FC Viktoria Köln

FC Viktoria Köln 1904 e. V., commonly known as Viktoria Köln () or Viktoria Cologne in English, is a German professional football club based on the right bank of the river Rhine in the Höhenberg district of Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club competes in the 3. Liga, the third tier of German football.

From 1978 to 1981 Viktoria Köln played in the 2. Bundesliga. During this period, the club achieved its best result in the 1979–80 season, finishing 4th.

History

With the oldest parent club of the "Viktoria", the ''FC Germania Kalk'', founded on the 1st of July 1904 it is one of the oldest football clubs in the city. In 1909 ''Germania'' merged with ''FC Kalk'', which was founded in 1905, to form the ''SV Kalk 04'' and in 1911 this club was, in turn, united with ''Mülheimer FC'' to create ''VfR Mülheim-Kalk 04''. The club was renamed ''VfR Köln 04 rrh.'' in 1918 after the previously independent towns of Kalk and Mülheim were incorporated into Cologne. In 1926 the ''VfR'' won its first Western German football championship and entry to the 1926 German football championship.

After the re-organization of German football in 1933 under the Third Reich into sixteen top flight divisions, ''VfR'' played in the Gauliga Mittelrhein taking titles there in 1935 and 1937 but then performed poorly at the national level. In 1941 The Gauliga Mittelrhein was split into the Gauliga Moselland and Gauliga Köln-Aachen, with ''VfR'' playing in the latter division. Two years later the club joined ''Mülheimer SV'' to play as the combined wartime side (Kriegsspielgemeinschaft) ''KSG VfR 04 Köln/Mülheimer SV 06''. ''Mülheim'' had also played in the Gauliga Mittelrhein since 1933 claiming titles of its own in 1934 and 1940, and had similarly poor results at the national level. Play in the Gauliga Köln-Aachen was suspended in the 1944–45 season as Allied armies advanced into Germany at the end of World War II.

After the war ''VfR Köln'' resumed playing first division football in the Oberliga West, but lasted only a single season before being relegated. In 1949 the team merged with its wartime partner ''Mülheimer SV'' to become ''SC Rapid Köln'' and played in the 2. Oberliga West (II) until falling to third-tier football after 1952. ''Rapid'' joined local rivals ''SC Preußen Dellbrück'' forming ''SC Viktoria 04 Köln'' in 1957. Of these sides, ''Preußen Dellbrück'' was most successful, advancing to the semi-finals of the national championships in 1950 before going out against ''Kickers Offenbach'' in a replay of their scoreless first match.

In 1963, the city selected Viktoria as its representative in the Fairs Cup, the forerunner of today's UEFA Cup, but the club was unable to capitalize on the opportunity. The team played as a second and third division side with generally unremarkable results until the 1994 merger with ''SC Brück'' that created ''SCB Preußen Köln'', the new team being named after predecessor ''Preußen Dellbrück''. The new club earned a second-place finish in their division in 2000, but quickly tumbled to the Oberliga Nordrhein (IV), even spending one season in fifth division Verbandsliga Mittelrhein. The pattern continued after the team was re-christened ''SCB Viktoria Köln'' in 2002. Just two years later, Viktoria was relegated to the Verbandsliga (V). In the 2009/10 season the team was relegated to the Landesliga (VI). The SCB Viktoria filed for insolvency on 1 August in 2010.

On 22 June 2010, a new club called ''FC Viktoria Köln'' was founded which took over the youth teams of now insolvent SCB Viktoria Köln. Although it was expected that the new club can begin in the ''Landesliga'', where SCB Viktoria had played at last, they were forced by the association to start in the lowest league, ''Kreisliga D''. Nonetheless, on 24 February 2011 the members of the ''FC Viktoria'' decided to incorporate the spun-off senior football department of FC Junkersdorf into the new club. Junkersdorf became champion of the 2010–11 Mittelrheinliga and so FC Viktoria Köln could start in 2011–12 in the NRW-Liga.

Viktoria became champions of the 2011–12 NRW-Liga with a one-point lead over Sportfreunde Siegen and was also crowned top scorer with Mike Wunderlich, who scored 32 goals. The title led to promotion to the Regionalliga West (IV).

On 29 April 2017, Viktoria became champions of the Regionalliga West on match day 31 of the 2016–17 season. Viktoria lost the home match in the promotion round to the 3. Liga against Carl Zeiss Jena 2:3, and although the club managed a 1:0 win in Jena, Viktoria missed out on promotion due to the away goals rule.

In the last home game of the 2018–19 Regionalliga West season on 18 May 2019, Viktoria Köln won 1:0 against Borussia Mönchengladbach II to gain promotion to the 3. Liga.

Crest

Honours

* Regionalliga West (IV)
** Champions: 2016–17, 2018–19
**''Runners-up'': 2017–18
* NRW-Liga (V)
** Champions: 2011–12
* Verbandsliga Mittelrhein
** Champions: 1977–78 (III), 1997–98 (V)
* Middle Rhine Cup (Tiers III–V)
** Winners: 1986, 1990, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025

Players

Current squad

European participations

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup/UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League:

Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Koln, Viktoria

Football clubs in Cologne
Association football clubs established in 1904
1904 establishments in Germany
Football clubs in Germany
2. Bundesliga clubs
3. Liga clubs