SC Fortuna Köln is a
German association football club based in the city of
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
,
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhab ...
.
History

The club was formed as on 21 February 1948 through the merger of three local sides: Victoria Köln 1911 (one of two clubs to bear the name), Bayenthaler SV 1920, and Sparkassen-Verein Köln 1927. Of these clubs, Victoria had the best results, winning its way to the first division of the
Gauliga Köln-Aachen in 1941 and capturing the division title there the following season. Bayenthaler SV 1920 side also spent a season in the
Gauliga
A Gauliga () was the highest level of play in German football from 1933 to 1945. The leagues were introduced in 1933, after the Nazi takeover of power by the National Socialist League of the Reich for Physical Exercise.
Name
The German word ...
in 1943–44 before the division collapsed as war overtook the region. In 1976, SC Fortuna Köln was joined by FC Alter Markt Köln.
Through most of the last four decades Fortuna has played as a second division side. Highlights of the club's history include promotion to the
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footbal ...
for the 1974 season and an impressive run through the 1983
DFB-Pokal
The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considere ...
. The team took out
SC Freiburg
Sport-Club Freiburg e.V., commonly known as SC Freiburg () or just Freiburg, is a German football club, based in the city of Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg. It plays in the Bundesliga, having been promoted as champions from the 2. Bunde ...
in the first round and eked out a win on penalties over
SSV Ulm 1846
SSV Ulm 1846 is a German football club from Ulm, Baden-Württemberg. The modern-day football department, officially playing as SSV Ulm 1846 Fussball, was formed on 9 March 2009 when the department separated from SSV Ulm 1846.
The club's grea ...
in their next match. They then eliminated three first division sides in a row: first
Eintracht Braunschweig
Braunschweiger Turn- und Sportverein Eintracht von 1895 e.V., commonly known as Eintracht Braunschweig () or BTSV (), is a German association football, football and sports club based in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony. The club was one of the founding ...
and
Borussia Mönchengladbach
Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e. V. Mönchengladbach, commonly known as Borussia Mönchengladbach (), Mönchengladbach () or Gladbach (; abbreviated as Borussia MG, BMG), is a professional Association football, football club based in ...
, before crushing
Borussia Dortmund
Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional foot ...
5–0 in their semi-final match. This put them into the final against hometown rivals
1. FC Köln, the first time the Cup final had come down to a local derby. Although they outplayed their opposition, Fortuna's magic had run out and they lost 0–1 on a late goal by
Pierre Littbarski
Pierre Michael Littbarski (; born 16 April 1960) is a German professional football manager and former player of 1. FC Köln and the West Germany national team. Known for his dribbling abilities, he was mainly used as an attacking midfielder o ...
.
In 1986, the side came close to a return to the Bundesliga, but was beaten by Borussia Dortmund in the promotion round. Each team had won their home match in a two-game series, which forced a third contest under the rules in effect at the time. Instead of advancing on the strength of away goals, Fortuna was crushed 0–8 by Borussia Dortmund. A handful of seasons later the club avoided relegation to third tier football at the end of the 1991–92 schedule only when division rivals
Blau-Weiß 90 Berlin were denied a licence.
One of the key features of Fortuna's history was the presidency of deep-pocketed
Jean Löring. Beginning in 1967, the millionaire's support of the club helped them to continue to field competitive sides for much longer than they might otherwise have. In 1982, he even helped out in another way: trained as an electrician, he personally fixed the floodlights when they failed during a match against
SV Darmstadt 98
Sportverein Darmstadt 1898 e.V., commonly known as Darmstadt 98 (), is a German football club based in Darmstadt, Hesse. The club was founded on 22 May 1898 as FC Olympia Darmstadt. Early in 1919, the association was briefly known as ''Rasen-Spo ...
so the game could go on. Löring, who had been an
Oberliga player himself with
Alemannia Aachen
Alemannia Aachen () or ATSV Alemannia 1900 is a German football club from the western city of Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia. A long term fixture of the country's second division, ''Alemannia'' enjoyed a three-year turn in the Bundesliga in the ...
in his younger years, was ousted as president in 2000 and the club soon deteriorated. In 2005 the club failed financially and was forced to withdraw from league play.
Since 2008, the club has been owned (like
Ebbsfleet United F.C.) partially by the web-based venture
deinfussballclub.de.
Until 2008, the SCF played in the fifth division Verbandsliga Mittelrhein, gaining promotion with a second place finish to the new
Oberliga Nordrhein-Westfalen. Fortuna Köln finished Oberliga as ninth in 2008–09, as 15th in 2009–10 season and as third in 2010–2011 saison. From the 2011–12 season the club played in the
Regionalliga West
The Regionalliga West is a German semi-professional football division administered by the Western German Football Association based in Duisburg. It is one of the five German regional football associations. Being the single flight of the Western ...
until in 2014 they won that league and beat the
second team of Bayern Munich to get promoted to the
German third league.
Despite insolvency, the club was able to salvage its youth department, one of the largest in Germany with over 500 players on 25 teams, through a fundraising campaign organized by the former chairman Egbert Bischoff that included a benefit game against 1. FC Köln.
Recent chairman
Klaus Ulonska once competed in the
1962 European Championships in Athletics, co-winning the 4 × 100 m Relay.
Honours
League
*
Regionalliga West
The Regionalliga West is a German semi-professional football division administered by the Western German Football Association based in Duisburg. It is one of the five German regional football associations. Being the single flight of the Western ...
(IV)
** Winners:
2013–14
*
Verbandsliga Mittelrhein
The Mittelrheinliga ( en, Middle Rhine League), sometimes also referred to as Oberliga Mittelrhein after its elevation to Oberliga status in 2012, is a German amateur football division administered by the Football association of the Middle Rhine, ...
(V)
** Winners: 2007–08
Cups
*
DFB-Pokal
The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considere ...
** Runners-up:
1982–83
*
Middle Rhine Cup
The Middle Rhine Cup (German: ''Mittelrheinpokal'') is a German football club Cup competition open to teams from the Lower Rhine region of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The competition is one of the 21 regional cup competitions of German ...
** Winners: 2012–13
Players
Current squad
Recent seasons
The recent season-by-season performance of the club:
[30 Jahre Bundesliga, DFB special edition booklet]
;Key
References
External links
*
Website of the football team
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fortuna Koln, Sc
Koln Fortuna
Bundesliga clubs
Football clubs in Cologne
Association football clubs established in 1948
1948 establishments in Germany
2. Bundesliga clubs
3. Liga clubs