Founded in 1948, Fortuna is the perenial second cousin of 1.FC Köln. Over the last 30 years, Fortuna has relied on the dedication, and more importantly, the money, of their most dedicated fan, millionaire president Jean Löring.
The club was founded in 1948 through a merger of 3 local clubs Viktoria 1911 (not to be confused with the Viktoria that later merged to become Preussen Koeln), Bayenthaler SV and Sparkasse.
Aside from a brief appearance in the top flight, Fortuna has always played in the 2nd division in recent memory. In fact, the great accomplishment is that Fortuna set the record for most 2.Liga seasons, some 25 straight years.
Certainly a highpoint in club history was the brilliant 1983 DFB-Cup run. After knocking out Freiburg and barely surving on penalty kicks against Ulm, Fortuna defeated Braunschweig and then stunned Mönchengladbach 2-1, before destroying Dortmund 5-0 in the semis. In the finals they met...1.FC Köln!! This was the first time a local derby was held in the Cup final, and the Müngersdorf stadium was jammed with 61,000 fans. Although Fortuna outplayed their rivals, a late Pierre Littbarski goal gave the victory to the "Goats" 1-0.
Fortuna continued to have varying degrees of success in the 2.Liga, but the trend was downward. In 1998-99, Fortuna played poorly and never threatened. Relegation was a possibility, but luckily there were weaker teams. By the end of the century, the "eternal 2nd ligist" was relegated and started a new chapter in the clubs history. In more ways than one, as President Jean Löring was also forced out of office...
The new rulers of Fortuna were of course unable to right the ship. In the 2004/05 season, the club was forced into bankruptcy by the courts. All results were annulled and Fortuna would be relegated. Things got even worse when the creditors rejected the reorganization plans, and by June 2005 the club was finished and looked to be dissolved. The only positive note is that Löring died in March 2005 after a long illness, so he didn't see his beloved Fortuna disappear...
However, the story had a happy ending, as the club managed to pull through and continues. One positive note is that Fortuna has one of the largest youth programs, with over 500 kids playing for the club.
Fullname | Spielclub Fortuna Köln e.V.
City |
Köln
(Nordrhein-Westfalen). Pop: 968,000 (2002).
| Address |
Am Vorgebirgstor 1-3, 50969 Köln | Phone: (0221) 9364180 e-mail: mail@fortuna-koeln.de Colors |
White short, red shorts. Often with stripes.
| Nickname |
| Stadium |
Südstadion. Capacity: 12,000 (1,860 seats). | Officially known as Bezirkssportanlage Köln-Süd. Until 1974, Fortuna played at the Sparkassen-Platz, until it was sold and torn down. Most big matches were held in the Müngersdorf anyway. In the Bundesliga, they actually played in the Radrennbahn cycling stadium, as the "M" was being fixed up for the World Cup. They averaged a respectable 12,500. The Südstadion construction actually started in 1971, but dragged on until 1978. Tickets |
| Supporters |
Averaged 628 in 2004 (Oberliga). During 2.Liga, usually a couple
thousand. The 1973 glory year in the Bundesliga saw 11,500. To
be honest, Fortuna has very few fans, but several Fan clubs are listed
on the official web site. For some reason, Fortuna has also embarked upon
that American tradition of cheerleaders since 1998. Perhaps the theory is
that scantily clad girls will draw bigger crowds.
| Friends |
|
Foes |
You can't really find any, because if you have no fans, the opposition
doesn't have anyone to argue with.
| Heroes |
Undoubtedly Jean Löring, the millionaire president for some 30
years. His money and enthusiasm is really the only reason that Fortuna
managed to survive and remain at a high level. In 1982, he even
helped out in another capacity: in the match against Darmstadt, the
floodlights failed. As a trained electrician, he personally fixed the
lights so the match could go on. Eventually in 2000, he was
thrown out by an ungrateful board as the club collapsed financially. |
Zeroes |
| Beer |
As a Köln club, a typical Kölsch style is de rigeur.
Right now, it's Gaffel
|
Pub Grub |
| The Net |
www.fortuna-koeln.de is
the official site.
| |
Recent History:
--------------
1965-66 (III) Amateurliga Mittelrhein 8th
1966-67 (III) Amateurliga Mittelrhein 2nd
1967-68 (II) Regionalliga West 16th
1968-69 (II) Regionalliga West 12th
1969-70 (II) Regionalliga West 14th
1970-71 (II) Regionalliga West 4th
1971-72 (II) Regionalliga West 3rd
1972-73 (II) Regionalliga West 2nd
1973-74 (I) Bundesliga 17th
1974-75 (II) 2.Bundesliga Nord 5th
1975-76 (II) 2.Bundesliga Nord 4th
1976-77 (II) 2.Bundesliga Nord 12th
1977-78 (II) 2.Bundesliga Nord 4th
1978-79 (II) 2.Bundesliga Nord 4th
1979-80 (II) 2.Bundesliga Nord 6th
1980-81 (II) 2.Bundesliga Nord 9th
1981-82 (II) 2.Bundesliga 10th
1982-83 (II) 2.Bundesliga 6th
1983-84 (II) 2.Bundesliga 9th
1984-85 (II) 2.Bundesliga 11th
1985-86 (II) 2.Bundesliga 3rd
1986-87 (II) 2.Bundesliga 14th
1987-88 (II) 2.Bundesliga 12th
1988-89 (II) 2.Bundesliga 4th
1989-90 (II) 2.Bundesliga 14th
1990-91 (II) 2.Bundesliga 11th
1991-92 (II) 2.Bundesliga 11th
1992-93 (II) 2.Bundesliga 6th
1993-94 (II) 2.Bundesliga 15th
1994-95 (II) 2.Bundesliga 8th
1995-96 (II) 2.Bundesliga 8th
1996-97 (II) 2.Bundesliga 11th
1997-98 (II) 2.Bundesliga 6th
1998-99 (II) 2.Bundesliga 14th
1999-00 (II) 2.Bundesliga 16th
2000-01 (III) Regionalliga Nord 4th
2001-02 (III) Regionalliga Nord 18th
2002-03 (IV) Oberliga Nordrhein 10th
2003-04 (IV) Oberliga Nordrhein 8th
2004-05 (IV) Oberliga Nordrhein results annulled
2005-06 (V) Verbandsliga Mittelrhein 7th
2006-07 (V) Verbandsliga Mittelrhein 9th
2007-08 (V) Verbandsliga Mittelrhein