Fortuna Düsseldorf
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Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V., commonly known as Fortuna Düsseldorf (), is a German football club based in
Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...
,
North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...
, that competes in the 2. Bundesliga. Founded in 1895, Fortuna entered the league in 1913 and was a fixture in the top flight from the early 1920s up to the creation of the
Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...
in 1963. Fortuna captured one German championship in 1933 and two German cup
DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...
wins in 1979 and 1980. Their greatest feat in European competition was a
Cup Winners Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renamed the UEFA Cup Winne ...
final in 1979 where they lost to
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
.


History


Foundation to World War II

The earliest roots of the association go back to the establishment of the gymnastics club Turnverein Flingern on 5 May 1895 in the village of
Flingern Flingern is a quarter of Düsseldorf, part of Borough 2 (Düsseldorf), Borough 2. Located northeast of Düsseldorf (proper), it is divided into two ''Stadtteile'' today: Flingern-Nord and Flingern-Süd. While Flingern-Nord has a younger populati ...
, today one of the eastern quarters of Düsseldorf. Two other sides figure in the club's early history: Düsseldorfer Fußballklub Spielverein, founded in 1908, and FK Alemania 1911, which was founded in 1911 and became Fortuna 1911 the following year. In mid-1912, these two clubs merged to form Düsseldorfer Fußball-Club Fortuna 1911, which played its debut season in the Westdeutschen Spielverband in 1913–14. TV Flingern joined Fortuna to create Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna on 15 November 1919.Grüne, Hardy (2001). Vereinslexikon. Kassel: AGON Sportverlag In the late 1920s, Fortuna won its first honours as a first tier side; it captured a district level Bezirksliga title in 1927, sent its first representative to the Germany national team in 1928 ( Ernst Albrecht), and took a second Bezirksliga title in 1929. The team continued to perform well into the 1930s, winning its third and fourth district titles en route to a
Western German football championship The Western German football championship () was the highest association football competition in Western Germany, in the Prussian Province of Westphalia, the Rhine Province, the northern parts of the province of Hesse-Nassau as well as the Principal ...
in 1931 and its greatest success, a
German football championship German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ger ...
in 1933 against
Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as Schalke 04 (), and abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional sports club from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its football team, w ...
, which was on the verge of becoming the era's dominant side in Germany. Fortuna was the first team to win the title without conceding a goal in the final rounds of the tournament. It beat
Vorwärts-Rasensport Gleiwitz Vorwärts-Rasensport Gleiwitz was a German association football club from the city of Gleiwitz, Upper Silesia, today Gliwice, Poland. __TOC__ History The team had its origins within the gymnastics club ''Turnverein Vorwärts Gleiwitz'' establ ...
(9–0),
Arminia Hannover SV Arminia Hannover is a German association football club based in Hanover, Lower Saxony. History The club was founded in 1910 as ''FC Arminia Hannover'' and merged with ''Rugby-Verein Merkur'' in 1918, becoming ''SV Arminia-Merkur''. Two y ...
(3–0),
Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a German professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The club currently plays in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German footb ...
(4–0) and finally Schalke 04 (3–0) en route to becoming the first national champion from the industrial
Rhine-Ruhr The Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region () is the Metropolitan regions in Germany, largest metropolitan region in Germany, with over ten million inhabitants. A wikt:polycentric, polycentric conurbation with several major urban concentrations, the reg ...
area. In the following season, the club began playing in
Gauliga Niederrhein The Gauliga Niederrhein was the highest Association football, football league in the northern part of the Prussian Rhine Province from 1933 to 1945. Shortly after the formation of the league, the Nazis reorganised the administrative regions in Ger ...
, 1 of 16 top-flight divisions formed in the re-organization of German football under the
Third Reich Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...
. Düsseldorf dominated the division through the 1930s as five-time champions between 1936 and 1940, and made losing appearances in the national championship final in 1936 (1–2 to 1. FC Nürnberg) and the final of the Tschammerpokal, the predecessor of today's
DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...
, in 1937 (1–2 against Schalke 04). The club was reglegated in 1942, but returned to the top flight the following season. In 1944–45, it began play as the combined wartime side Kriegsspielgemeinschaft TSV Fortuna/SC 99 Düsseldorf with partner Düsseldorfer Sport Club 1899, but took part in only two matches as
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
fell before the advance of Allied armies. The most notable players of that era were
Paul Janes Paul Janes (11 March 1912 – 12 June 1987) was a German football player. He earned 71 caps and scored seven goals for the Germany national team from 1932 to 1942, and played in two World Cups: 1934 and 1938. Janes was a member of the Breslau E ...
, Germany's most capped player from 1942 to 1970 (71 caps), German team captain (1939–1942) and member of the Breslau Eleven that beat
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
8–0 in Breslau in 1937 and went on to win 10 of 11 games played during that year;
Stanislaus Kobierski Stanislaus "Tau" Kobierski (15 November 1910 in Düsseldorf — 18 November 1972) was a German footballer. Kobierski's parents were Poles who emigrated to Germany from PoznaÅ„. Between 1931 and 1941, he played 26 times and scored 9 goals fo ...
, who earned 26 caps and scored Germany's first ever
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
goal; Ernst Albrecht; and
Jakob Bender Jakob Bender (23 March 1910 – 8 February 1981) was a German footballer who played as a midfielder. In the 1930s, he was a squad member of Fortuna Düsseldorf, who in 1933 became German League champions. Between 1933 and 1935, Bender played fo ...
.


Post War era

After
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Allied occupation authorities ordered the dissolution of all sports organizations in Germany. Fortuna was re-formed in 1945 and then played most of their football in the
Oberliga West Oberliga () may refer to: Association football * Oberliga (football), currently the fifth tier of the German football league system, formerly the first * DDR-Oberliga, the first tier of football in East Germany until 1990, replaced by the NOFV-O ...
(I) in the years between 1947 and the creation of the
Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...
,
West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
's professional football league, in 1963. It played as a lower-to-mid-table side, though it also made three appearances in the DFB-Pokal final in â€“ 1957, 1958 and 1962 â€“ but did not the prize, losing each of those matches to
Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...
,
VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V. (), commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German professional sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's Association football, football team is currently part of Germany's f ...
and 1. FC Nürnberg. It was also during this era that
Toni Turek Anton Turek (18 January 1919 – 11 May 1984) was a German association football, footballer who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Career Born in Duisburg, Turek started his career at Duisburger Sportverein, but he soo ...
, goalkeeper for West Germany's "Miracle of Bern" side at the 1954 World Cup; Erich Juskowiak (30 caps and World Cup player in
1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...
); and later national team coach
Jupp Derwall Josef "Jupp" Derwall (10 March 1927 – 26 June 2007) was a German professional football manager and player. He was head coach of the West Germany national team between 1978 and 1984, winning the UEFA Euro 1980 and reaching the final of the 1982 ...
all represented Fortuna.


1960s and 1970s

Fortuna's performance was not good enough to earn them a place among the original 16 teams chosen for the newly founded Bundesliga in 1963, but the club played its way into the premier division three years later for a cameo appearance in 1966–67. Despite a sensational 2–1 away win at recent
European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...
winners
Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund () or by its initialism BVB (), or just Dortmund by International fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...
on its Bundesliga debut, Fortuna was immediately relegated, though only to return in 1971 for a stay that lasted 16 seasons and included two third-place league finishes (in
1972–73 Year 197 ( CXCVII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magius and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 950 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 197 for this y ...
and 1973–74). On 9 December 1978, Fortuna recorded a 7–1 victory against Bayern Munich, to date the highest away defeat for Bayern in its entire Bundesliga history. In addition, Fortuna continued its prosperous play in the DFB-Pokal, making another three appearances. After losing in its fifth appearance in the final in
1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...
against local rivals
1. FC Köln 1. Fußball-Club Köln 01/07 e. V., better known as simply 1. FC Köln () or FC Cologne in English language, English, is a German professional association football, football club based in Cologne in North Rhine-Westphalia. It was formed in 1948 ...
(0–2), the club finally broke through and came away as champions in
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
, prevailing 1–0 against
Hertha BSC Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC () or Hertha Berlin, is a German professional football club based in Berlin. Hertha BSC plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football league system, German footbal ...
, then repeating as champions
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...
with 2–1 victory against 1. FC Köln. During this period, the club established a record for consecutive DFB-Pokal match victories, with 18-straight between 1978 and 1981. Fortuna is among a group of four teams which have made frequent appearances in the DFB-Pokal final only to come away empty-handed. Like
1. FC Kaiserslautern 1. Fußball-Club Kaiserslautern e. V., also known as 1. FCK, FCK (), FC Kaiserslautern (), K'lautern or colloquially Lautern (), is a German sports club based in Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate. In addition to Association football, football ...
, Fortuna has just two wins against five losses. 1. FC Köln has four wins and six losses in the Cup final, while Schalke 04 has been frustrated most often, with five wins and seven losses. Four of the Düsseldorfer's losses were by a single goal and two of those were in extra time. The club's best turn in European competition was in the 1979 European Cup Winners' Cup Final, where it finished as runners-up to
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
, losing 4–3 in extra time in an exciting finale at
Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...
. It was the first of four occasions that the Catalan club won the tournament. Fortuna achieved its success mostly with hometown players like the famous Allofs brothers (
Klaus Allofs Klaus Allofs (born 5 December 1956) is a German former professional football player, manager, and executive. A striker, Allofs was a prolific goalscorer for club and country. He amassed Bundesliga totals of 424 games and 177 goals over the cou ...
and
Thomas Allofs Thomas Allofs (born 17 November 1959) is a German former professional footballer who played as a striker. The younger brother of another footballer, Klaus Allofs, he was a prolific goalscorer, scoring nearly 200 overall goals as a professional ...
) or players like
Gerd Zewe Gerd Zewe (born 13 June 1950) is a German former Association football, football player and manager. Zewe was a youngster for SV Stennweiler and an amateur for Borussia Neunkirchen. Starting his career with his sole professional club, Fortuna DÃ ...
(440 games in the Bundesliga),
Dieter Herzog Dieter Herzog (born 15 July 1946 in Oberhausen) is a former German international football player. Herzog played more than 350 Bundesliga matches (69 goals) for Fortuna Düsseldorf and Bayer 04 Leverkusen in his professional career, after starti ...
, Reiner Geye,
Wolfgang Seel Wolfgang Seel (born 21 June 1948) is a German former footballer. He spent 12 seasons in the Bundesliga with 1. FC Kaiserslautern, Fortuna Düsseldorf and 1. FC Saarbrücken. He represented Germany 6 times, including a UEFA Euro 1976 qualifier ag ...
and
Rudi Bommer Rudolf "Rudi" Bommer (born 19 August 1957) is a German former footballer, who played as a midfielder, and current football manager. Playing career Born in Aschaffenburg, Bommer played 417 games between 1976 and 1996 for Fortuna Düsseldorf, Ba ...
who joined the team as nearly unknown players and ended as internationals. Between 1960 and 1967, Peter Meyer scored 119 goals in 174 games.


1980s to the new century

Since its relegation in 1987, Fortuna has bounced back and forth between leagues, spending five more seasons in the Bundesliga in 1989–92 (after winning the 1988-89 2nd Bundesliga championship) and 1995–97 and slipping as low as
Oberliga Nordrhein The Oberliga Nordrhein was the highest Football League in the region of Nordrhein which is part of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia from 1978 to 2008. In its last season, it was one of nine Oberligas in German football, the 4th tier of the Ge ...
(IV) in 2002–04. In 2001, the club escaped relegation to tier IV only because two other clubs were denied licenses to play in tier III for financial reasons. Fortuna had its own money problems at the time but have since managed to arrange its finances more or less back into order. Between 2001 and 2003, the club was sponsored by German punk rock band
Die Toten Hosen Die Toten Hosen are a German punk rock band from Düsseldorf. The name is taken from the German slang idiom ''tote Hose'' (literally "dead trousers"), which means "nothing happening"; "boring". The band has had an important success through th ...
.


Recent seasons

In 2008–09, Fortuna competed in the newly established
3. Liga The 3. Liga is a professional association football league and the third division in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2. Bundesliga and the fourth-tier Regionalliga. The modern 3. Liga was formed for t ...
, finishing second and gaining automatic promotion to the 2. Bundesliga, where it finished fourth in its comeback season, 2009–10. In this season, Fortuna was the only side unbeaten in home-matches in the three top German (nationwide) leagues. After a promising 2009–10 season, the 2010–11 season began poorly for Fortuna. After the first six games of the season, the club was in last place, having lost every match. During these first six matches, the club scored only two goals â€“ one of which was an own-goal by the other side. Despite this discouraging start, Fortuna bounced back and finished the season in seventh place. 2011–12 began very differently: after the first half of the season, Fortuna was in first place in the table with a remarkable record of 12 wins, 5 draws and 0 losses. The "Herbstmeister" title gave the team and the fans hope that this could be the year Fortuna returned to the Bundesliga. The second half of the season was more challenging, as Fortuna was unable to maintain its pace: it suffered four losses and a number of draws, slipping to third place in the final standings. Nonetheless, this was sufficient for them to qualify for the two-game relegation playoff against the third-last place team in the Bundesliga â€“ Hertha BSC. The first game of the relegation was played on 10 May 2012 in
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
, with Fortuna winning 2–1. Fortuna drew the deciding game which was played on 15 May in Düsseldorf. Hertha fans, however, threw firecrackers at the field and the players, and one minute before the match ended, overexcited Fortuna fans stormed the field. The promotion to the Bundesliga represented an extraordinary personal achievement for team captain Andreas Lambertz, as he became the first player in German football history to be promoted three times with the same club, from the then fourth-tier Oberliga to the Bundesliga. For striker Sascha Rösler, it marked the fourth time in his career that he was promoted from the Second Division into the Bundesliga. Coming with the recent promotion, the club achieved a new record in German football history, becoming the only German club that has been relegated from the Bundesliga to a fourth-tier league (time period of downfall: 1997–2002) and promoted again to the Bundesliga afterwards (time period of ascent: 2004–2012). Fortuna started the
2012–13 Bundesliga The 2012–13 Bundesliga was the 50th season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football league. The season began on 24 August 2012 with the season opening match at Westfalenstadion involving defending champions Borussia Dortmund and SV Werde ...
season strongly, ranking fifth after five games and concerns about relegation seemed to have been put to rest. However, Fortuna's 1–0 home win over Greuther Fürth on 16 February would prove to be the club's final victory of the season. The season concluded with Fortuna playing in
Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), is a German professional association football, football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years between 19 ...
, a match Fortuna lost 0–3. This defeat, combined with an
Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...
win over Greuther Fürth and a bizarre and unlikely victory by
Hoffenheim Hoffenheim () is a village in Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It belongs to the municipality of Sinsheim and, as of 2020, it has a population of 3,191. History The village, settled since prehistoric times, and first mentioned ...
over second-place Borussia Dortmund, resulted in Fortuna dropping two places. ''Fortuna'' finished 17th and were again reglegated to the 2. Bundesliga. Fortuna's relegation was the result not only of this unlikely series of occurrences on the final day of the season, but also a poor conclusion to the year. Of its final eight matches, it did not win a single one; just one win would have secured its position for the following season's Bundesliga. This poor performance contributed to the dismissal of head coach Norbert Meier. Reglegation to the 2. Bundesliga led to a period of generally disappointing performance. Fortuna spent the years between 2013 and 2017 in the middle of the table, often battling against relegation and rarely challenging for promotion back to the Bundesliga. During these years, the club went through a series of coaching changes, with Oliver Reck, Frank Kramer, and former player Mike Buskens among others leading the club at various points. Success however remained elusive. In March 2016, Friedhelm Funkel – a native of Neuss – took over as coach of Fortuna Düsseldorf. In his first game as coach, Funkel led the club to a 4–3 win against 1. FC Kaiserslautern, ending a month-long winless streak. Funkel's start as coach marked the beginning of a period of increased stability and success for Fortuna. At the start of the 2017–18 season, two of Fortuna's strongest performers from the previous year, goalkeeper Michael Rensing and forward Ihlas Bebou, were both lost from the club with Rensing suffering two broken ribs and Bebou transferring to Bundesliga side Hannover 96. A further setback was that Funkel's assistant Peter Hermann asked to be released from his contaract with Fortuna in order to reojoin his mentor Jupp Heynckes upon his return to Bayern. With these three losses, it appeared that the 2017–18 season could be difficult for Fortuna. However, the club started extremely strongly: on the fourth day of the season, Fortuna had climbed to first place in the table, with a draw and three wins. For the remainder of the year, they would not drop below third place, benefitting from particularly strong play by Rensing's replacement in goal, Raphael Wolf, newly acquired Belgian forward Benito Raman, striker Rouwen Hennings, and midfielder Florian Neuhaus. A late-season slump saw Fortuna lose three games in succession in early April, but Fortuna won their next two matches, securing promotion to the Bundesliga. In the final game of the season, with promotion already secured, Fortuna defeated 1. FC Nürnberg 3–2 with a last-minute goal thereby securing first place and the 2. Bundesliga Championship, their second title after 1988–89. For coach Friedhelm Funkel, this marks the sixth time he had led a club to promotion—a German record. Fortuna Düsseldorf's return to first-division football in 2018–19 was greeted with great enthusiasm by their supporters. The first half of the season was marked by inconsistent play. Fortuna played remarkably well against top Bundesliga sides, taking a point from Leipzig and defeating Hoffenheim and first-place Borussia Dortmund. Most encouraging was an away draw against the defending champions Bayern Munich, when Fortuna came back after trailing 2–0 and 3–1, to secure a 3–3 draw in the 93rd minute, with
Dodi Lukebakio The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, th ...
scored all three of Fortuna's goals. However, Fortuna failed to play well against clubs lower in the table, losing to Augsburg, Nürnberg and Mainz, and only managing a draw against Stuttgart. Fortuna Düsseldorf entered the mid-winter break in 14th place in the table, concoluding the first half of the season with three successive wins against Freiburg, Dortmund and Hannover. Fortuna Düsseldorf enjoyed a better second half of the season, with away wins over Augsburg, Hertha Berlin and one of their best performances in recent times, in a 0–4 win at Schalke 04. A 4–1 win at home to Werder Bremen and a 3–1 victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach were highlights at home, whilst other home wins over VfB Stuttgart, Nürnberg and a final day defeat of Hannover 96 ensured a 10th-place finish in the Bundesliga. This achieved Fortuna Düsseldorf's highest league finish since the 1989–90 Bundesliga season, where they finished 9th.


Sponsorship

For the 2017–18 season, online sports betting website
Tipbet Tipbet is a Malta-based gambling company. Its headquarters are in Gzira and the company has grown significantly since its inception in 1995. With a business heavily focused on the online market, there are also fully branded physical betting shop ...
renewed its agreement as Premium Partners of Fortuna. The deal involves marketing campaigns to raise brand awareness, while regular promotions are organised.


Players


Current squad


Out on loan


Reserve team - Fortuna Düsseldorf II


Honours

The club's honours are as follows:


Domestic

* German championship:
1933 Events January * January 11 – Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independen ...
** Runners-up:
1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...
* 2. Bundesliga (II): 1988–89, 2017–18 *
Regionalliga West The Regionalliga West is a German professional football division administered by the German Football Association#Western Germany, Western German Football Association based in Duisburg. It is one of the five German regional football associations. ...
(II): 1965–66 *
Oberliga Nordrhein The Oberliga Nordrhein was the highest Football League in the region of Nordrhein which is part of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia from 1978 to 2008. In its last season, it was one of nine Oberligas in German football, the 4th tier of the Ge ...
(III): 1993–94


Cup

*
DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...
: 1978–79, 1979–80 ** Runners-up: 1936–37, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1961–62, 1977–78


International

*
European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...
** Runners-up: 1978–79 *
Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from (football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was discon ...
:
1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...
,
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
,
1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...
* Trophy Ciudad de Palma: 1989


Regional

* Western German championship (I): 1930–31 * Gauliga Niederrhein/Berg-Mark (I): 1926–27, 1927–28, 1928–29, 1930–31, 1931–32, 1932–33, 1935–36, 1936–37, 1937–38, 1938–39, 1939–40, 1946–47 *
Western German Cup The Western German Cup (German: Westdeutscher Pokal) was a cup competition organised by the Western German Football Association, which was played from the 1949–50 season up to the 1973–74 season. The best teams then qualified for the following ...
(I–II): 1955–56, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1961–62, 1970–71 (II)


Reserve team

*
German amateur football championship The German amateur football championship was a national football competition in Germany organized by the German Football Association (German: Deutscher Fußball-Bund; DFB) and in existence from 1950 to 1998. History Overview The championship was ...
(III): 1976–77


League history

*1913–1914 C-Klasse (3rd tier) â€“ ''Champions: 1914'' *1914–1918 B-Klasse (2nd tier) â€“ ''Champions: 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918'' *1918–1919 A-Klasse (1st tier) *1919–1920 A-Klasse (2nd tier) â€“ ''Champions: 1920'' *1920–1921 Gauliga Berg Mark (1st tier) *1921–1922 A-Klasse (2nd tier) *1922–1933 Gauliga Berg Mark (1st tier) â€“ ''Champions: 1927, 1928, 1929, 1931, 1932, 1933'' *1933–1942
Gauliga Niederrhein The Gauliga Niederrhein was the highest Association football, football league in the northern part of the Prussian Rhine Province from 1933 to 1945. Shortly after the formation of the league, the Nazis reorganised the administrative regions in Ger ...
(1st tier) â€“ ''Champions: 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940'' *1942–1943 Bezirksklasse (2nd tier) â€“ ''Champions: 1943'' *1943–1944 Gauliga Niederrhein (1st tier) *1944–1946 no contests (WW II) *1946–1947 Bezirksliga Berg Mark (1st tier) â€“ ''Champions: 1947'' *1947–1949
Oberliga West Oberliga () may refer to: Association football * Oberliga (football), currently the fifth tier of the German football league system, formerly the first * DDR-Oberliga, the first tier of football in East Germany until 1990, replaced by the NOFV-O ...
(1st tier) *1949–1950 2. Liga West (2nd tier) *1950–1960 Oberliga West (1st tier) *1960–1961 2. Liga West (2nd tier) *1961–1963 Oberliga West (1st tier) *1963–1966
Regionalliga West The Regionalliga West is a German professional football division administered by the German Football Association#Western Germany, Western German Football Association based in Duisburg. It is one of the five German regional football associations. ...
(2nd tier) â€“ ''Champions: 1966'' *1966–1967
Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...
(1st tier) *1967–1971 Regionalliga West (2nd tier) *1971–1987 Bundesliga (1st tier) *1987–1989 2. Bundesliga (2nd tier) â€“ ''Champions: 1989'' *1989–1992 Bundesliga (1st tier) *1992–1993 2. Bundesliga (2nd tier) *1993–1994
Oberliga Nordrhein The Oberliga Nordrhein was the highest Football League in the region of Nordrhein which is part of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia from 1978 to 2008. In its last season, it was one of nine Oberligas in German football, the 4th tier of the Ge ...
(3rd tier) â€“ ''Champions: 1994'' *1994–1995 2. Bundesliga (2nd tier) *1995–1997 Bundesliga (1st tier) *1997–1999 2. Bundesliga (2nd tier) *1999–2000
Regionalliga West/Südwest The Regionalliga West/Südwest was the third tier of the German football league system in the states of Saarland, Rheinland-Pfalz and Nordrhein-Westfalen from 1994 to 2000. Overview The Regionalliga West/Südwest was formed in 1994 to form a ...
(3rd tier) *2000–2002
Regionalliga Nord The Regionalliga Nord () is the fourth tier of the German football league system in the states of Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen and Hamburg. It is one of five leagues at this level, together with the Regionalliga Bayern, Regionalliga N ...
(3rd tier) *2002–2004 Oberliga Nordrhein (4th tier) *2004–2008 Regionalliga Nord (3rd tier) *2008–2009
3. Liga The 3. Liga is a professional association football league and the third division in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2. Bundesliga and the fourth-tier Regionalliga. The modern 3. Liga was formed for t ...
(3rd tier) *2009–2012 2. Bundesliga (2nd tier) *2012–2013 Bundesliga (1st tier) *2013–2018 2. Bundesliga (2nd tier) â€“ ''Champions: 2018'' *2018–2020 Bundesliga (1st tier) *2020–''present'' 2. Bundesliga (2nd tier)


Recent seasons

The last five seasons are shown.


Notable players


Internationals for the Germany national team

Twenty-five ''Fortuna'' players have made appearances with the national side earning 240 caps between them. With the exception of Erich Juskowiak, all players debuted as Fortuna players: * Ernst Albrecht (1928–34) 17 caps *
Klaus Allofs Klaus Allofs (born 5 December 1956) is a German former professional football player, manager, and executive. A striker, Allofs was a prolific goalscorer for club and country. He amassed Bundesliga totals of 424 games and 177 goals over the cou ...
(1978–81) 21 caps (56 caps overall) *
Jakob Bender Jakob Bender (23 March 1910 – 8 February 1981) was a German footballer who played as a midfielder. In the 1930s, he was a squad member of Fortuna Düsseldorf, who in 1933 became German League champions. Between 1933 and 1935, Bender played fo ...
(1933–35) 9 caps * Manfred Bockenfeld (1984) 1 cap *
Rudi Bommer Rudolf "Rudi" Bommer (born 19 August 1957) is a German former footballer, who played as a midfielder, and current football manager. Playing career Born in Aschaffenburg, Bommer played 417 games between 1976 and 1996 for Fortuna Düsseldorf, Ba ...
(1984) 6 caps * Kurt Borkenhagen (1952) 1 cap *
Theo Breuer Theo Breuer (born 30 March 1956) is a German poet, essayist, editor, translator and publisher. Life and work Theo Breuer was born in Bürvenich, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany and educated at Cologne University where he studied German a ...
(1933) 2 caps *
Jupp Derwall Josef "Jupp" Derwall (10 March 1927 – 26 June 2007) was a German professional football manager and player. He was head coach of the West Germany national team between 1978 and 1984, winning the UEFA Euro 1980 and reaching the final of the 1982 ...
(1954) 2 caps * Reiner Geye (1972–74) 4 caps *
Hans Heibach Hans Heibach (1 December 1918 – 6 March 1970) was a German international footballer. Heibach played for Fortuna Düsseldorf Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V., commonly known as Fortuna Düsseldorf (), is a Football in G ...
(1938) 1 cap *
Dieter Herzog Dieter Herzog (born 15 July 1946 in Oberhausen) is a former German international football player. Herzog played more than 350 Bundesliga matches (69 goals) for Fortuna Düsseldorf and Bayer 04 Leverkusen in his professional career, after starti ...
(1974) 5 caps * Günter Jäger (1958) 1 cap *
Paul Janes Paul Janes (11 March 1912 – 12 June 1987) was a German football player. He earned 71 caps and scored seven goals for the Germany national team from 1932 to 1942, and played in two World Cups: 1934 and 1938. Janes was a member of the Breslau E ...
(1932–42) 71 caps * Erich Juskowiak (1953–59) 30 caps (31 caps overall) *
Stanislaus Kobierski Stanislaus "Tau" Kobierski (15 November 1910 in Düsseldorf — 18 November 1972) was a German footballer. Kobierski's parents were Poles who emigrated to Germany from PoznaÅ„. Between 1931 and 1941, he played 26 times and scored 9 goals fo ...
(1931–41) 26 caps *
Kurt Krüger Kurt Krüger (4 October 1920 – 19 January 2003) was a German international footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, ...
(1940) 1 cap * Matthias Mauritz (1959) 1 cap *
Paul Mehl Peter Paul Mehl (21 April 1912 – 6 May 1972) was a German international footballer. He was part of Germany's squad at the 1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially brande ...
(1936) 2 caps * Hans Neuschäfer (1956) 1 cap *
Wolfgang Seel Wolfgang Seel (born 21 June 1948) is a German former footballer. He spent 12 seasons in the Bundesliga with 1. FC Kaiserslautern, Fortuna Düsseldorf and 1. FC Saarbrücken. He represented Germany 6 times, including a UEFA Euro 1976 qualifier ag ...
(1974–77) 6 caps * Bernhard Steffen (1958–60) 2 caps * Anton Turek (1950–54) 20 caps * Willi Wigold (1932–34) 4 caps *
Gerd Zewe Gerd Zewe (born 13 June 1950) is a German former Association football, football player and manager. Zewe was a youngster for SV Stennweiler and an amateur for Borussia Neunkirchen. Starting his career with his sole professional club, Fortuna DÃ ...
(1978–79) 4 caps * Felix Zwolanowski (1940) 2 caps


Coaching staff


Coaches

*
Kuno Klötzer Kuno Klötzer (19 April 1922 – 6 August 2011) was a German football player and coach who won the 1977 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup managing Hamburger SV. Born in Geyer, Germany, Klötzer managed several clubs included Arminia Hannover, Hannover 96, ...
(July 1963 â€“ June 1967) *
Otto Knefler Otto Knefler (5 September 1923 – 30 October 1986) was a German association football player and manager. As player he won the championship of the German Democratic Republic of 1952 with Turbine Halle, today known as Hallescher FC. Between 196 ...
(July 1968 â€“ June 1970) * Heinz Lucas (July 1970 â€“ April 1975) * Manfred Krafft (April 1975 â€“ April 1976) *
Sepp Piontek Josef Emanuel Hubertus "Sepp" Piontek (born 5 March 1940) is a German former football player and manager. Playing career Born in Wrocław during World War II, Piontek started his playing career with VfL Germania Leer. Between 1963 and 1972, the ...
(July 1975 â€“ April 1976) *
Dietrich Weise Dietrich Weise (21 November 1934 – 20 December 2020) was a German footballer and football manager. Career He coached 1. FC Kaiserslautern, Eintracht Frankfurt, Fortuna Düsseldorf, Germany (youth), Al-Ahly, Liechtenstein as well as the Egyp ...
(July 1976 â€“ June 1978) *
Hans-Dieter Tippenhauer Hans-Dieter Tippenhauer (16 October 1943 – 1 April 2021) was a German football manager. Career Hans-Dieter Tippenhauer was born on 16 October 1943 in Merunen in East Prussia, the second son of Gertrud (nee Faltin) and Wilhelm Tippenhauer. Hi ...
(July 1978 â€“ October 1979) *
Otto Rehhagel Otto Rehhagel (; born 9 August 1938) is a German former Association football, football coach and player. Rehhagel is one of only two people who, as player and manager combined, has participated in over 1,000 Bundesliga matches (the other bein ...
(October 1979 â€“ December 1980) * Heinz Höher (December 1980 â€“ June 1981) *
Jörg Berger Jörg Berger (13 October 1944 – 23 June 2010) was a German football manager and player, who last managed Arminia Bielefeld. Career As an active he played for 1.FC Lok Leipzig. Coaching career In 1970, Berger was forced to retire due to ...
(July 1981 â€“ October 1982) *
Willibert Kremer Willibert Kremer (15 October 1939 – 24 December 2021) was a German football coach and player. Honours As a coach * DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association fo ...
(October 1982 â€“ April 1985) * Dieter Brei (April 1985 â€“ April 1987) *
Gerd Meyer Gerd Meyer (born 5 October 1963) is a German lightweight rowing, lightweight rower. He won a gold medal at the 1987 World Rowing Championships in Copenhagen with the lightweight men's four. References

1963 births Living people German ma ...
(April 1987 â€“ June 1987) *
Aleksandar Ristić Aleksandar Ristić (born 28 June 1944) is a Bosnian association football, football manager and former Yugoslavs, Yugoslav player. Playing career Ristić was born in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. During his playing career he played for the Yugoslav clubs ...
(July 1987 â€“ December 1990) *
Josef Hickersberger Josef Hickersberger (born 27 April 1948) is a former professional football player and former coach of the Austria national football team and Austrian club side Rapid Wien. Club career Hickersberger was born in Amstetten, Austria. He started hi ...
(December 1990 â€“ August 1991) * Rolf Schafstall (August 1991 â€“ January 1992) *
Hans-Jürgen Gede Hans-Jürgen Gede (born 14 November 1956) is a German football coach and former player. Playing career Born in Gelsenkirchen, Gede began playing football for FC Schalke 04 in 1975. In 1977, he joined SC Preußen Münster and after playing 71 ti ...
(January 1992 â€“ March 1992) *
Horst Köppel Horst Köppel (born 17 May 1948) is a German football manager and former player who last worked as manager for FC Ingolstadt 04 in 2009. Playing career Köppel scored 83 goals in the West German top-flight. For the West Germany national tea ...
(January 1992 â€“ August 1992) *
Rudolf Wojtowicz Rudolf Wojtowicz (born 9 June 1956) is a Polish former professional footballer, who in different periods of his career was a defender or midfielder. Wojtowicz initially represented Szombierki Bytom, winning the Polish title in 1980. In the earl ...
''(interim)'' (August 1992) *
Aleksandar Ristić Aleksandar Ristić (born 28 June 1944) is a Bosnian association football, football manager and former Yugoslavs, Yugoslav player. Playing career Ristić was born in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. During his playing career he played for the Yugoslav clubs ...
(August 1992 â€“ November 1996) *
Rudolf Wojtowicz Rudolf Wojtowicz (born 9 June 1956) is a Polish former professional footballer, who in different periods of his career was a defender or midfielder. Wojtowicz initially represented Szombierki Bytom, winning the Polish title in 1980. In the earl ...
(November 1996 â€“ September 1997) *
Uli Maslo Uli Maslo (born 6 July 1938) is a German retired Association football, football player and manager. Career Maslo joined Dutch Tweede Divisie club RCH (football club), RCH Heemstede from Rot-Weiss Essen in 1962 and played for the club till 1968. ...
(September 1997 â€“ April 1998) *
Enver Marić Enver Marić (born 16 April 1948) is a Bosnian former professional football goalkeeper and retired football manager. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest goalkeepers from the former Yugoslavia of all time. Club career Marić starte ...
''(interim)'' (April 1998 â€“ June 1998) *
Klaus Allofs Klaus Allofs (born 5 December 1956) is a German former professional football player, manager, and executive. A striker, Allofs was a prolific goalscorer for club and country. He amassed Bundesliga totals of 424 games and 177 goals over the cou ...
(July 1998 â€“ April 1999) *
Peter Neururer Peter Neururer (born 26 April 1955) is a German professional football manager, notable for coaching a number of Bundesliga clubs. Managerial career Neururer had a minor playing career in the lower leagues before moving into coaching at TuS Hal ...
(April 1999 â€“ June 1999) *
Jürgen Gelsdorf Jürgen Gelsdorf (born 19 January 1953) is a German football coach and former player who is currently youth teams coordinator at Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Sporting career As a player For the 1972/73 season, 19-year-old junior soccer player Jürgen ...
(July 1999 â€“ May 2000) * Tim Kamp ''(interim)'' (May 2000 â€“ June 2000) *
Aleksandar Ristić Aleksandar Ristić (born 28 June 1944) is a Bosnian association football, football manager and former Yugoslavs, Yugoslav player. Playing career Ristić was born in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. During his playing career he played for the Yugoslav clubs ...
(July 2000 â€“ January 2001) *
Uwe Fuchs Uwe Fuchs (born 23 July 1966) is a German football coach and former player. Playing career Fuchs was born in Kaiserslautern. He was loaned to Middlesbrough towards the end of the 1994–95 season, playing just 15 games, but was instrumental in ...
(January â€“April 2001) * Tim Kamp (April 2001 â€“ April 2002) *
Stefan Emmerling Stefan Emmerling (born 10 February 1966) is a German football manager and former player who manages Kickers Emden BSV Kickers Emden is a Football in Germany, German association football club, located in Emden, Lower Saxony. History The club ...
(April â€“June 2002) *
Slavko Petrović Slavko Petrović ( sr-Cyrl, Славко Петровић; born 10 August 1958) is a Serbian professional football manager and former player. Playing career Petrović was a goalkeeper at Red Star Belgrade. Although he made no league appearances ...
(July 2002 â€“ May 2003) * Uwe Weidemann (May â€“June 2003) * Massimo Morales (July 2003 â€“ November 2004) * Uwe Weidemann (November 2004 â€“ November 2007) * Wolf Werner ''(interim)'' (November â€“December 2007) * Norbert Meier (January 2008 â€“ June 2013) *
Mike Büskens Michael Büskens (; born 19 March 1968) is a German former football player who played as a midfielder and a football manager. He is currently the assistant head coach of Bundesliga club Schalke 04. During a 14-year professional career, he appear ...
(June – November 2013) *
Oliver Reck Oliver Reck (born 27 February 1965) is a German football manager and former player. In a 20-year professional career, he played as a goalkeeper and was best known for his stints with Werder Bremen and Schalke 04, for whom he appeared in more th ...
''(interim)'' (November and December 2013) *
Lorenz-Günther Köstner Lorenz-Günther Köstner (born 30 January 1952) is a retired German footballer who is now a football manager who last managed Fortuna Düsseldorf. Following the sacking of Armin Veh on 25 January 2010, he was named interim manager of VfL Wolfsbur ...
(January 2014 â€“ June 2014) *
Oliver Reck Oliver Reck (born 27 February 1965) is a German football manager and former player. In a 20-year professional career, he played as a goalkeeper and was best known for his stints with Werder Bremen and Schalke 04, for whom he appeared in more th ...
(June 2014 â€“ February 2015) *
Taşkın Aksoy Taşkın Aksoy (born 13 June 1967) is a German football manager and former player. Playing career Aksoy began his career at Hertha BSC. Making his debut in 1986, he went on to make 36 appearances for the Olympic Stadium-based side. Having moved ...
''(interim)'' (April 2015 â€“ June 2015) * Frank Kramer (July 2015 â€“ November 2015) * Peter Hermann ''(interim)'' (November 2015 â€“ December 2015) *
Marco Kurz Marco Kurz (born 16 May 1969) is a German Association football, football manager and former player who played as a Defender (association football), defender. He last managed Australian side Melbourne Victory FC, Melbourne Victory. Playing career ...
(December 2015 â€“ March 2016) *
Friedhelm Funkel Friedhelm Funkel (born 10 December 1953) is a German football manager and former player. He was most recently the head coach Bundesliga club of 1. FC Köln. Coaching career MSV Duisburg Funkel was manager of MSV Duisburg between 13 May 1996 and ...
(March 2016 – January 2020) *
Uwe Rösler Uwe Rösler (; born 15 November 1968) is a German football manager and former professional footballer. He most recently managed Danish Superliga club AGF from 2022 to 2025. As a player he was a centre forward, notably playing in the Premier Lea ...
(January 2020 – June 2021) *
Christian Preußer Christian Preußer (born 23 January 1984) is a German football manager. Coaching career Preußer managed Rot-Weiß Erfurt's under-19 team before signing a contract to manage the senior team until mid-2015 on 24 March 2015. The contract was exte ...
(July 2021 – February 2022) *
Daniel Thioune Daniel Moustapha Thioune (born 21 July 1974) is a German professional football manager and former player who is the currently head coach of 2. Bundesliga side Fortuna Düsseldorf. Thioune spent most of his playing career at VfL Osnabrück, whe ...
(February 2022 – )


Stadiums

* Lichtplatz (1908–19) * Vennhauser Straße (1919–30) *
Paul-Janes-Stadion The Paul-Janes-Stadion in Düsseldorf-Flingern is one of the home grounds of Fortuna Düsseldorf (1930–1972, early 2002-2005). It is located at 87 Flinger Broich, to the east of the city centre in the Nord Flingern district. The stadium was b ...
(1930–53, 1970–72, 1975–76 (Evasive), 2002–05, 2005–07 (Evasive)) *
Rheinstadion The Rheinstadion () was a multi-purpose stadium, in Düsseldorf, Germany. The stadium was built, near the Rhine, in 1926 and held 54,000 people at the end of its life. It was the home ground for Fortuna Düsseldorf from 1953 to 1970 and 1972– ...
(1953–70, 1972–2002) * LTU Arena/Esprit Arena/
Merkur Spiel-Arena Merkur Spiel-Arena (stylized in all caps), previously known as the Esprit Arena (until 2 August 2018), the LTU Arena (until June 2009), and also called the Düsseldorf Arena (during the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest and the UEFA Euro 2024), is a ...
(since 2005) *
Lena-Arena The Lena-Arena, also known as the airberlin world for sponsorship purposes, was Fortuna Düsseldorf's temporary stadium during the hosting of the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 at Fortuna's ESPRIT Arena. History The stadium was named for Lena Me ...
(April–May 2011)


Records and firsts

* 1928: first German team to visit Africa for friendly competition * 1960: first German team to sign an African player (
Charles Gyamfi Charles Kumi Gyamfi (4 December 1929 – 2 September 2015) was a Ghanaian footballer and coach, who as a player became the first African to play in Germany when he joined Fortuna Düsseldorf in 1960, and later became the first coach to lead the ...
) * 1978 â€“ 7 Dec.: Fortuna obtained a 7–1 victory against
Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...
, to date the worst away defeat for Bayern in its entire Bundesliga history. * 1978 â€“ 1981: consecutive DFB-Pokal match victories (18) * 2009: Fortuna set an all-time attendance record for third-level football in Germany: 50,095 visitors saw a 1–0 victory against Werder Bremen U23 that meant promotion into the 2. Bundesliga.


Rivalries and fan culture

Fortuna's fiercest rivalry is with 1. FC Köln, which stems from the geographic proximity of Düsseldorf and Cologne as well as the historic rivalry between the two cities. However, in recent seasons, the clubs have rarely played in the same division, meaning that head-to-head encounters have become rarer. The 2013–14 season marked the last time the two clubs met in competitive matches when both played in the Second Division. For the 2018–19 season, Fortuna was promoted to the 1. Bundesliga precisely as 1. FC Köln was demoted from the Bundesliga to the Second Division, again avoiding the "Rheinland Derby". Fortuna's other historic rivals are Rot-Weiss Essen, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, and Wuppertaler SV. During the 1970s, all four clubs played in the Bundesliga. Both Essen and Wuppertal have since dropped to lower leagues. Bayer Leverkusen, on the other hand, has emerged as a powerful force in the Bundesliga. Leverkusen's financial support from the Bayer chemical conglomerate has led to many Düsseldorf fans criticizing the club as "plastic" and inauthentic, without any real tradition. During the seasons when they both played in the Second Division, Fortuna's matches against MSV Duisburg and Borussia Mönchengladbach were hotly contested and were often referred to as "Lower Rhein Derbys". Fortuna Düsseldorf and Rot-Weiss Essen have played one another 59 times, and many fans still regard this as a heated rivalry, but direct matches have been rare in recent years. Fortuna also has inter-city rivalries with Düsseldorf SC99 and TuRU Düsseldorf, yet these have also lost their intensity. During the post-war years, no other club within the Düsseldorf city limits has ever played in a higher division than Fortuna. Because of the dominance of FC Bayern München in recent decades, Fortuna also has a competitive rivalry with the Bavarians. Although Düsseldorf has not mounted a serious challenge for the Bundesliga championship since the early 1970s, matches between Fortuna and FC Bayern have been fiercely contested. In a 1975 match, Bayern led at halftime 4–2, but Fortuna came back to win 6–#5. On 9 December 1978, Fortuna defeated FC Bayern 7–1, an outcome which, to this day, remains FC Bayern's worst-ever away loss. During the 1985–86 season, Fortuna was the only team to win both of its games against the eventual champions from Munich, winning 4–0 and 3–2. The band
Die Toten Hosen Die Toten Hosen are a German punk rock band from Düsseldorf. The name is taken from the German slang idiom ''tote Hose'' (literally "dead trousers"), which means "nothing happening"; "boring". The band has had an important success through th ...
, many of whose members are enthusiastic fans of Fortuna Düsseldorf, have celebrated the team's success against FC Bayern in their song "Bayern", which appears on their album ''Immortal''. The last Bundesliga game was a draw after Munich had led 3–1. Fortuna scored two goals to make it 3–3 in the last 10 minutes. The club has a particular strong affiliation with English Premier League side
Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The club currently competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Ipswich Town were founded in 1878 but did not turn ...
, with their supporters making annual visits to see them at their home ground,
Portman Road Portman Road is a association football, football stadium in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, which has been the home ground of Ipswich Town F.C., Ipswich Town since 1884. The stadium has also hosted many England youth international matches, and one E ...
, since 2006. Ipswich fans have also done the same, with some coming to cheer Düsseldorf on at the Merkur Spiel-Arena. Fortuna Düsseldorf enjoys a strong a spirited fan base, and supporters in the "ultra" curve of the stadium are well known for their elaborate choreographed displays and enthusiastic support for their club, which occasionally includes the lighting of "Bengalos" or fireworks in the stands. Members of the band
Die Toten Hosen Die Toten Hosen are a German punk rock band from Düsseldorf. The name is taken from the German slang idiom ''tote Hose'' (literally "dead trousers"), which means "nothing happening"; "boring". The band has had an important success through th ...
, including lead singer Campino, are often present at Fortuna matches at home and on the road, and when Fortuna celebrated its recent 2. Division championship in front of thousands of fans at Düsseldorf's city hall on 14 May 2018, the band appeared with them. The band is also highly regarded by the club for serving as sponsors during the 2001–02 and 2002–03 seasons, when the club had been relegated to the Regional League and faced financial difficulty.


Futsal

Since 1 June 2015, Fortuna Düsseldorf has its futsal department. Since then, the
Futsal Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...
department has developed into one of the strongest in Germany. They took part in the Deutsche Futsal Meisterschaft 2021 of the
DFB DFB may refer to: Music * Dem Franchize Boyz, an Atlanta hip hop group * Dysfunctional Family BBQ, a New York festival Sport * DFB-Pokal, a football cup competition in Germany Organisations * Furka Steam Railway (), Switzerland * German Footbal ...
as the winner of the Futsalliga West in the 2020–21 season and is one of the founding members of the Futsal Bundesliga.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dusseldorf, Fortuna Football clubs in Germany Football clubs in North Rhine-Westphalia Sport in Düsseldorf Association football clubs established in 1895 1895 establishments in Germany Bundesliga clubs 2. Bundesliga clubs 3. Liga clubs