolfgang Weber).

The doubles team in 1978

Club change during the season: Jürgen Glowacz (to Werder Bremen)

Pierre Littbarski (2006)

In the 1978/79 season , two later club icons began their careers. Pierre Littbarski joined the club at the age of 18 and, in his 14 years at FC, developed into one of the best offensive players the club has ever had in its ranks. "Litti" scored 116 goals in a total of 406 Bundesliga games. Stephan Engels also came when he was 18, stayed for eleven years and scored 39 goals in 236 games. In addition, Bernd Schuster began his career at FC in this game round. As champions of the previous year, 1. FC Köln took part in the European Champions Cup. After 1962/63 and 1964/65 it was the third, most successful and, to date, the last participation in this most important European club competition. In the first round, the FC won against the champions from Iceland ( ÍA Akranes ) and Bulgaria ( Lokomotiv Sofia ). in the quarter-finals they defeated the Glasgow Rangers (1-0, 1: 1). For the first time the billy goats reached the semi-finals of the national championship cup and were thus among the four best teams in Europe. 1. FC Köln was the first German club to have reached at least the semi-finals in all four European Cup competitions. Otherwise only Eintracht Frankfurt managed to do this. Against Nottingham Forest , Cologne drew 3: 3 in the first leg in England. In the second leg, a 0-0 for FC would have been enough to make it into the final, but the English won 1-0 in Müngersdorf and Cologne were eliminated (see also: match dates for the semi-finals of the 1979 European Cup ). Since it was only sixth in the league and they were eliminated in the cup in the round of 16, the FC could not qualify for a European competition after nine years of uninterrupted participation in the European Cup.

The last season in the 1970s ended in fifth place from Cologne. In addition, the team strengthened with Tony Woodcock and Holger Willmer reached the DFB Cup final for the eighth time in the club's history. There there was a new edition of the 1978 final against Fortuna Düsseldorf. Fortuna was able to return the favor for their defeat and won 2-1 (see also: Game data for the DFB Cup final 1980 ). Hennes Weisweiler had left FC shortly before the end of the season; he had fallen out with the bureau. His successor Karl-Heinz Heddergott was already on the bench at the cup final.

1980–1990: Last title win and UEFA Cup final

While FC won several titles per decade in the past decades, only one title was won in the 1980s with the DFB Cup victory in 1983, the last to this day. Nevertheless, the FC was still an integral part of the top third of the table in the Bundesliga, was runner-up three times and, with two exceptions, was always represented in the European Cup.

Fourth DFB Cup victory

season league space Points DFB Cup European Cup
1980/81 Bundesliga 8th 34:34 2nd round UC, semi-finals
1981/82 Bundesliga 2 45:23 1 round -
1982/83 Bundesliga 5 43:25 winner UC, round of 16
1983/84 Bundesliga 6th 38:30 Round of 16 PS, round of 16
PS: European Cup Winners' Cup, UC: UEFA Cup
Rinus Michels (1984)

The FC was most successful in the 1980/81 season in the UEFA Cup . With the newcomers Rainer Bonhof and Frank Hartmann as well as the new coach, "General" Rinus Michels , the Cologne team reached a semi-final in the European Cup for the sixth time. After the team knocked out ÍA Akranes in the first round, it came in round two to a great moment in the European cup history of 1. FC Köln; Opponent was the nine-time Spanish champions FC Barcelona, ​​who were defeated 4-0 in Barcelona after a 1-0 defeat in the first leg in Cologne. In the second round, the team narrowly defeated VfB Stuttgart (1: 3, 4: 1 a.s.) in the domestic German duel, in the quarter-finals they eliminated Standard Liège (0: 0, 3: 2). In the semifinals, both games were lost against Ipswich Town 0-1. In the national competitions they did significantly worse, in the Bundesliga it was only 8th place, the worst result since 1970/71. As a result, FC also lost first place in the Bundesliga all-time table , which they have held since the Bundesliga was founded, to champions FC Bayern Munich. In the cup, FC were eliminated in the second round against SC Freiburg .

In the 1981/82 season, FC was able to concentrate fully on the Bundesliga. The season brought the final breakthrough for Pierre Littbarski. He became an indispensable regular player for FC, scoring at least 15 goals in four consecutive seasons. With Klaus Allofs , Klaus Fischer , Paul Steiner and Matthias Hönerbach , there were also four important new signings that the club should stay with for a long time. The billy goats were particularly powerful at home this season; they got 28 out of 34 possible points. However, FC lost an important home game at the end of the season with 0: 1 against Arminia Bielefeld , which ruined the championship chances; FC was runner-up behind Hamburger SV. In the DFB Cup , the Cologne team failed in the first round.

The 1982/83 season brought FC their last title to date when they won the DFB Cup. On the way to the final, FC only got home games and won them clearly (exception: in the semifinals against VfB Stuttgart 3-2 after extra time). In the final, the team met city rivals Fortuna Köln . The game also took place in Cologne, in the Müngersdorfer Stadium. The second division was at least equal to the FC, the victory thanks to a goal from Pierre Littbarski was rather happy (see also: game dates for the DFB Cup final 1983 ). The billy goats came fifth in the Bundesliga. Participation in the UEFA Cup ended after victories against AEK Athens and Glasgow Rangers in the round of 16, in which they were defeated by AS Roma (1-0, 0-2).

By winning the DFB Cup last year, Cologne took part in the European Cup Winners' Cup for the third and last time . In the first round the team was able to make up for the 1-0 defeat in the first leg against SSW Innsbruck with a 7-1 defeat in the second leg in Cologne, but in round two they did well against Újpesti Dózsa SC Budapest (1-3, 4-2) Due to the more away goals scored, however, the Hungarians moved into the quarter-finals. In the Bundesliga, the team narrowly qualified for the UEFA Cup in sixth place, while in the cup they failed in the round of 16 against Hannover 96 . In 1984 Harald "Toni" Schumacher was named Footballer of the Year , among other things for his achievements in the national team. In 1986 he won this award again.

UEFA Cup final against Real Madrid

Klaus Allofs (2009)
"Icke" Häßler (2008)
season league space Points DFB Cup European Cup
1984/85 Bundesliga 03 40:28 2nd round UC, quarter-finals
1985/86 Bundesliga 13 29:39 2nd round UC, finals
UC: UEFA Cup

At the beginning of the 1984/85 season , the former FC player Hannes Löhr replaced Rinus Michels as coach. The most important player commitment was next to Uwe Bein , who came from Offenbach and who discovered Thomas “Icke” Häßler at the Reinickendorfern Füchsen . The midfield director and later world and European champion completed 149 Bundesliga games for Cologne and scored 17 goals. In addition, Häßler was voted Footballer of the Year in 1989 as the fourth and to this day last professional at 1. FC Köln. In the Bundesliga they played in the top third of the table as usual and ended up third, Klaus Allofs was the top scorer with 26 goals. In the cup, as in the previous year, they were eliminated in the second round against Hannover 96. Participation in the UEFA Cup , however, took longer. Pogoń Stettin , Standard Liège and Spartak Moscow could initially be eliminated before it went to the quarter-finals against the two-time World Cup winner Inter Milan. The first leg in Milan was just lost 0-1, in the second leg Inter also won with two goals from Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (3-1) and Cologne was eliminated.

The 1985/86 season was marked by serious problems in national competitions and reaching the final of the UEFA Cup. Olaf Janßen was the most important new signing, having completed 209 Bundesliga games for FC in eleven years at the club. Georg Keßler took over as coach during the season, as the team under Hannes Löhr was in great danger of relegation in the Bundesliga. Before the last game day, they were only one point ahead of the relegation place that Borussia Dortmund held. The FC won the last game 3-0 against VfL Bochum and secured the class. Round two of the cup against 1. FC Kaiserslautern was over . On the other hand, Cologne had great success in the UEFA Cup , in which they reached the final for the first time. In the first four rounds, 1. FC Köln prevailed against Sporting Gijón , Bohemians ČKD Prague , Hammarby IF and Sporting Lisbon . The opponent was the surprise team from KSV Waregem from Belgium. In the first leg, the team laid the foundation for progress with a convincing 4-0. In the second leg, the team quickly led 2-0, in the end it was 3: 3 and FC reached the final of a European Cup for the first time.

The final opponent was Real Madrid, the most successful European club team, making FC a clear underdog. A possible UEFA Cup victory was made even more difficult by a decision by UEFA , which suspended the Cologne team for the second leg of the final because, according to the judgment, there were riots among Cologne fans at the second leg of the semi-final in Belgium. The Berlin Olympic Stadium, a good 600 kilometers from Cologne, was chosen as the venue. Furthermore, Pierre Littbarski announced his departure these days, he switched to Racing Paris . This was preceded by a lengthy dispute with President Peter Weiand. Just four days after the rescue in the Bundesliga, the final first leg at Madrid's Estadio Santiago Bernabéu was on. FC took a 1-0 lead thanks to a goal from Klaus Allofs, but fell 2-1 behind with a double strike by the “Royal” before half-time. After another goal against shortly after the break, the result was still acceptable at 1: 3 until shortly before the end, when Real managed another double strike and ultimately won 5: 1. The omens for the second leg in the Berlin Olympiastadion were very bad. They tried everything, among other things, the players went through Berlin themselves to get as many spectators as possible excited about the final, but in the end only 16,185 spectators lost their way. Ralf Geilenkirchen and Uwe Bein at least ensured a 2-0 win, which was not enough in the overall result (5: 3 for Real), the Madrilenians won the UEFA Cup (see also: match dates for the 1986 UEFA Cup final ). Klaus Allofs secured the title of top scorer of the UEFA Cup with nine goals .

Two runner-up championships under Christoph Daum and Toni Schumacher's "Anpfiff"

Christoph Daum (2009)
season league space Points DFB Cup European Cup
1986/87 Bundesliga 10 35:33 Round of 16 -
1987/88 Bundesliga 03 48:20 2nd round -
1988/89 Bundesliga 02 45:23 2nd round UC, round of 16
1989/90 Bundesliga 02 43:25 Round of 16 UC, semi-finals
UC: UEFA Cup

In the 1986/87 season , Klaus' brother , Thomas Allofs, joined the club, who was also a striker and scored 30 goals in 70 Bundesliga games. Also new were Armin Görtz and Morten Olsen , who later even two years coach in Cologne was. The start of the season was completely botched, after seven games they only achieved one victory and were in 16th place. Georg Keßler was then put on leave and Christoph Daum installed as the new coach. Daum had already been with the club since 1975, first as a player in the amateur team, then as coach of this team and in the 1985/86 season as assistant coach of the first team. Daum led the team to tenth place in the secured midfield of the table after the bad start to the season. In the cup, FC were eliminated in the round of 16 against Bayer 05 Uerdingen . During the season, in March 1987, Toni Schumacher's book Anpfiff, Revelations about German Football, was published . The most violent reactions caused massive doping allegations and attacks against some of his former teammates, some of whom he insulted. The FC then suspended Schumacher, which ended his 15-year era in Cologne. After the season, Peter Weiand gave up his office as president, which he held for 14 years; Dietmar Artzinger-Bolten became his successor .

Bodo Illgner (front, 1994)

In addition to Schumacher, Klaus Allofs and Uwe Bein, two other important players, left FC for the 1987/88 season . Pierre Littbarski returned to the cathedral city after only one year. Also new to met among others Povlsen Flemming and Jürgen Kohler . The new regular goalkeeper was Bodo Illgner , who had already replaced the suspended Schumacher in the last season games of the previous season. Illgner made 326 Bundesliga games for the club in eleven years. While the team embarrassed themselves in the second round of the DFB Cup when they lost 1-0 to Viktoria Aschaffenburg , they played consistently strong in the Bundesliga and had a long chance of winning the championship, which Werder Bremen ultimately secured. In the end, FC came third behind Bremen and Bayern, qualifying for the UEFA Cup after a two-year break.

Karsten Baumann , Falko Götz , Frank Greiner and Horst Heldt were the most important new signings for the 1988/89 season , all of which were to play over 100 league games for Cologne. In the UEFA Cup , they prevailed against Royal Antwerp and Glasgow Rangers before the team narrowly failed in the round of 16 to Real Sociedad (0-1, 2-2). In the DFB Cup they were eliminated again in round two, this time against SV Waldhof Mannheim . In the Bundesliga it was possible to build on the good performance of the previous year. Again, FC was involved in the championship fight for a long time, but had to admit defeat again, this time to FC Bayern; the billy goats were runner-up. Thomas Allofs became the last Bundesliga top scorer to date with 17 goals, but had to share this title with Munich's Roland Wohlfarth .

For the 1989/90 Bundesliga season , FC had to cope with three departures. With Thomas Allofs, Matthias Hönerbach and Jürgen Kohler, three regular employees left the club and were to be replaced mainly by Alfons Higl and Frank Ordenewitz . The newcomers could be integrated quickly and the FC was able to maintain the good level of play of the previous year, again becoming runner-up behind the dominating Bayern. The lull in the DFB Cup continued, the team was eliminated early. In the UEFA Cup , a European Cup semi-finals were reached for the eighth and last time, four of them in the UEFA Cup. On the way there, TJ Plastika Nitra and Spartak Moscow were easily defeated. In the third round, the opponent was Red Star Belgrade , who won the first leg in Belgrade 2-0, but Cologne turned the duel with a 3-0 home win. In the quarterfinals, the team against Royal Antwerp initially had home rights and won 2-0, so a 0-0 in the second leg was enough. In the semifinals it was against Juventus Turin. In the first leg in Italy, the FC were quickly 3-0 down, but showed morale and reduced it to 2-3, which was a good starting position for the second leg. In this, the Cologne found no remedy against the strong defense work of Juventus, the game ended 0-0 and FC were eliminated. At the end of the season, Thomas Häßler moved to the UEFA Cup semi-final opponent and eventual winner Juventus Turin for the then record sum of DM 14 million, which made FC one of the richest clubs in Germany in one fell swoop.

1990–2000: A sporting crash and financial problems

The 1990s stand primarily for the sporting decline of the club, which was relegated from the Bundesliga for the first time in 1998. While titles have always been won in the past few decades, the DFB Cup final has only been reached once in this decade, which was lost. The club also ran into financial difficulties.

Cup finals, puzzles about the “Häßler millions” and accidental death of Maurice Banach

season league space Points DFB Cup European Cup
1990/91 Bundesliga 7th 37:31 final UC, round of 16
1991/92 Bundesliga 4th 44:32 3rd round -
UC: UEFA Cup

During the 1990 World Cup , coach Christoph Daum was unexpectedly dismissed without giving any public reason. As world champions from Italy, Pierre Littbarski, Paul Steiner , Bodo Illgner and Thomas Häßler returned to Germany as they did when they won titles in 1954 and 1974. Häßler had moved to Turin, but was still under contract with FC at the time of the World Cup.

New coach for the 1990/91 season was Erich Rutemöller . The most important new players were Maurice "Mucki" Banach and Henrik Andersen . In the UEFA Cup , FC Köln won against IFK Norrköping and against Internacionál Bratislava and lost just a little to Atalanta Bergamo in the round of 16 (1-1, 0-1). In the Bundesliga, the FC was again in the top third of the table, was seventh at the end of the season and thus narrowly missed out on participation in the 1991/92 UEFA Cup . Severe home defeats against VfB Stuttgart and the champions 1. FC Kaiserslautern contributed to this. In the DFB Cup 1990/91 1. FC Köln reached the final for the last time to date. The opponent in the final was Werder Bremen. The leadership of the Bremer was able to compensate for Banach. There were no hits in extra time, so the winner had to be determined on penalties. On the Cologne side Andrzej Rudy and Pierre Littbarski missed , at Werder only ex-Cologne Klaus Allofs, with which Bremen won the cup (see also: game dates for the DFB Cup final 1991 ).

Klaus Hartmann (1996)

In the course of 1991, President Artzinger-Bolten resigned and under his successor Klaus Hartmann a critical financial situation became apparent that even endangered the granting of a license. Even years later, it was not known how the FC could get into this situation despite the "Häßler millions" mentioned in the club's environment. Details of the transfer with Juventus Turin could never be clarified; However, he was responsible for Daum's dismissal and also for Artzinger-Bolten's resignation.

In the following years the club was strengthened economically under the new President Klaus Hartmann, but had clearly lost contact with the top of the Bundesliga, both in economic and sporting terms. Despite a limited budget, Rico Steinmann and Henri Fuchs were brought to FC. In the 1991/92 season things went badly at first. Erich Rutemöller had to vacate his coaching post after a weak start to the season. Udo Lattek , who had previously been FC's sports director for four years, and Johannes “Hannes” Linßen each took over for one game before Jörg Berger was hired. Berger led FC to fourth place, which is the last time the club qualified for the UEFA Cup for a quarter of a century . In the cup, the team failed in the third round.

The season was overshadowed by the death of Maurice Banach. The 24-year-old striker, who was considered one of the most hopeful young players in Germany, died in a traffic accident on November 17, 1991 on the way to training. Banach scored 24 goals in 49 games for FC.

Crash into the middle of the table

season league space Points DFB Cup European Cup
1992/93 Bundesliga 12 28:40 2nd round UC, 1st round
1993/94 Bundesliga 11 34:34 3rd round -
1994/95 Bundesliga 10 32:36 Semifinals -
1995/96 Bundesliga 12 40 1 round UI, semifinals
UC: UEFA Cup, UI: UI Cup

In the 1992/93 season , the club was in danger of relegation for the first time in almost ten years. While top performers such as Falko Götz or the Norwegian Anders Giske , who had played 70 Bundesliga games for the club since 1989, left FC, due to the tense economic situation with Kim Christofte, only one significant new signing could be made. In addition, Pablo Thiam moved up from his own youth to the professional team. The miserable away record contributed significantly to the fact that FC had to fight relegation until the penultimate matchday. Only six of the possible 34 points were taken abroad. After the 32nd matchday, Cologne were in 15th place and only one point before the first relegation place that VfL Bochum occupied. The following home game won the Domstadters against FC Schalke 04 2-1 and the class was secured by the simultaneous defeat of Bochum. By winning another point on the last day of the match, they even came twelfth in the final accounts. In terms of demands, however, they continued to orientate themselves towards higher table regions, and frequent coach changes during this time were the result. Between 1990 and 1998, nine different coaches were worn out, as many as between 1973 and 1990.

Toni upholstery

In the DFB Cup, meanwhile, they had to give up in the second round, losing to MSV Duisburg on penalties. The UEFA Cup also ended early, with the team already failing in the first round at Celtic Glasgow (2-0, 0-3). For 25 years, up to the 2017/18 season, it was the last appearance in this competition, which is now played under the name UEFA Europa League . During the winter break, FC won an official title by winning the DFB indoor cup.

For the 1993/94 season , the team had to cope with some departures again. The now 33-year-old Pierre Littbarski moved to Japan to end his career there. With defensive player Ralf Hauptmann and striker Toni Polster , two players came to the club who each played over 150 competitive games. Polster scored 79 goals in 150 Bundesliga games for FC. In the league they disappointed again, initially consistently in midfield. After a home defeat against the later relegated 1. FC Nürnberg, Jörg Berger was dismissed and Wolfgang Jerat was his successor. However, the performance deteriorated again, after a defeat in Stuttgart Cologne was penultimate with three points behind the saving bank. Jerat also had to leave and was replaced by former FC player Morten Olsen . Under Olsen, the team lost only once by the end of the season and secured the first class with two important home wins, in the end the billy goats finished twelfth as in the previous year. New signing Toni Polster, who scored 17 goals and just barely missed the top scorer, played a decisive role in this. In the DFB Cup, Cologne failed in the third round at Bayern.

In the 1994/95 Bundesliga , FC had the best storm duo in the league with Polster and Bruno Labbadia , who came to FC from Bayern. Polster scored again 17 times and Labbadia scored 15 hits. Nevertheless, due to a fragile defense, it was only enough for 10th place, which at least qualified for participation in the UEFA Intertoto Cup . The European competition, which was actually only called the UI Cup , served as a qualifying tournament for the UEFA Cup. In the DFB Cup , the Cologne team built on bygone times and reached the semi-finals. The chances of reaching the final were good, because opponents in the home game were a second division with VfL Wolfsburg . After an early deficit, the Domstadters found no means against the Lower Saxony and had to admit defeat 0: 1.

After the season, three important players left the club with Horst Heldt, Alfons Higl and Frank Greiner . New additions were Thomas Cichon (212 league games), Dorinel Munteanu , Holger Gaißmayer and Sunday Oliseh . Before the 1995/96 season , the UI Cup was on, which fell in the middle of the preparation for the Bundesliga season. In the group with FC Luzern , Tottenham Hotspur, NK Rudar Velenje and Östers IF , the team prevailed, the highlight of which was an 8-0 win against Tottenham. In the round of 16, Cologne failed 3-1 at FC Tirol Innsbruck despite their home advantage . A few days later there was an embarrassing first round match in the DFB Cup against the league club SpVg Beckum . Olsen was then on leave and replaced by the former FC professional Stephan Engels. The change of coach brought no improvement, however, in the league, the FC was stuck in the table cellar. After the 15th match day the club was in last place. Bruno Labbadia, who was a reliable goal scorer in the previous season, never scored and left the club during the winter break. After they had stabilized somewhat in the second half of the season, Engels was also dismissed when the team was in 16th place after a home defeat against Kaiserslautern on matchday 25 and had only won four times. This was particularly disadvantageous as the three-point rule was applied for the first time this season . Peter Neururer was brought in as the "firefighter" , who scored 16 points in the last nine games, saved FC and took 12th place.

Relegation to the second class and promotion

FC team 1996/97
season league space Points DFB Cup European Cup
1996/97 Bundesliga 10 44 2nd round -
1997/98 Bundesliga 17th 36 1 round UI, semifinals
1998/99 2nd Bundesliga 10 45 1 round -
1999/2000 2nd Bundesliga 01 65 Round of 16 -
highlighted in red: relegation to the 2nd Bundesliga,
highlighted green: promotion to the Bundesliga
UI: UI Cup

Shortly after the start of the 1996/97 season , Bodo Illgner surprisingly moved to Real Madrid. The Cologne-based company actually wanted to take a double-digit million fee for the coveted world champion from 1990, but an old contractual clause enabled foreign clubs to commit Illgner for only 4 million DM, which the royal team did. Michael Kraft became the new goalkeeper this season . Somewhat surprisingly, the Cologne team was involved in the battle for the UEFA Cup places for a long time, but ultimately qualified for the UI Cup in tenth place. Toni Polster came second on the top scorer list with 21 goals. In the DFB Cup they lost in the second round against FSV Zwickau .

The 1997/98 season was the club's worst Bundesliga season to date and ended with relegation to the 2nd Bundesliga . As two years before, they first played in the UI Cup , survived the group made up of Maccabi Petach Tikwa , Standard Liège, Cork City FC and FC Aarau and met HSC Montpellier in the following semi-finals . The FC won the first leg 2-1, in the second leg they lost 0-1, which meant they were eliminated because of the away goals rule. The second leg in Montpellier was 1. FC Köln's last European cup match until 2017. In the DFB Cup, the team embarrassed themselves in round one with a 1: 3 against the regional division SSV Ulm 1846 . There was a change at management level in December 1997. Albert Caspers became the new president and replaced Klaus Hartmann. Above all, Caspers started to further strengthen the economic base of 1. FC Köln, to introduce professional management and thus to make sporting success possible again. During his term of office, among other things, the conversion of the licensed players department into a corporation.

In the Bundesliga, the club was in the basement right from the start. Peter Neururer only got seven points in the first eight games, was dismissed after a defeat in Berlin and replaced by Lorenz-Günther Köstner . Köstner initially led the team into secured midfield. Before the 30th matchday they were five points ahead of the relegation ranks and even had a catch-up game to play. Although they were actually very strong at home this season, the important home games against Karlsruher SC and TSV 1860 Munich, both of which were behind FC in the table, were lost. The catch-up game at Schalke 04 was also lost 1-0 due to a goal conceded in the last minute. A few minutes earlier, Oliver Held from Schalke prevented Cologne from securing the opening goal with a handball, which Held did not admit when the referee asked. The upcoming game with the already relegated Bielefeld players now had to be won. The FC also took the lead, but lost 2-1. It was Uwe Fuchs , who was active at FC for three years at the beginning of the 1990s, who shot the Domstadters into the second division with his two goals. Although there was still a theoretical chance of holding the league on the last day of the match, due to the significantly poorer goal difference compared to the relegation competitors, even a win in the final game against Bayer 04 Leverkusen (2-2) would not have been enough.

Ewald Lienen (2006)

For the first season in the second division there was a big upheaval in the squad. 16 players left the club and nine were added. These included Carsten Cullmann (192 league games) and Christian Springer (205 league games), and free-kick specialist Dirk “Lotte” Lottner came in the winter, scoring 54 goals in 161 games for FC. The new coach was Bernd Schuster, the last instructor to date, who was previously a professional at 1. FC Köln. After a first-round defeat against Hansa Rostock in the DFB-Pokal, they started miserably in the second Bundesliga, which is completely unknown to the club, and after six games were penultimate in the table with only four points. Many FC fans remembered two defeats at Hannover 96 (1: 6) and at home against FC St. Pauli (1: 4). After a 3-2 win at Energie Cottbus , the turning point was made and the team stabilized. In the end they finished tenth in the final table. This season is the worst in the club's history. Neither in the two seasons in the then second-rate Rheinbezirksliga in 1948 and 1949, when they finished first, nor in the eight other seasons in the Second Bundesliga, in which a ninth place was the worst result, the FC was worse.

After the season Ewald Lienen replaced Bernd Schuster in the coaching position. In the 1999/2000 season , the FC showed a completely different face, dominated the league and returned to the Bundesliga as the second division champions. Newcomers such as Markus Kurth , Moses Sichone and Matthias Scherz , who should all appear for FC over 100 times , also played a part in this . Scherz even played 270 league games for FC and scored 63 goals. In the DFB Cup, meanwhile, they failed in the round of 16 at VfB Stuttgart.

2000–2010: Elevator team with a new home

The decade of the 2000s particularly stands for discontinuity in sporting competition. The FC rose four times from the Bundesliga, three times back up and was only able to re-establish itself in the Bundesliga at the end of the decade, but did not make it to a single-digit place in the table. Nevertheless, the club grew immensely. While there were 4,500 members in 1996, the number increased to 50,000 by 2009. Another important step forward for the club was the conversion of the Müngersdorfer Stadium into a modern arena, the Rheinenergiestadion .

Second descent and direct ascent

season league space Points DFB Cup
2000/01 Bundesliga 10 46 1 round
2001/02 Bundesliga 17th 29 Semifinals
2002/03 2nd Bundesliga 02 65 Quarter finals
Red background: Relegation to the 2nd Bundesliga.
Green background: Promotion to the Bundesliga
Matthias Scherz (2006)

In the 2000/01 season , the FC went largely with the same staff as in the promotion season. At the beginning the team lost 2: 5 in the cup in the first round at 1. FC Magdeburg . In the Bundesliga, however, they presented themselves better and played a good round. The FC was never in danger of relegation and finished tenth. Voluntary participation in the UI Cup for the following year was rejected by the club's management.

In the 2001/02 season , FC made two expensive bad purchases: Marco Reich and Lilian Laslandes . The team was in the basement from the start and after a 3-0 defeat at TSV 1860 Munich, Ewald Lienen was dismissed. On an interim basis, Christoph John took over before Friedhelm Funkel was permanently engaged. The second relegation in the club's history could not be prevented more than table 17. the gang had to be started in the second division. This season also saw the negative Bundesliga record for FC when he missed 1,033 minutes in a row without scoring. In the 2001/02 DFB Cup , however, the FC surprised. For the last time to date, the semi-finals were reached, which were lost to Bayer 04 Leverkusen 3-1 after extra time.

Back in League Two was 2002/03 with Florian Kringe committed an important part of the later ascent team. Friedhelm Funkel led the FC back to the Bundesliga with a result-oriented style of play. Already on matchday 30, the return to the upper house was perfect with a 2-1 win over FC St. Pauli. The second division championship was given to SC Freiburg on the penultimate matchday . Matthias Scherz played a key role in the return to the first class, he contributed 18 hits to promotion. In the cup competition, too, they initially knew how to convince, knocking out a first division club with 1. FC Nürnberg in the round of 16. As the only unbeaten German professional team of the season, they faced FC Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals. In Munich there was a 0: 8 defeat in the cup history of 1. FC Köln.

In the Rheinenergiestadion and with Lukas Podolski

season league space Points DFB Cup
2003/04 Bundesliga 18th 23 Round of 16
2004/05 2nd Bundesliga 01 67 2nd round
2005/06 Bundesliga 17th 30th 1 round
Red background: Relegation to the 2nd Bundesliga.
Green background: Promotion to the Bundesliga
Lukas Podolski (2006)

In the 2003/04 Bundesliga season , the newcomer gave a desolate picture: With only 23 points they were relegated. Away they put down the worst record ever, reached three draws and lost all of the remaining 14 games. Friedhelm Funkel was sacked after losing on matchday 10 at Eintracht Frankfurt. Jos Luhukay , who took over on an interim basis, and Marcel Koller could no longer turn the tide. However, with the integration of the later national players Lukas Podolski and Lukas Sinkiewicz from the A-youth into the professional squad, Koller laid the foundation for the promotion in the following year. In the years that followed, Podolski became an absolute top performer and the fans' new identification figure. In the DFB Cup, meanwhile, there was a good chance of reaching the quarter-finals, because in the second round, Cologne was drawn to the second division team SpVgg Greuther Fürth . But in this game, too, the team missed any first class quality and was defeated by the Franks on penalties.

RheinEnergieStadion (south side view)

During the season, in March 2004, there was a power struggle in the management level, which culminated in the resignation of FC player icon Wolfgang Overath to club president Albert Caspers. In June 2004 Overath was elected President at an extraordinary general meeting. This had become necessary because Overath insisted that all power in the association should be transferred immediately, and Caspers had resigned from his office. Overath's first official act was the dismissal of Marcel Koller, which was carried out on the day of the general meeting. Also on the same day, Huub Stevens was introduced as the new coach for the 2004/05 season .

The new venue for 1. FC Cologne, the 49,968-seat Rheinenergiestadion , was officially opened in January 2004 . After the main arena in the Müngersdorf Sports Park and the Müngersdorfer Stadium, the modern arena is the third stadium in the club's history to be in exactly the same place as its two predecessors.

With Thomas Cichon, Florian Kringe and Dirk Lottner, some regular players left the club after relegation, but with Lukas Podolski the FC had the most accurate league striker in their ranks in the second division season 2004/05, who scored 24 goals to the sovereign second division championship and thus to the direct Recovery contributed. At the end of the season, coach Stevens left the club for family reasons, his successor for the 2005/06 season was Uwe Rapolder .

The euphoria after the third ascent didn't last long. With striker Patrick Helmes (47 goals in 92 league games for Cologne), the promotion team could only be strengthened with a noteworthy new addition. In the DFB-Pokal, the FC flew out in the first round against Kickers Offenbach and in the league, the team scored only 12 points in the first round. Trainer Rapolder was dismissed and the sporting director Andreas Rettig resigned, his successor was Michael Meier . He hired the Swiss Hanspeter Latour as the new trainer . Even under Latour, the FC could not leave the relegation places despite a solid second half. The much more positive tendency towards the end of the season meant that Latour was given the task of forming a new team for the club's upcoming fifth second division season that could make it back to the Bundesliga. Lukas Podolski was no longer part of this team, who moved to Bayern Munich for € 10 million after his second relegation with the Cologne team.

Ascent with returnees Daum

season league space Points DFB Cup
2006/07 2nd Bundesliga 09 46 Round of 16
2007/08 2nd Bundesliga 03 60 1 round
2008/09 Bundesliga 12 39 2nd round
2009/10 Bundesliga 13 38 Quarter finals
highlighted in green: promotion to the Bundesliga
Milivoje Novakovič (2008)

As after previous relegations, there was a massive upheaval in the squad for the 2006/07 season . A total of 18 exits and 14 additions were recorded. Thomas Broich and Fabrice Ehret , who made 138 competitive games for FC, were two of these newcomers. The most important commitment, however, was that of the Slovenian Milivoje Novakovič , who scored 82 goals for the billy goats in 176 competitive games. The first half of the season did not give 1. FC Köln the hoped-for starting position for immediate promotion, which is why coach Latour was dismissed after a 0-1 home defeat against Erzgebirge Aue . After goalkeeping coach Holger Gehrke had taken over the team for a few games on an interim basis, Christoph Daum , who had coached the club from 1986 to 1990, was introduced as the new coach on November 27, 2006 . But the second half of the season was also disappointing with Daum, with the highest second division away defeat (0: 5 at Rot-Weiss Essen) in the club's history. The FC was ninth at the end and the goal of direct promotion was clearly missed. In the DFB Cup, the team indicated that there was potential, because in the second round Schalke 04 were defeated 4-2 after extra time. In the last sixteen, a defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt was followed by the end.

Despite the unsatisfactory sporting situation, Christoph Daum announced that he would fulfill his contract until 2010, but with the restriction that he would leave FC after the season if he missed promotion again in the 2007/08 season. Some transfer requests were met, including goalkeeper Faryd Mondragón and defender Ümit Özat , whom Daum knew from his time in Turkey. Together with the other newcomers Kevin McKenna (140 league games for Cologne) and Youssef Mohamad (120), these new signings became important figures of promotion and - with the exception of Özat - also for the following years in the Bundesliga.

After a bumpy season, which began with the elimination in the first round of the cup against Werder Bremen II, 1. FC Köln managed to get promoted again with a 2-0 win against Mainz 05 on the penultimate match day. Milivoje Novakovič (top scorer with 20 goals) and Patrick Helmes (17 goals) played a special role in the return to the upper house. Of the six promotions in the club's history, this was the "worst" in terms of table position (3), number of points achieved (60) and distance to the first non-promotion position (2 points).

In 2008/09 Cologne played a solid Bundesliga round, although Patrick Helmes was one of the guarantors of promotion to Bayer 04 Leverkusen. In return, two good transfers were made with Petit and Pedro Geromel . In addition, during the season Mišo Brečko came to FC, who should bring it to 206 league games for Cologne. In the end, they reached position 12 and, for the first time since 2000/01, did not have to go straight down after being promoted. Milivoje Novakovič kept his scoring instinct one league higher and scored 16 times. After the season, Christoph Daum surprisingly left FC and moved to Fenerbahçe Istanbul . He made use of a special termination clause.

National player Lukas Podolski returned to Cologne for the 2009/10 season . FC paid FC Bayern the same amount for the return campaign as it had received for the player two years ago. The € 10 million was the second highest value that the club has so far spent on a professional in transfer. Zvonimir Soldo became the new coach . At the end of the season, FC took 13th place and held the class relatively confidently with a very defensive style of play. Zoran Tošić , who came on loan for the second half of the season, became an important trump card in the relegation battle. He scored five of the FC's only 33 goals. In the DFB Cup, the team reached the quarter-finals, where they lost to FC Augsburg and suffered from unfortunate decisions by the referee, who pronounced three dismissals against Cologne.

Since 2010: return to Europe, further descents and ascents

Fifth relegation after a short-term establishment in the middle of the Bundesliga table

season league space Points DFB Cup
2010/11 Bundesliga 10 44 Round of 16
2011/12 Bundesliga 17th 30th 2nd round
2012/13 2nd Bundesliga 05 54 Round of 16
highlighted in red: relegation to the 2nd Bundesliga

After a disappointing start to the 2010/11 season , in which Martin Lanig and Mato Jajalo were the most notable transfers, with just one win from nine games, coach Soldo was on leave in October 2010. His successor was Frank Schaefer , the previous coach of the U-23. Michael Meier was dismissed as manager at the end of November 2010; as his successor, Volker Finke was introduced as the new sports director, who made transfer flops with Tomoaki Makino and Wilfried Sanou during the winter break . Faryd Mondragón's departure in winter was reacted to by signing the new regular goalkeeper Michael Rensing . The season was initially secure in midfield, but after a 4-1 defeat at VfL Wolfsburg, FC faced relegation problems again. Schaefer then resigned and sports director Volker Finke stepped in as interim coach, under whom FC won the three remaining games of the season, saved themselves and even finished tenth.

Timo Horn (2018)

For the 2011/12 season , Fabrice Ehret and Youssef Mohamad, among others, were allowed to pull some core forces that could not be compensated. Of the newcomers, only Sascha Riether developed into a regular player. Coupled with the immature tactics of the new Norwegian coach Ståle Solbakken , this ultimately led to the fifth relegation in the club's history. At the beginning of the season, those responsible still had hope; because there were definitely games in which Solbakken's tactics worked, for example in the 4-1 win in Leverkusen. But there were also high defeats against Borussia Dortmund (1: 6 and 0: 5) or Schalke 04 (1: 4 and 1: 5). A 0: 4 in Mainz finally led to the dismissal of Solbakken, Frank Schaefer took over again. Sports director Finke had already been released from his duties a month earlier. The turnaround could not be initiated: after a 1: 4 on the last match day against Bayern Munich, relegation was certain, which Lukas Podolski could not avert with his 18 goals this season. Podolski left the club again after his third relegation with Cologne and moved to Arsenal; FC received a € 15 million transfer fee. The relegation season was also turbulent at management level. At the general meeting in November 2011, the board of directors around President Wolfgang Overath resigned. In April 2012 the club members elected Werner Spinner as the new president. The new vice-presidents were FC goalkeeper icon Toni Schumacher and the then president of the Cologne Carnival Festival Committee , Markus Ritterbach .

In May 2012, FC signed Holger Stanislawski as the new head coach for the 2012/13 season . In addition to Podolski, Novakovic and Petit left the team. Newcomers included Matthias Lehmann , Anthony Ujah , Dominic Maroh and Jonas Hector , all of whom were to become regular players. He has been in the professional squad for a long time, but this season's number 1 goal was Timo Horn , who has been with the club since 2002. The start of the season was extremely disappointing. After six games, FC were still without a win and only had two points in their books. In the course of the season, the team stabilized its performance and was relegation rank 3 on matchday 27. In the remaining games, however, this could not be held, the FC finished the season in fifth. In the DFB Cup, the team lost to VfB Stuttgart in the round of 16. According to the club, coach Stanislawski asked the club to terminate his contract early on June 30, 2013, and the club complied with this request.

Back to the Bundesliga with Peter Stöger

season league space Points DFB Cup
2013/14 2nd Bundesliga 01 68 Round of 16
2014/15 Bundesliga 12 40 Round of 16
2015/16 Bundesliga 09 43 2nd round
2016/17 Bundesliga 05 49 Round of 16
highlighted in green: promotion to the Bundesliga
Peter Stöger (2015)

In June 2013, Peter Stöger , who had recently become Austrian champion with Austria Wien , was introduced as his successor for the 2013/14 season . In the same month Jörg Schmadtke was hired as the new sports director. On the player side, Yannick Gerhardt and Marcel Risse joined the team. In addition, Patrick Helmes returned to 1. FC Köln on matchday 7. With the new coach, the Cologne team became the autumn champions with ease. The cushion for relegation place 3 was already eight points at the turn of the year. In the second half of the season, too, the team delivered consistently good performances, after a 3-1 home win on Easter Monday 2014 against VfL Bochum they were prematurely promoted on matchday 31 and also secured the second division championship. Helmes contributed 12 and Anthony Ujah 11 hits to the promotion. The centerpiece, however, was the defense, which allowed only 20 goals against. In the second round of the cup they defeated FSV Mainz 05 before they lost to Hamburger SV in the round of 16.

In the 2014/15 season , the promotion team remained largely together. Patrick Helmes stopped playing because of an injury and ended his career during the season. The squad was strengthened selectively with Kevin Vogt and Yūya Ōsako, among others . With a tactic geared towards counterattacking, FC mainly scored away points in the first half of the season, while there was only one win against Borussia Dortmund in the home stadium. In the second half of the season, the foundation stone for staying in the class was laid at home, where the team never lost a game and scored 15 points. The Cologne team were never in danger of relegation and managed to stay in the league with a 2-0 home win over FC Schalke 04 on matchday 32. In the final accounts, the FC landed in 12th place with 40 points. As in the previous year, the billy goats reached the round of 16 in the DFB Cup, in which they were defeated by the SC in Freiburg. A major strength of the season was the defensive; With only 40 goals conceded, they had the fifth best defense in the league and the best FC defense in the Bundesliga since 1996.

For the 2015/16 season , established players in the form of Kevin Wimmer and Anthony Ujah left the club, while Anthony Modeste , Dominique Heintz and Leonardo Bittencourt , among others, were newly signed . In the cup, the team first defeated SV Meppen and then failed in round two to Werder Bremen. At the beginning of 2016, the number of members of the FC broke the 75,000 mark. With a 4-1 home win against SV Darmstadt 98 , relegation was certain after 31 match days. The season ended in ninth place in the table, the best season position in the Bundesliga for 24 years. The best goalscorer for Cologne was Anthony Modeste, who scored 15 goals.

Marco Höger , Konstantin Rausch and Serhou Guirassy were newly signed for the 2016/17 season , while Yannick Gerhardt and Kevin Vogt left FC. During the winter break, Neven Subotić and returnees Christian Clemens also joined the squad. With a 2-0 home win over Mainz 05, 1. FC Köln ended the season in fifth place and qualified for the European Cup for the first time in 25 years, while fifth place was also the best placement in the Bundesliga for 25 years. Modeste scored 25 goals in the season. The last FC player to be similarly successful was Klaus Allofs in 1984/85 (26 goals). In the cup, the Cologne team failed in the round of 16 away from Hamburger SV.

Return to Europe, transfer records and relegation and promotion

season league space Points DFB Cup European Cup
2017/18 Bundesliga 18th 22nd Round of 16 EL, group stage
2018/19 2nd Bundesliga 01 63 2nd round -
2019/20 Bundesliga 14th 36 2nd round -
Red background: Relegation to the 2nd Bundesliga.
Green background: Promotion to the Bundesliga
EL: UEFA Europa League

In 2017/18 1. FC Köln entered its 15th season in the UEFA Europa League , with the first 14 appearances still taking place during the UEFA Cup . In preparation for the season, new records were set on both the income and expenditure side. Anthony Modeste left the club for € 35m and moved to Tianjin Quanjian in China . The transfer fee is by far the highest that the club has received in its history. Jannes Horn and Jhon Córdoba , whom FC bought from 1. FSV Mainz 05 for € 17 million, were new to the squad , which in turn represents the most expensive purchase in the club's history. It is also worth mentioning that the 100,000 member joined 1. FC Köln in September 2017.

In the Europa League, the FC was drawn into a group with Arsenal, Red Star Belgrade and BATE Baryssau . After defeats at Arsenal (1: 3), against Belgrade (0: 1) and in Baryssau (0: 1), home wins against BATE Baryssau (5: 2) and Arsenal (1: 0) followed. The decisive last group game in Belgrade against Red Star was lost 0: 1 and FC were eliminated.

Coach Stöger was dismissed shortly before the game in Belgrade (Cologne had only got three points in the Bundesliga up to then), Stefan Ruthenbeck took over the post until the end of the season. The contract had already been terminated by sports director Schmadtke in October; his successor was Armin Veh in December . The first half of the 2017/18 season was marked by bad luck with injuries, when up to 14 players were temporarily unavailable. Long-term failures of service providers such as B. Jonas Hector, Marco Höger or Dominic Maroh meant that the squad in several competitive games consisted largely of very young players from the offspring such as Yann Aurel Bisseck , Chris Führich or Tim Handwerker . Newcomer Jhon Córdoba was also unable to convince throughout the season. Simon Terodde , who was signed during the winter break, scored the 2-1 winner in stoppage time in his first league game in the home game against Borussia Mönchengladbach. On the 32nd matchday, however, after a 2: 3 defeat against SC Freiburg, relegation was sealed. With just 22 points, this was the club's worst season in the 1st Bundesliga. In the cup, FC failed in the round of 16 away from FC Schalke 04.

FC team after cup first round match 2018/19 at BFC Dynamo

In 2018/19 the FC entered the ninth second division season in the club's history. The season was started with Markus Anfang as head coach, whose commitment was announced shortly before the end of the relegation season. With Dominique Heintz, Lukas Klünter , Leonardo Bittencourt, Miloš Jojić and Yūya Ōsako, important top performers left the club in recent years. Somewhat surprisingly, important regular players such as national player Jonas Hector or goalkeeper Timo Horn stayed with the club despite the relegation. There were also new purchases such as Louis Schaub , Rafael Czichos and Dominick Drexler . Jonas Hector, who replaced Matthias Lehmann, became the captain of the season. In November 2018, Anthony Modeste returned from China, although he was only eligible to play from February 2019. During the winter break - after a rather bumpy first half of the season, the Cologne team took second place - two experienced Bundesliga players, Johannes Geis and Florian Kainz , were signed.

In the second half of the season, FC initially performed well and after six wins in a row they were able to pull away from the top of the table. After four games without a win, the club parted ways with Markus Anfang after losing 2-1 at home on Matchday 31 against Darmstadt 98. At this point in time, before the last three games, FC had six points ahead of relegation and 4th place as leaders. Until the end of the season, the previous U21 coach André Pawlak took over the team. In Pawlak's first game on the coaching bench, FC won 4-0 in Fürth and thus secured promotion and the second division championship. As in the previous year, they lost to Schalke 04 in the DFB-Pokal, but this time already in the second round and after penalties.

In 2019/20 1. FC Köln started his 48th Bundesliga season with Achim Beierlorzer, who was signed for the season in May 2019 . Kingsley Schindler , Kingsley Ehizibue , Birger Verstraete , Sebastiaan Bornauw and the Tunisian international Ellyes Skhiri were signed as additions for the season . In the cup, FC were eliminated in the second round with a 2: 3 against the regional division 1. FC Saarbrücken . After a home defeat on the 11th match day (1: 2 against Hoffenheim), the club parted ways with head coach Beierlorzer and managing director Sport Veh, who would have left the club as planned at the end of the season. At this point in time 1. FC Köln was 17th in the table with 7 points. Horst Heldt became the new managing director for sport and Markus Gisdol was the new head coach . Under him, Cologne started a race to catch up with a 2-0 win against Leverkusen on matchday 15, won 8 of 10 games and climbed to 10th place in the meantime. On March 11, 2020, 1. FC Köln was involved in the first ghost game in Bundesliga history when the team lost 2-1 in front of empty stands in Mönchengladbach due to the COVID-19 pandemic . After the resumption of game operations with ghost games on May 17, the FC could not win a game, so that relegation could only be secured on the penultimate game day with a 1-1 draw against Frankfurt. The season ended - after a total of ten games without a win - in 14th place.

statistics

titles and achievements

Title wins of the previous clubs are not listed here.

The FC in the Eternal Tables

Status: end of season 2019/20

national:

international:


Individual awards

Top scorer

Hannes Löhr (1968)
player Nat. season Gates competition
Hans Schäfer GermanyGermany 1952/53 26th Oberliga West
Hans Schäfer GermanyGermany 1953/54 26th Oberliga West
Georg Stollenwerk GermanyGermany 1953/54 02 DFB Cup
Karl-Heinz Thielen GermanyGermany 1965/66 07th Exhibition cities cup
Hannes Löhr GermanyGermany 1967/68 27 Bundesliga
05 DFB Cup
Carl-Heinz Rühl GermanyGermany 1968/69 06th UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
Hannes Löhr GermanyGermany 1969/70 06th DFB Cup
Hannes Löhr GermanyGermany 1971/72 007 1 DFB Cup
Wolfgang Overath
Bernd Rupp
Hannes Löhr GermanyGermany 1972/73 08th DFB Cup
Dieter Müller GermanyGermany 1976/77 34 Bundesliga
014 1 DFB Cup
player Nat. season Gates competition
Dieter Müller GermanyGermany 1977/78 024 1 Bundesliga
08th DFB Cup
Stephan Engels GermanyGermany 1982/83 06th DFB Cup
Klaus Fischer GermanyGermany 1983/84 005 1 DFB Cup
Klaus Allofs GermanyGermany 1984/85 26th Bundesliga
1985/86 09 Uefa cup
Thomas Allofs GermanyGermany 1988/89 017 1 Bundesliga
Falko Götz GermanyGermany 1989/90 006 1 Uefa cup
Lukas Podolski GermanyGermany 2004/05 24 2nd Bundesliga
Milivoje Novakovič SloveniaSlovenia 2007/08 20th 2nd Bundesliga
Simon Terodde GermanyGermany 2018/19 29 2nd Bundesliga
1 Title shared

soccer player of the year

Morten Olsen (2012)
player Nat. country year
Karl-Heinz Schnellinger GermanyGermany Germany 1962
Hans Schäfer GermanyGermany Germany 1963
Toni Schumacher GermanyGermany Germany 1984
Toni Schumacher GermanyGermany Germany 1986
Morten Olsen DenmarkDenmark Denmark
Thomas Häßler GermanyGermany Germany 1989
Toni upholstery AustriaAustria Austria 1997

Current squad 2020/21

player

Jonas Hector
Ellyes Skhiri
Jhon Cordoba
No. Nat. Surname born in the team since Contract until
goal
01 GermanyGermany Timo Horn May 12, 1993 2002 2023
16 GermanyGermany Ron-Robert Zieler Feb 12, 1989 2020 2021
32 GermanyGermany Julian Krahl Jan. 22, 2000 2019 2022
Defense
02 GermanyGermany Benno Schmitz Nov 17, 1994 2018 2022
03 GermanyGermany Noah Katterbach Apr 13, 2001 2008 2024
04th GermanyGermany Robert Voloder 0May 9, 2001 2016 2023
05 GermanyGermany Rafael Czichos May 14, 1990 2018 2022
08th GermanyGermany Ismail Jacob Aug 17, 1999 2012 2022
19th NetherlandsNetherlands Kingsley Ehizibue May 25, 1995 2019 2023
22nd SpainSpain Jorge Meré Apr 17, 1997 2017 2023
23 GermanyGermany Jannes Horn 0Feb 6, 1997 2017 2022
33 BelgiumBelgium Sebastiaan Bornauw 22 Mar 1999 2019 2024
midfield
06th GermanyGermany Marco Höger 16 Sep 1989 2016 2021
11 AustriaAustria Florian Kainz Oct 24, 1992 2019 2022
14th GermanyGermany Jonas Hector (C)Captain of the crew May 27, 1990 2010 2023
17th GermanyGermany Christian Clemens 0Aug 4, 1991 2017 2021
20th GermanyGermany Elvis Rexhbeçaj 0Nov 1, 1997 2020 2021
21st GermanyGermany Salih Ozcan 0Nov 1, 1997 2007 2021
24 GermanyGermany Dominick Drexler May 26, 1990 2018 2022
25th GermanyGermany Tim Lemperle U19 0Feb 5, 2002 2017 2023
28 TunisiaTunisia Ellyes Skhiri May 10, 1995 2019 2023
29 GermanyGermany Jan Thielmann U19 May 26, 2002 2017 2022
Storm
15th ColombiaColombia Jhon Cordoba May 11, 1993 2017 2021
27 FranceFrance Anthony Modeste Apr. 14, 1988 2018 2023
U19also in the A-youth squad

Transfers of the 2020/21 season

Accesses
time player Transferring club
Summer break Jannes Horn Hannover 96 (loanee)
Salih Ozcan Holstein Kiel (loanee)
Louis Schaub Hamburger SV (loanee)
Let Sobiech Royal Excel Mouscron (loanee)
Frederik Sørensen BSC Young Boys (loanee)
Ron-Robert Zieler Hannover 96 (loan)
Departures
time player Receiving club
Summer break Jan-Christoph Bartels SV Waldhof Mannheim
Yann Aurel Bisseck Vitória Guimarães (loan)
Niklas Hauptmann Holstein Kiel (loan)
Thomas Kessler End of career
Vincent Koziello Nacional Funchal (Loan)
Toni Leistner Queens Park Rangers (loanee)
Tomáš Ostrák MFK Karviná (loan)
Marcel Risse FC Viktoria Köln (loan)
Kingsley Schindler Hannover 96 (loan)
Brady Scott Nashville SC
Simon Terodde Hamburger SV
Mark Uth FC Schalke 04 (loanee)
Birger Verstraete Royal Antwerp (loan)
*Due to the postponement of the end of the 2019/20 season and the start of the 2020/21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the DFB, together with the DFL and in consultation with FIFA, adjusted the summer transfer period (generally July 1 to August 31). The transfer window was on July 1 (changeover period I.1) and is open from July 15 to October 5, 2020 (changeover period I.2). The first, one-day phase was intended in particular for the registration of contracts that had already been concluded from July 1st.

Coaching staff

Nat. Surname function in the team since
GermanyGermany Markus Gisdol Head coach 2019
GermanyGermany Frank Kaspari Assistant coach 2019
GermanyGermany André Pawlak Assistant coach 2017
GermanyGermany Andreas Menger Goalkeeping coach 2018
GermanyGermany Max Weuthen Athletic trainer 2015
GermanyGermany Leif Frach Rehabilitation and athletic trainer 2018
GermanyGermany Hannes Dold Video analyst 2014

Supervisory staff

Nat. Surname function in the team since
GermanyGermany Paul Klein Team doctor 2004
GermanyGermany Peter Schäferhoff Team doctor 1994
GermanyGermany Moritz Anderten Team supervisor / sports psychologist 2019
GermanyGermany Christian Osebold Head of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation 2019
GermanyGermany Matti Forkel Physiotherapist 2018
GermanyGermany Daniel Schütz Physiotherapist 2019
GermanyGermany Denis Lapaczinski Team manager 2019
GermanyGermany Frank Almstedt Kit manager 2002
CroatiaCroatia Kresimir Ban Kit manager 2007
GermanyGermany Michael Liebetrut bus driver 2001

Sporting management

Nat. Surname function in the team since Contract until
GermanyGermany Horst Heldt Managing Director Sport 2019 2021
GermanyGermany Alexander Wehrle executive Director 2013 2023
GermanyGermany Frank Aehlig Head of Licensing 2018 2020
GermanyGermany Willi Kronhardt Chief scout 2019

Stadion

Interior view of the Rheinenergiestadion

The venue for 1. FC Köln is the Rheinenergiestadion . Forerunners were the main arena built in 1923 at the same location in the Müngersdorf sports park and the Müngersdorfer stadium , which replaced the main arena and was to be rebuilt for the 1974 World Cup , but was not completed until 1975. During the construction phase, the home games of FC took place in the neighboring Müngersdorfer Radrennbahn .

Today's football arena was built with a view to the 2006 Football World Cup in Germany from December 2001 to January 2004 and opened on January 31, 2004. They were built gradually (one grandstand every six months) while the match was in progress. In contrast to the previous buildings, it does not have any athletics facilities and is therefore a pure football stadium. The stadium , which can hold 50,000 spectators , was one of twelve venues for the soccer World Cup in 2006 - during the tournament it was called the FIFA World Cup Stadium in Cologne , as FIFA prohibits foreign sponsor names at a World Cup.

Apart from the lower tier of the south stand and block N6 in the lower tier of the north stand, the stadium is a seating stadium. In the west, north and east there are VIP and catering areas between the upper and lower tier . The north stand of the stadium houses the FC Museum , which documents the history of 1. FC Köln, and a fan shop. At home games of the FC, the south stand and the west and middle section of the north stand are areas for home fans, the guest area is in the east of the north stand. It is not permitted to wear fan articles from the other team in these areas. The two main stands (west and east) are mixed areas.

Club facility

Geißbockheim (2012)

Five years after 1. FC Köln was founded, a club house was built in the green belt in 1953. It was named "Geißbockheim", named after the club's mascot. The clubhouse has been rebuilt and expanded several times. In Geißbockheim there is now a restaurant, the head office, a fan shop, the junior and licensed player area and a sports hall. In addition to the Geißbockheim, several training grounds were created.

The amateur stadium was built from 1966 to 1971 and has been called the Franz Kremer Stadium since 1977 . The club area, which has been called " RheinEnergieSportpark " since 2007 , has, in addition to the Franz Kremer Stadium, four natural and two artificial turf pitches, a soccer cage and a soccer tennis court. The site therefore meets the requirements of a DFB performance center .

The FC's plans to enlarge the site are hampered by its location in the protected landscape area “outer green belt from Müngersdorf to Marienburg and connecting green corridors”. Adjacent sub-areas within this landscape protection area have also been under monument protection since 1980 . One of the FC's “master plans” includes a modern performance center.

The mascot

"Hennes" VIII. (2018)

The billy goat "Hennes" is the billy goat depicted in the coat of arms of 1. FC Köln. The great billy goat, Hennes I., was given to the football club as a carnival joke by the circus principal Carola Williams during a carnival session in the Williams Building in Cologne on February 13, 1950 (named after the FC player from the very beginning and player coach Hennes Weisweiler ). The carnival mood turned into a mascot with advertising value.

If a billy goat dies, his successor is also called Hennes, whereby the ordinal number added to the name is increased by one. The logo with the buck adorns fan articles, the stadium magazine GeißbockEcho , which was first published in August 1957, and the renovated Geißbockheim.

The billy goat is present at all FC home games. When Hennes walked into the stadium with farmer Wilhelm Schäfer, there was always a special applause from the spectators in the stands. Shepherd who has held the reigning billy goat since the time of Hennes III. on his farm in Cologne-Widdersdorf , died on June 11, 2006 at the age of 69. After his death, his wife took over the accommodation of the billy goat.

Hennes VIII has been at home in Cologne Zoo since summer 2014 and no longer lives there alone, but in a herd. Hennes has been live on the Internet since December 2014.

Hennes VIII retired for the 2019/2020 season and was replaced by Hennes IX. replaced.

Persons of the club's history

President

So far, 1. FC Köln had ten presidents. Franz Kremer had the longest term of office at 19 years of age.

From 2012 to 2019 FC President: Werner Spinner
president Nat. Term of office
Franz Kremer GermanyGermany 1948-1967
Werner Müller GermanyGermany 1967-1968
Oskar Maass GermanyGermany 1968-1973
Peter Weiand GermanyGermany 1973-1987
Dietmar Artzinger-Bolten GermanyGermany 1987-1991
Klaus Hartmann GermanyGermany 1991-1997
Albert Caspers GermanyGermany 1997-2004
Wolfgang Overath GermanyGermany 2004-2011
Werner Spinner GermanyGermany 2012-2019
Werner Wolf GermanyGermany 2019–

Trainer

So far, 1. FC Köln has had 51 different coaches.

Trainer Nat. Term of office
Karl Flink GermanyGermany 02/13/1948 - 06/30/1948
Hennes Weisweiler GermanyGermany 01/07/1948 - 06/30/1952
07/01/1955 - 06/30/1958
01/07/1976 - 04/15/1980
Helmut Schneider GermanyGermany 07/01/1952 - 05/17/1953
Karl Winkler GermanyGermany May 18, 1953 - June 30, 1954
Kurt Baluses GermanyGermany 07/01/1954 - 06/30/1955
Péter Szabó HungaryHungary 07/01/1958 - 06/30/1959
Oswald Pfau GermanyGermany 07/01/1959 - 06/30/1961
Zlatko Čajkovski Yugoslavia Socialist Federal RepublicYugoslavia 01/07/1961 - 06/30/1963
17/09/1973 - 12/12/1975
Georg Knöpfle GermanyGermany 07/01/1963 - 06/30/1966
Willi Multhaup GermanyGermany 07/01/1966 - 06/30/1968
Hans Merkle GermanyGermany 07/01/1968 - 06/30/1970
Ernst Ocffekt AustriaAustria 07/01/1970 - 06/30/1971
Gyula Lóránt HungaryHungary 07/01/1971 - 04/04/1972
Rolf Herings GermanyGermany 04/05/1972 -
06/30/1972 10/14/1980 - 10/16/1980
Rudolf Schlott GermanyGermany 07/01/1972 - 09/16/1973
Volker Kottmann GermanyGermany December 4th, 1972 - December 11th, 1972
Trainer Nat. Term of office
Georg Stollenwerk GermanyGermany 01/01/1976 - 06/30/1976
Karl-Heinz Heddergott GermanyGermany April 16, 1980 - October 13, 1980
Rinus Michels NetherlandsNetherlands 10/17/1980 - 8/23/1983
Hannes Löhr GermanyGermany 08/24/1983 - 02/06/1986
Georg Keßler GermanyGermany 02/07/1986 - 09/22/1986
Christoph Daum GermanyGermany 23.09.1986 - 28.06.1990
27.11.2006 - 30.06.2009
Erich Rutemöller GermanyGermany 06/29/1990 - 08/23/1991
Udo Lattek GermanyGermany 08/24/1991 - 09/03/1991
Hannes Linssen GermanyGermany 09/04/1991 - 09/09/1991
Jörg Berger GermanyGermany 09/10/1991 - 02/27/1993
Wolfgang Jerat GermanyGermany 02/28/1993 - 04/28/1993
Morten Olsen DenmarkDenmark 04/29/1993 - 08/26/1995
Stephan Engels GermanyGermany 08/27/1995 - 03/31/1996
Peter Neururer GermanyGermany 04/01/1996 - 09/30/1997
Lorenz-Günther Köstner GermanyGermany October 1, 1997 - June 30, 1998
Bernd Schuster GermanyGermany 07/01/1998 - 06/30/1999
Ewald Lienen GermanyGermany 07/01/1999 - 01/27/2002
Christoph John GermanyGermany 01/28/2002 - 02/13/2002
Trainer Nat. Term of office
Friedhelm Funkel GermanyGermany 02/14/2002 - 10/30/2003
Jos Luhukay NetherlandsNetherlands 10/31/2003 - 11/01/2003
Marcel Koller SwitzerlandSwitzerland 11/02/2003 - 06/14/2004
Huub Stevens NetherlandsNetherlands 06/15/2004 - 06/30/2005
Uwe Rapolder GermanyGermany 07/01/2005 - 12/18/2005
Hanspeter Latour SwitzerlandSwitzerland 03/01/2006 - 09/11/2006
Holger Gehrke GermanyGermany 11/9/2006 - 11/26/2006
Zvonimir Soldo CroatiaCroatia 07/01/2009 - 10/24/2010
Frank Schaefer GermanyGermany 24.10.2010 - 27.04.2011
12.04.2012 - 14.06.2012
Ståle Solbakken NorwayNorway 07/01/2011 - 04/12/2012
Holger Stanislawski GermanyGermany June 15, 2012 - June 11, 2013
Peter Stoeger AustriaAustria 06/12/2013 - 12/02/2017
Stefan Ruthenbeck GermanyGermany 03.12.2017 - 30.06.2018
Markus beginning GermanyGermany 07/01/2018 - 04/27/2019
André Pawlak GermanyGermany 04/29/2019 - 06/30/2019
Achim Beierlorzer GermanyGermany 07/01/2019 - 11/09/2019
Markus Gisdol GermanyGermany 11/19/2019 -

player

So far, 537 players have played at least one competitive game for 1. FC Köln. These are presented in a separate article.

Player and coach records

The following list shows record values ​​from players and coaches for 1. FC Köln. (As of June 27, 2020)

Competitive games

Record player Wolfgang Overath (left) next to record coach Hennes Weisweiler
player Nat. position Games
Wolfgang Overath GermanyGermany midfield 542
Toni Schumacher GermanyGermany goal 541
Hans Schäfer GermanyGermany Storm 506
Hannes Löhr GermanyGermany Storm 505
Pierre Littbarski GermanyGermany midfield 504
Heinz Simmet GermanyGermany midfield 477
Wolfgang Weber GermanyGermany Defense 470
Bernd Cullmann GermanyGermany midfield 458
Harald Konopka GermanyGermany Defense 456
Heinz Flea GermanyGermany midfield 453
player Nat. position Gates
Hans Schäfer GermanyGermany Storm 306
Hannes Löhr GermanyGermany Storm 235
Dieter Müller GermanyGermany Storm 231
Christian Mueller GermanyGermany Storm 182
Karl-Heinz Thielen GermanyGermany Storm 146
Pierre Littbarski GermanyGermany midfield 144
Klaus Allofs GermanyGermany Storm 120
Heinz Flea GermanyGermany midfield 118
Wolfgang Overath GermanyGermany midfield 118
Hans Sturm GermanyGermany Storm 102
Trainer Nat. Games
Hennes Weisweiler GermanyGermany 0398 1
Christoph Daum GermanyGermany 210
Zlatko Čajkovski Yugoslavia Socialist Federal RepublicYugoslavia 197
Peter Stoeger AustriaAustria 168
Georg Knöpfle GermanyGermany 123
Rinus Michels NetherlandsNetherlands 118
Hannes Löhr GermanyGermany 111
Ewald Lienen GermanyGermany 094
Morten Olsen DenmarkDenmark 089
Willi Multhaup GermanyGermany 083
Oswald Pfau GermanyGermany
1 including 120 games as a player-coach

Bundesliga

player Nat. position Games
Toni Schumacher GermanyGermany goal 422
Wolfgang Overath GermanyGermany midfield 409
Pierre Littbarski GermanyGermany midfield 406
Hannes Löhr GermanyGermany Storm 381
Heinz Simmet GermanyGermany midfield 357
Wolfgang Weber GermanyGermany Defense 356
Bernd Cullmann GermanyGermany midfield 341
Harald Konopka GermanyGermany Defense 335
Heinz Flea GermanyGermany midfield 329
Bodo Illgner GermanyGermany goal 326
player Nat. position Gates
Hannes Löhr GermanyGermany Storm 166
Dieter Müller GermanyGermany Storm 159
Pierre Littbarski GermanyGermany midfield 116
Klaus Allofs GermanyGermany Storm 088
Wolfgang Overath GermanyGermany midfield 084
Toni upholstery AustriaAustria Storm 079
Heinz Flea GermanyGermany midfield 077
Karl-Heinz Thielen GermanyGermany Storm 056
Lukas Podolski GermanyGermany Storm 055
Christian Mueller GermanyGermany Storm 046
Bernd Rupp GermanyGermany Storm
Trainer Nat. Games
Hennes Weisweiler GermanyGermany 130
Christoph Daum GermanyGermany 129
Peter Stoeger AustriaAustria 116
Rinus Michels NetherlandsNetherlands 095
Georg Knöpfle GermanyGermany 094
Hannes Löhr GermanyGermany 086
Zlatko Čajkovski Yugoslavia Socialist Federal RepublicYugoslavia 078
Morten Olsen DenmarkDenmark 076
Hans Merkle GermanyGermany 068
Willi Multhaup GermanyGermany
Ewald Lienen GermanyGermany 053

European Cup

player Nat. position Games
Wolfgang Overath GermanyGermany midfield 71
Toni Schumacher GermanyGermany goal 67
Wolfgang Weber GermanyGermany Defense 63
Heinz Simmet GermanyGermany midfield 60
Bernd Cullmann GermanyGermany Defense 59
Harald Konopka GermanyGermany Defense 58
Hannes Löhr GermanyGermany Storm
Heinz Flea GermanyGermany midfield 56
Pierre Littbarski GermanyGermany midfield 55
Karl-Heinz Thielen GermanyGermany Storm 45
player Nat. position Gates
Dieter Müller GermanyGermany Storm 31
Hannes Löhr GermanyGermany Storm 30th
Klaus Allofs GermanyGermany Storm 18th
Pierre Littbarski GermanyGermany midfield 16
Heinz Flea GermanyGermany Storm 15th
Karl-Heinz Thielen GermanyGermany Storm
Christian Mueller GermanyGermany Storm 11
Wolfgang Overath GermanyGermany midfield
Carl-Heinz Rühl GermanyGermany Storm 09
Trainer Nat. Games
Zlatko Čajkovski Yugoslavia Socialist Federal RepublicYugoslavia 27
Georg Knöpfle GermanyGermany 21st
Hannes Löhr GermanyGermany 18th
Christoph Daum GermanyGermany 16
Hennes Weisweiler GermanyGermany
Rinus Michels NetherlandsNetherlands 14th
Ernst Ocffekt AustriaAustria 10
Hans Merkle GermanyGermany 08th
Georg Keßler GermanyGermany 06th
Erich Rutemöller GermanyGermany
Rudolf Schlott GermanyGermany

Hall of Fame

At the gala for the 70th anniversary of the club in November 2018, an internal hall of fame was launched, into which further club legends will be added every year in the future. In addition to seven people who had already died, Wolfgang Overath was the only one who was able to receive his award in person. : Honored posthumously .

Surname Nat. function Year of admission
Franz Kremer GermanyGermany president 2018
Hans Schäfer GermanyGermany Player, assistant coach
Hennes Weisweiler GermanyGermany Player, coach
Josef Röhrig GermanyGermany player
Heinz Flohe GermanyGermany Player, assistant coach
Hannes Löhr GermanyGermany Player, coach
Rolf Herings GermanyGermany Trainer
Wolfgang Overath GermanyGermany player
Karl-Heinz Thielen GermanyGermany Player, functionary 2019
Wolfgang Weber GermanyGermany player

Youth department

1. FC Cologne II

1. FC Cologne II
Surname 1. FC Cologne II
Venue Franz Kremer Stadium
Places 5457
(of which 1900 seats)
Head coach Mark Zimmermann
league Regionalliga West
2019/20 5th place

The U21s (officially 1. FC Köln II in the league , formerly U23 or amateur team) is the second team of 1. FC Köln. The team is a team between professional football and youth: It is made up of young players who have outgrown the A-youth. Many U23 players have already made the leap into the professional team, for example Timo Horn or Jonas Hector .

The origins of the second team go back to the 1960s, when the FC also had an amateur team behind the professional team, which won the Middle Rhine Amateur Championship for the first time in 1965 and a total of four times . In addition, they won the Middle Rhine Cup four times. A major success was winning the German amateur championship in 1981, which the second team won under coach Erich Rutemöller . In the recent past, the team has played in fourth grade throughout, currently also in the Regionalliga West .

The amateur team took part in the DFB Cup ten times and reached the second round three times. In 1980/81 they only beat OSC Bremerhaven 3-2 after extra time and fought 3: 3 against the first team from Bayer 04 Leverkusen , which prevailed in the replay. In 1982/83 they beat FC Gohfeld 2-1 and then failed at VfB Stuttgart . In 2004/05 they lost 3-0 to VfL Wolfsburg , but as an ineligible player ran up for Wolfsburg, the game was counted for Cologne. In the second round the team lost to Arminia Bielefeld .

Second team titles and achievements

Squad season 2019/20

  • As of August 28, 2019
goal Defense midfield Storm
01 AustriaAustria Mateusz Trochanowski 1992
25th GermanyGermany Julian Roloff 2001
02 GermanyGermany Tyson Richter 2000
04th GermanyGermany Calvin Brackelmann 1999
05 GermanyGermany Philipp Höffler 2000
08th GermanyGermany Tim Sechelmann 1999
11 GermanyGermany Marius Laux 1986
12 GermanyGermany Ricardo Henning 2000
13 GermanyGermany Lukas Nottbeck 1988
14th GermanyGermany Leon Schneider 2000
17th GermanyGermany Ismail Jacob 1999
23 GermanyGermany Kasra Ghawilu 1999
06th PortugalPortugal Leon Augusto 1999
07th GermanyGermany Vincent Geimer 1992
16 GermanyGermany Jan Luca Schuler 1999
18th GermanyGermany Marvin Rittmüller 1999
21st GermanyGermany Luca Schlax 2000
22nd GermanyGermany Justin Petermann 1998
39 DenmarkDenmark Nikolas Nartey 2017
03 GermanyGermany Oliver Schmitt 2000
09 GermanyGermany Kaan Caliskaner 1999
10 GermanyGermany Lucas muscle 1991
19th CanadaCanada Gabriel Boakye 1998

Trainers and supervisors

Surname function
Mark Zimmermann Trainer
Martin Heck Assistant coach
Thomas Klasen Assistant coach
Tetsuo Taguchi Goalkeeping coach
Leif Frach Athletic trainer
Max Weuthen Athletic trainer (U15 to U21)
Volker Hartjens Kit manager
Peter Greiss supervisor
Rainer Thomas supervisor
Franz Kremer Stadium

Stadion

The venue for the U21s is the Franz Kremer Stadium , which can seat 5,457 spectators.

The building, which began in 1966, was completed in 1971 and is located right next to the Geißbockheim. Before it got its current name, it was initially called the Amateur Stadium. In 1977 it was named after the late FC President and founding member Franz Kremer . In addition to the U21s, the U17 and U19 youth teams usually play their point games in the venue.

In order to be able to train behind closed doors, the professionals occasionally complete their training units in the Franz Kremer Stadium.

Youth teams

The youth performance center of 1. FC Köln in the RheinEnergieSportpark has been certified by the German Football League with the highest rating of three stars. Carsten Schiel and Jan Schäfer are the heads of the youth training center.

Carsten Cullmann (right, with father Bernd )

The following table shows all head coaches of the junior teams from the U-19 to the U-14 as well as the league that will be played in 2019/20:

Age group Trainer League (level)
A-Juniors (U19) Stefan Ruthenbeck A-Juniors-Bundesliga (I)
B1-Juniors (U17) Markus Daun B-Juniors-Bundesliga (I)
B2 Juniors (U16) Manuel Hartmann B-Junior Middle Rhine League (II)
C1-Juniors (U15) Carsten Cullmann C-Youth Regional League (I)
C2-Juniors (U14) Evangelos Nessos U14 junior cup

A-Juniors (U19)

Yannick Gerhardt (2016)

The greatest success of the A-youth was winning the German A-junior championship in 1971. The championship team included the future FC professionals Harald Konopka , Jürgen Glowacz and Herbert Hein . The master coach was Josef Röhrig , who was previously a player in Cologne. In 2013, the U19 won the DFB Junior Club Cup for the first time, and the team there included former FC professional Yannick Gerhardt .

Since the introduction of the A-Junioren-Bundesliga in 2003, FC has always been represented in the league. In 2008 and 2020, they won the western season. In 2008, the A-youth failed in the later finals of the German championship with 3: 5 at SC Freiburg. The team was runner-up in the western season four times, the worst result ever achieved at the end of the season was 6th.

There was a special situation in the 2019/20 season : The FC U19s were leaders of the western season after 20 of 26 match days when it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic . Cologne as well as the leaders of the other two seasons were determined to be the winner of the respective season, the championship finals were canceled. The U19s of 1. FC Köln also play with the U19s from Werder Bremen as the winners of the North / Northeast relay in one game for the open space for the 2020/21 UEFA Youth League , which the German A-Junior Champions 2020 actually receive would have.

A-Juniors titles and achievements

B-Juniors (U17)

Pablo Thiam (2007)

The greatest successes of the B-youth were winning the German B-junior championship in 1990, 2011 and 2019. The 1990 championship team included the later FC professional Pablo Thiam , the team was trained by the long-time head of the youth training center, Frank Schaefer. In addition to Yannick Gerhardt, Mitchell Weiser was also part of the 2011 championship team .

Since the introduction of the B-Junioren-Bundesliga in 2007, FC has always been represented in this league. In 2011, 2012 and 2020 they won the western season, in 2011 afterwards also the German championship and in 2012 they failed in the semifinals against the eventual champions Hertha BSC on penalties. In 2020, the final round of the German championship was not played due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The team was twice runner-up in the western season, the worst result ever achieved at the end of the season was 9th place.

B-Junior titles and achievements

Members, club institutions and stadium culture

Fans and members

Members

1. FC Köln has 111,599 members, making it the largest sports club in Cologne and the sixth largest in Germany . Helping to discuss and shape the fate of the club is an important element of membership at 1. FC Köln. In this sense, the annual general meeting is the most important organ of the association. Since 2015, the FC has offered lifelong club membership for the one-time price of € 1,948.

In addition, 841 official fan clubs are integrated in the association (as of March 2020). The first fan club was founded in 1959 and was called “1. FC Köln supporters Club Ichendorf ”.

South curve

The south curve shows a choreography (2012)

The south curve in the Rheinenergiestadion is traditionally the home of FC fans. The club's active fans already had their place in the old Müngersdorfer stadium in the “real” south curve. At the time of the main arena, however, the organized fans were still in the north curve. Even if the current south curve is called the south stand from the club side and above all for architectural reasons ; the fans continue to refer to it as the south curve.

Ultras

The Ultras first appeared in Cologne in the mid-1990s. The "Ultras CCAA" was the first grouping in the Müngersdorfer Stadium to define itself as Ultras. From it emerged in 1996 what is now the largest ultra grouping of 1. FC Köln, the "Wilde Horde".

1. FC Köln has a relatively large ultra scene in a nationwide comparison, which is represented by other groups in addition to the Wild Horde. The main feature of the Ultras in general and those in Cologne, in addition to the acoustic support of the team, are the regularly organized choreographies in which the entire south curve or other stands are included. The choreographies are usually closely related to the club and its history. Occasionally, however, the ultras also present themselves with choreos.

The biggest criticisms of the Ultras are the potential willingness to use violence against opposing fans or the police and the lighting of Bengali fires or other violations of the stadium rules, which can result in high association fines for the club. In the near past, 1. FC Köln received multiple fines, and was punished for misconduct by the ultra scene with partial exclusion of spectators at home games.

Club institutions

Fan project

The most important link between the club and fans is the fan project 1. FC Köln 1991 e. Founded in 1991 as a fan club . V., which with around 11,000 members is one of the largest and oldest of its kind in Germany. It sees itself as a fan club, but also as a service provider for all FC fans and other FC fan clubs, whereby the fan project is in close contact with 1. FC Köln. The fan project serves as a communication channel from the fan base to the club and vice versa. In addition, it has taken on some tasks for the FC, such as B. the handling of ticket sales for away games to FC fans, the care of disabled fans in the stadium and some offers for young FC fans. The fan project has around 60 employees, almost all of whom work on a voluntary basis.

AG fan culture

Since autumn 2012, representatives of the club and various fan groups have come together with the aim of uniting the club at the fan club level and finding solutions to conflicts. One of the central concerns of 1. FC Köln is to improve the interaction between FC, its fans including the ultra scene, politics, associations, police and media. For this purpose, 1. FC Köln was the first Bundesliga club to set up a fan culture working group. The former CDU member of the Bundestag and FC member Wolfgang Bosbach is also a member of the AG Fan Culture .

1. FC Cologne Foundation

1. FC Köln has bundled its social commitment in the 1. FC Köln Foundation, founded on November 21, 2009 . The non-profit foundation supports people in need in the region in a variety of ways. The mission statement of the foundation is shaped by the title of the FC anthem, "Mer stonn zo Dir". The FC would like to give back some of the loyalty and loyalty of the entire region to the FC.

Stadium culture

The "Höhner", here Henning Krautmacher

Stadium songs

Singing various songs, mostly more or less in the local dialect, is an important part of stadium culture. Both pure FC songs and a larger repertoire of traditional carnival songs are sung .

  • Mer stonn zo Dir, FC Kölle ( Höhner , 1998): A few years after its publication, this song achieved the status of an “FC anthem” and is sung by the audience before every game. The original, the Scottish folk song Loch Lomond , was made internationally known by the Runrig group and sung with a similar passion.
  • Our Hätz suggests för dr FC Kölle (Höhner, 1986): Lyrically based on the Höhner hit "Echte Fründe". The original melody comes from the British marching song It's a Long Way to Tipperary .
  • FC, jeff Jas! ( BAP , 1998): The BAP song “Für ne Moment” was rewritten on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the association, originally sung by Wolfgang Niedecken , Guildo Horn and Stefan Raab .

In addition, carnival songs such as the current goal anthem Denn Wenn et Trömmelche jeit ( De Räuber ) and other songs in the Cologne dialect such as En unserm Veedel ( Bläck Fööss ) are sung.

Billy goat echo

The stadium newspaper of 1. FC Köln is the “billy goat Echo”, which has a long tradition as an official club magazine. Just a few months after the club was founded, a “club message” appeared regularly, but it was not a program. For the first home game of the 1957/58 league season against Westfalia Herne, the issue “No. 1 ”of the billy goat echo. On eight pages there were reports on current and historical topics, advertising and the FC team line-up.

For a short time in the early 1970s the more extensive “Bundesliga Zeitung” became the official home game program of 1. FC Köln, but it never achieved the popularity of the billy goat echo, so that the “billy goat echo” was reintroduced after a little less than two years. The now more extensive issue was paid for for the first time in 1983. The publication on and in the stadium could be purchased for one mark. The magazine has been sent to members free of charge since the “Bundesliga Zeitung”. The "billy goat Echo" has been in full color since 1993/94 and can now also be read digitally.

FC in the Cologne Carnival

FC players at the Rosenmontagszug 2015

1. FC Köln is committed to one of the most important cultural assets of the city of Cologne, the Cologne Carnival . Since 1949, the association has hosted a carnival session in every session , and the club also has its own carnival medals produced. During Rose Monday parades there have always been floats that dealt with the association, but without the direct involvement of the club. Since 2014, players and officials of the FC have been traveling with their own car in the move.

At the beginning of 2015, the association applied to the Cologne Festival Committee to be accepted as a carnival association on the grounds that “by participating in the Rose Monday procession in 2014 and with the fun training on 11.11. known to the Cologne customs ”. The festival committee approved the motion.

In the 2013/14 season , the club produced a carnival jersey for the first time with carnival hats drawn in and a sewn-on city coat of arms, which was worn at the home games against 1. FC Union Berlin and SpVgg Greuther Fürth. In 2014/15 there was a second version of the carnival jersey. This time the design was based on the regalia of the Cologne Carnival Prince , it was worn at the home games against SC Freiburg and SC Paderborn. The third carnival jersey is supposed to represent a uniform skirt of an officer of the oldest traditional corps in Cologne, the Rote Funken . This was worn in the 2015/16 season at the home game against VfB Stuttgart. In the 2016/17 season , the fourth carnival jersey, which was intended to express the close ties between the club and the city, was worn in the home games against Hamburger SV and FC Schalke 04. After a year break, the club brought the fifth carnival jersey with the motto " Ringelpiez zom Aanpacke " on the market in the 2018/19 season , which was worn by the professionals against Dynamo Dresden and SV Sandhausen .

Rivalries and friendships

Rivalries

Graffiti in Cologne on the rivalries of the FC

Due to historical and geographical features, there is a pronounced rivalry with a number of clubs. There are three duels involving 1. FC Köln, which are known as the “Rheinisches Derby”.

First of all, the rivalry with Borussia Mönchengladbach should be mentioned . The duel between the two teams is one of the most traditional derbies in German football , with 124 stagings in six different competitions to date . In addition to the similarly large fan base at both clubs, there are clear club history parallels; both clubs were among the major football clubs in Germany from the 1960s to the 1980s, followed by a decade of decline. Between 1999 and 2008 both clubs played in the 2nd Bundesliga at times . Hennes Weisweiler was the coach with the longest term of office and the greatest success in both clubs, while other people, e.g. B. Wolfgang Overath (1. FC Cologne) and Günter Netzer (Borussia Mönchengladbach), were also competitors in the national team . Today, the duels with Gladbach are considered the highlights of the season in terms of public interest. In July 2020 there was a curiosity in the ARD quiz show asked - hunted . The quiz candidate and Gladbach fan Claus Blümel had steadfastly refused to pronounce the name of the big rival 1. FC Köln and waived a profit of 500 euros for it. Moderator Alexander Bommes asked the candidate: “Which club was second division champions in the 2018/2019 season?” Instead of answering correctly, Blümel said: “No, I won't say that!” The program was broadcast on July 13, 2020 been. His heart club and a sponsor of the club then kept a promise and rewarded the fan for his steadfast healthy rivalry with a foal jersey and a voucher worth 500 euros.

Bayer 04 Leverkusen is geographically closer . The Werkself did not establish themselves in the Bundesliga until 1979 and mostly did not play at a comparable level. Still behind FC in the 1980s, she has clearly hurried since the 1990s. A smaller following and the economic dependence on the Bayer Group contribute to the fact that this rivalry is perceived as subordinate to that of Mönchengladbach.

Furthermore, there are principally rivalries with Fortuna Düsseldorf and Alemannia Aachen , whereby the rivalry with Aachen is hardly seen as such by either side. Neither team played in the same league as FC in the last 20 years, so competitive matches were the exception.

FC Cologne had inner-city rivals primarily in its early years, precisely because the self-designation of the club, which emerged from two district clubs as the first FC Köln in other parts of the city, was seen as arrogance. But soon the FC was able to enforce the claim associated with the name and in the following decades rose to become the generally accepted “club of the city”. The relationship with SC Fortuna Köln was and is something special . The Südstadtklub was represented in professional football for 26 years without interruption, but a real rivalry never developed. Most likely it came into play in the DFB Cup final in 1983 , when it was played between the two clubs. Due to different league affiliations, the two clubs have only had ten competitive matches so far. Rather, it was so that fans of the FC mostly followed the fortunes of Fortuna with goodwill. Fans of both clubs also share the rejection of another Cologne district club, Viktoria , which, according to some fans, is only competitive thanks to the patron Franz-Josef Wernze .

In general, in the course of the 2000s, due to the commercial development of football, a rejection of large parts of the fan scene against group-supported clubs such as VfL Wolfsburg , FC Ingolstadt 04 or RB Leipzig developed. The main argument is that these clubs are only competitive thanks to the respective group in the background and thus have a great advantage over the traditional clubs.

Fan friendships

After the quarter-final duel in the 1964/65 European Cup , when FC was knocked out in the play-off on March 24, 1965 after extra time against Liverpool FC after extra time , friendly relations developed with the fans of the English opponent, which is now only a few friendship scarves . For decades, however, a friendship with the fans of FC St. Pauli , which arose after the game in the Millerntor Stadium in 1978 , when FC prevailed in a long-distance duel against Borussia Mönchengladbach and won the German championship for the last time. However, since the 2000s this friendship has lost much of its importance.

Since FC's 2-0 home win against Bayer 04 Leverkusen in 2011, which secured Borussia Dortmund the championship, there has been a friendly relationship between the two clubs from the perspective of some fans. In addition, the ultra groups “Boyz Cologne” and “Desperados Dortmund” had been closely linked from 2006 until the Boyz was dissolved in 2018. At the ultra level, there is also a grown friendship with the former groups “Supras Auteuil”, “Authentiks Paris” and “Grinta” from Paris Saint-Germain . The friendship is cultivated by the Cologne groups “Wilde Horde” and “Coloniacs”. The groups from Paris were dissolved by the state in 2010 due to the longstanding conflict between the Parisian curves “Virage Auteuil” and “Kop of Boulogne”. However, there is no really solid fan friendship that is supported by the vast majority of fans.

Sponsors and suppliers

Team bus with REWE advertising

Main sponsors (jersey) since 1979

Duration sponsor
1979-1982 Pioneer (electrical appliances)
1982-1985 Double shower (skin care)
1985-1987 Daimon (batteries)
1987-1991 Samsung (electronics)
1991-1993 Citibank (credit institution)
1993-1994 Pepsi (soft drinks)
1994-1999 Ford (automobiles)
1999-2003 VPV (insurance)
2003-2005 Funny fresh (savory biscuits)
2005-2007 Gerling (insurance)
since 2007 Rewe Group (retail / tourism)

Outfitter (jersey / pants)

Duration Outfitter
1974-1977 Le Coq Sportif
1977-1988 Adidas
1978-1979 Erima
1979-1985 Adidas
1985-2002 puma
2002-2005 Sports Saller
2005-2008 Adidas
2008–2012 Reebok
2012-2018 Erima
since 2018 Uhlsport

Finances

In the annual financial statements of 1. FC Köln GmbH & Co. KGaA presented at the general meeting in September 2019, the management reported net income after taxes of € 1.1 million at the end of the 2018/19 season (previous year: € 17.3 million ), with operating income falling significantly compared to the previous year from € 171.8 million to € 114.6 million due to lower media income due to the relegation to the 2nd Bundesliga. The equity grew to 38.6 million € (previous year: € 37.5 million) on.

1. FC Köln issued a bond on August 1, 2005 with the ISIN number DE000A0E86V7. The volume of the bond was € 5 million. The bond had a term of six years and a denomination of € 100. A stock exchange trading was not intended for the bond. Each investor has a bond desired physical securities purchase and custody was possible. As of August 1, 2011, the bond was repaid as agreed. From August 1, 2012, 1. FC Köln GmbH & Co. KGaA asked for another bond ( ISIN DE000A1PG1A7) with a term of five years and an annual interest rate of five percent. The issue volume was up to € 10 million. As with the previous bond, no stock exchange listing was planned, but safekeeping was possible. In addition, framed effective pieces with face values ​​of € 100, € 1,000 and € 1,948 could be acquired. In August 2016, new bonds with a total volume of € 15.5 million were offered under the motto “fixed interest rate loyalty”.

Other departments

Women's soccer

Game scene of a women's game at FC, 2017

The history of the women's team at 1. FC Köln goes back to 1974, when SV Grün-Weiß Brauweiler was founded and its women's team became German champions in 1997 and won the DFB Cup three times . In 2000 the women's department split off and became the FFC Brauweiler Pulheim . The club had had financial problems since 2008 and played second-rate at the time.

With effect from July 1, 2009, the FC merged with the Brauweiler Pulheim 2000 FFC . Thus, the newly founded women's team of 1. FC Köln was able to start in the 2. Bundesliga South in the 2009/10 season . The team played at the top right from the start, but often had to admit defeat in the years to come and missed the leap into first class. In the sixth attempt in the 2014/15 season, after three second and two third places, four matchdays before the end of the season, they were promoted to the Bundesliga . In the Bundesliga, the team could not assert itself, the direct relegation was sealed four game days before the end of the season. In the 2016/17 season , the team managed to return directly to the Bundesliga as runner-up, benefiting from the lack of promotion rights for the reserves of TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, which became champions. At the DFB Cup , the women's team took part been ten times. The quarter-finals were reached three times and the second round four times.

If the women's team is represented in the Bundesliga, the games will be played in the Südstadion , while they will be played second-rate in the Franz Kremer Stadium. The most famous former players are Sonja Fuss and Inka Grings .

successes

Second team and juniors

The second team will play in the Regionalliga West in 2019/20 . In the 2017/18 season they played in the 2nd Bundesliga, after having previously been champions of the western season of the Regionalliga. In the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, they were also champions of the Regionalliga West in 19/20. The B-Juniors have been playing in the B-Juniorinnen-Bundesliga since the 2012/13 season , the biggest success there being winning the West Relay in the 2016/17 season and in the 2017/18 season . While the team failed in the semifinals of the German B-Junior Championship at 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam in 2016/17 , they reached the final the following year, which was lost 4-1 to VfL Wolfsburg .

successes

Handball

There are currently two women's, two men's and eleven youth teams playing in the handball department , of which the first women's team is the flagship and plays in the 3rd League West in the 2018/19 season . The first men's team plays in the 1st district class of the Cologne / Rheinberg district, the second men's team in the 3rd district class. The home games of the FC handball teams take place in the Europaschule Cologne in the Raderthal district.

Table tennis

Table tennis has a long tradition at 1. FC Köln, the sport has been practiced in the club since 1950. The top division you ever played in was the second highest . The first men's team plays in the northern season of the 3rd Bundesliga in the 2018/19 season. The table tennis department includes ten men's, three youth and seven student teams. The greatest success of a youth team was the title of runner-up in the German youth championship in 2004.

Trivia

1984: In February 1984 the Phantasialand amusement park offered its financial support to a. To bring Bernd Schuster back to 1. FC Köln. In return, the club should be renamed "1. FC Phantasialand Cologne". The management refused the offer, which would not have been compatible with the DFB's statutes anyway .

1991: On May 2, 1991, Cologne striker Frank Ordenewitz saw the yellow card in the DFB Cup semi-final match against MSV Duisburg (final score 3-0), which would have resulted in a suspension for the cup final. In the course of the game he saw red after another action. After the game, well-known coach Erich Rutemöller frankly advised Ordenewitz to do this at halftime with the words “Mach et, Otze!” As he was serving a red ban in the Bundesliga and Ordenewitz would have been able to play again in the cup final. The DFB banned Ordenewitz for the final and ruled that bans from being sent off in the cup can only be "served" in the cup.

2005: In May 2005 1. FC Köln announced the conclusion of a new shirt sponsorship contract with the island state of Cyprus , represented by a Cypriot company called "Satena Holding Ltd.". The island should be advertised as a tourist destination. A few weeks later, after research , the WDR found out that the company did not even exist and that such an order from the Cypriot Tourism Association had never existed. This broke the deal arranged by a personal friend of the club's president Wolfgang Overath and the FC had to look for a new main sponsor at short notice.

2006: After 1. FC Köln had sacked their head coach Hanspeter Latour on November 9, 2006 , the club contacted Christoph Daum, who was not a club at the time and who had already been successful as an FC trainer in the 1980s and was currently in recovered from a neck operation in a Cologne hospital. This shared on 11.11. at a press conference that he was "temporarily" not available to FC. After intensive negotiations, he initially gave FC a “final” refusal on November 14, 2006, and a little later Daum signed a four-year contract with FC. During the first training session, spectators unrolled “ Habemus Daum” posters.

2010: The former FC sports director Udo Lattek was honored by the German Academy for Football Culture for the best football slogan in 2010. The award-winning statement read: "There is always such a great atmosphere in the Cologne stadium, actually only the team bothers."

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : 1. FC Köln  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. The current coat of arms with billy goat is not shown on Wikipedia for supposed licensing reasons.
  2. a b c home page. 1. FC Köln, accessed on May 8, 2020 (ticker for the number of members at the top left).
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