Fortuna Düsseldorf
 | ||||
| Full name |
Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Flingeraner | |||
| Founded | 5 May 1895 | |||
| Ground | Esprit Arena | |||
| Capacity | 54,600 | |||
| Chairman | Robert Schäfer | |||
| Manager | Friedhelm Funkel | |||
| League | 2. Bundesliga | |||
| 2015–16 | 14th | |||
| Website | Club home page | |||
|
| ||||
Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V. [fɔɐ̯ˈtʰuːna ˈdʏsl̩ˌdɔɐ̯f] is a German association football club based in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia. They currently play in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of the German football league system. Founded in 1895 and entered the league in 1913 they were a fixture in top-flight play from the early 1920s up to the foundation of the nationwide Bundesliga in 1963 where they participated in 23 seasons between 1966 and 2013.[1]
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, 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-1913, 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.[2]
In the late 1920s, Fortuna won its first honours as a first tier side; they captured a district level Bezirksliga title in 1927, sent their first representative to the German national side in 1928 (Ernst Albrecht), and took a second Bezirksliga title in 1929. The team continued to perform well into the 1930s winning their third and fourth district titles on their way to a Western German football championship in 1931 and their greatest success, a German football championship in 1933 against FC Schalke 04, who were 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. They beat Vorwärts-Rasensport Gleiwitz (9:0), Arminia Hannover (3:0), Eintracht Frankfurt (4:0) and finally FC Schalke 04 (3:0) on their way to the become first national champion from the industrial Rhine-Ruhr area.
The following season the club began play in Gauliga Niederrhein, one of sixteen top-flight divisions formed in the re-organization of German football under the Third Reich. Düsseldorf dominated the division through the 30s as 5 times champions between 1936 and 1940 and made losing appearances in the national championship final in 1936 (1:2 to 1. FC Nuremberg) and the final of the Tschammerpokal, predecessor of today's DFB-Pokal (German Cup), in 1937 (1:2 against FC Schalke). The club was relegated in 1942 but made a prompt return to the top flight the following season. In 1944–45 they 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 fell before the advance of Allied armies.[3]
The most notable players of that Era were Paul Janes, 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 8:0 in Breslau in 1937 and went on to win 10 out 11 games played during that year, Stanislaus Kobierski, who earned 26 caps and scored Germany's first ever World Cup goal, Ernst Albrecht and Jakob Bender.
Post War era
After World War II, 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 (I) in the years between 1947 and the creation of the Bundesliga, Germany's professional football league, in 1963. They played as a lower-to-mid table side but did earn three appearances in the German Cup final in – 1957, 1958 and 1962 – but were not able to take the prize, losing each of those matches (against FC Bayern Munich, VFB Stuttgart and 1. FC Nuremberg). It was also the time of famous Toni Turek, goal keeper for Germany's Miracle of Bern side at the 1954 World Cup, Erich Juskowiak (30 caps and World Cup player in 1958) and later national team Coach Jupp Derwall who played in the Fortuna midfield.
1960s and 1970s
The club's performance was not good enough to earn them a place among the original sixteen teams chosen for the newly founded Bundesliga in 1963, but they did manage to play their way into the premier division three years later for a cameo appearance in the 1966–67 season. Despite a sensational 2:1 away win at recently crowned European Cup Winners Cup winners Borussia Dortmund in their Bundesliga premiere game Fortuna were immediately relegated, but returned in 1971 for a stay that lasted sixteen seasons and that included two third place league finishes (in the 1972/73 and 1973/1974 seasons). On December, the 9th, 1978 Fortuna obtained a 7:1 victory against FC Bayern Munich, up to date the highest away defeat for Germanys top club in their overall Bundesliga-history. In addition Fortuna continued prosperous in German Cup play, making another three appearances: after losing in their fifth appearance in the final in 1978 against local rivals 1. FC Köln 0:2, they finally broke through and came away as cupholders in 1979 (1:0 against Hertha BSC Berlin) and then repeated in 1980 (2:1 against 1. FC Köln). In this period they established a record for consecutive German Cup match victories (18 straight victories between 1978 and 1981).
Fortuna is among a group of four teams which have made frequent appearances in the German Cup final only to come away empty handed. Like 1. FC Kaiserslautern they have just two wins against fives losses. 1. FC Köln has four wins and six losses in the Cup final, while FC Schalke has been frustrated most often with four 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 they finished as runners up to FC Barcelona, losing 4:3 in extra time in an exciting finale at Basle. It was the first of four occasions that the Catalan club won the tournament.
Fortuna achieved their success mostly with hometown players like the famous Allofs-Brothers (Klaus Allofs and Thomas Allofs) or players, like Gerd Zewe (440 games in the Bundesliga), Dieter Herzog, Reiner Geye, Wolfgang Seel and Rudi Bommer 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 relegation in 1987, Fortuna has bounced back and forth between leagues, spending five more seasons in the Bundesliga in 1989–92 and 1995–97 and slipping as low as Oberliga Nordrhein (IV) in 2002–04. In 2001 they escaped relegation to tier IV only because two other clubs were denied licenses to play in tier III for financial reasons. Fortuna had their own money problems at the time, but have since managed to put their house more or less back into order. Between 2001 and 2003 the club was sponsored by the German punk rock band Die Toten Hosen.[4]
Recent seasons
In 2008–09 Fortuna competed in the new 3rd Liga, and finished 2nd, gaining automatic promotion to 2. Bundesliga, where they finished 4th in their 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, the 2010–11 season began badly for Fortuna. After the first six games of the season they were in last place, having lost every match. During these first six games they managed to score only two goals – 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, five draws and not a single loss. 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 their pace. They 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 – Hertha BSC Berlin. The first game of the Relegation was played on 10 May 2012, in Berlin, with Fortuna winning 2:1. Fortuna drew the deciding game which was played on 15 May in Düsseldorf. However the fans of the opposing team (Hertha BSC) threw firecrackers at the field and the players. One minute before the game ended overexcited Fortuna fans stormed the field.
The promotion to Bundesliga represents an extraordinary personal achievement for team captain Andreas Lambertz nicknamed "Lumpi", as he is 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 marks the fourth time in his career that he has been promoted from the Second Division into the Bundesliga.
Coming with the recent promotion the club achieved a new record in German Football History: Fortuna is the only German club that were relegated from the Bundesliga down to a 4th level league (time period of downfall: 1997–2002) and promoted back to the Bundesliga afterwards (time period of uprising: 2004–2012)!
Fortuna started the 2012-13 Bundesliga season strongly. After five games, they were in fifth place in the table [5] and concerns about relegation seemed to have been put to rest. Yet Fortuna's 1:0 home win over Greuther Fürth on February 16 would prove to be their final victory of the season.[6] The season concluded with Fortuna playing in Hannover, a match Fortuna lost 0:3. This defeat, combined with an Augsburg win over Fürth, and a bizarre and unlikely victory by TSG Hoffenheim over second-place Borussia Dortmund, resulted in Fortuna dropping two places. [7] Fortuna finished 17th and were again relegated back to 2nd tier of German Football.
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 their final eight games, they did not win a single one – just one win would have secured their position in the Bundesliga. This poor performance contributed to the dismissal of coach Norbert Meier. [8]
Players
'For recent transfers, see Transfers summer 2016 and Transfers winter 2015–16.
Current squad
As of 10 September 2016[9]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Honours
The club's honours:
- Championship
- German championship
- Winners: 1933
- Finalists: 1936
- Western German championship
- Winners: 1931
- Berg Mark Liga (I)
- Champions: 1927, 1929, 1931, 1933, 1947
- Gauliga Niederrhein (I)
- Champions: 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940
- 2. Bundesliga (II)
- Champions: 1989
- Regionalliga West (II)
- Champions: 1966
- Oberliga Nordrhein (III)
- Champions: 1994
- Cup
- German Cup
- Winners: 1979, 1980
- Finalists: 1937, 1957, 1958, 1962, 1978
- Western German Cup
- Winners: 1956, 1957, 1958, 1962, 1971
- International
- European Cup Winners' Cup
- Finalists: 1979
- Trofeo Ciudad de Palma
- Winners: 1989
- Intertoto Cup
- Winners: 1967, 1984, 1986
- Reserve team
- German amateur football championship
- Winners: 1977
League history
- 1913–1914 C-Klasse (3rd tier) – Champions: 1914
- 1914–1918 B-Klasse (2nd tier) – Champions: 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918
- 1918–1919 A-Klasse (1st tier)
- 1919–1920 A-Klasse (2nd tier) – Champions: 1920
- 1920–1921 Gauliga Berg Mark (1st tier)
- 1921–1922 A-Klasse (2nd tier)
- 1922–1933 Gauliga Berg Mark (1st tier) – Champions: 1927, 1929, 1931, 1933
- 1933–1942 Gauliga Niederrhein (1st tier) – Champions: 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940
- 1942–1943 Bezirksklasse (2nd tier) – Champions: 1943
- 1943–1944 Gauliga Niederrhein (1st tier)
- 1944–1946 no contests (WW II)
- 1946–1947 Bezirksliga Berg Mark (1st tier) – Champions: 1947
- 1947–1949 Oberliga West (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 (2nd tier) – Champions: 1966
- 1966–1967 Bundesliga (1st tier)
- 1967–1971 Regionalliga West (2nd tier)
- 1971–1987 Bundesliga (1st tier)
- 1987–1989 2. Bundesliga (2nd tier) – Champions: 1989
- 1989–1992 Bundesliga (1st tier)
- 1992–1993 2. Bundesliga (2nd tier)
- 1993–1994 Oberliga Nordrhein (3rd tier) – Champions: 1994
- 1994–1995 2. Bundesliga (2nd tier)
- 1995–1997 Bundesliga (1st tier)
- 1997–1999 2. Bundesliga (2nd tier)
- 1999–2000 Regionalliga West/Südwest (3rd tier)
- 2000–2002 Regionalliga Nord (3rd tier)
- 2002–2004 Oberliga Nordrhein (4th tier)
- 2004–2008 Regionalliga Nord (3rd tier)
- 2008–2009 3. Liga (3rd tier)
- 2009–2012 2. Bundesliga (2nd tier)
- 2012–2013 Bundesliga (1st tier)
- 2013–Present 2. Bundesliga (2nd tier)
Recent Seasons
| Season | League | Tier | Position | DFB-Pokal | Av. Home Attendance | Top Scorer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001–02 | Regionalliga Nord | 3 | 17th | DNQ | 5,719 |  Frank Mayer (7) |
| 2002–03 | Oberliga Nordrhein | 4 | 8th | DNQ | 3,750 | |
| 2003–04 | Oberliga Nordrhein | 4 | 2nd | DNQ | 5,500 | |
| 2004–05 | Regionalliga Nord | 3 | 8th | Round 1 | 8,611 | Frank Mayer (9) |
| 2005–06 | Regionalliga Nord | 3 | 5th | DNQ | 7,387 | Marcus Feinbier (15) |
| 2006–07 | Regionalliga Nord | 3 | 10th | DNQ | 10,603 | Marcus Feinbier (9) |
| 2007–08 | Regionalliga Nord | 3 | 3rd | DNQ | 12,682 | .svg.png){kind=small} Axel Lawaree (15) |
| 2008–09 | 3. Liga | 3 | 2nd | DNQ | 14,875 | Marco Christ (11) |
| 2009–10 | 2. Bundesliga | 2 | 4th | Round 1 | 28,007 |  Martin Harnik (13) |
| 2010–11 | 2. Bundesliga | 2 | 7th | Round 1 | 21,051 | Jens Langeneke (8) |
| 2011–12 | 2. Bundesliga | 2 | 3rd | Last 16 | 31,900 | Sascha Rösler (13) |
| 2012–13 | Bundesliga | 1 | 17th | Last 16 | 45,991 | Dani Schahin (8) |
| 2013–14 | 2. Bundesliga | 2 | 6th | Round 1 | 33,982 |  Charlison Benschop (12) |
| 2014–15 | 2. Bundesliga | 2 | 10th | Round 1 | 29,944 | Charlison Benschop (13) |
Notable players
Internationals for the German national football team
25 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:
|
|
Managers
- Kuno Klötzer (July 1963 – June 1967)
- Otto Knefler (July 1968 – June 1970)
- Heinz Lucas (July 1970 – April 1975)
- Manfred Krafft (April 1975 – April 1976)
- Sepp Piontek (July 1975 – April 1976)
- Dietrich Weise (July 1976 – June 1978)
- Heinz-Dieter Tippenhauer (July 1978 – Oct 1979)
- Otto Rehhagel (Oct 1979 – Dec 1980)
- Heinz Höher (Dec 1980 – June 1981)
- Jörg Berger (July 1981 – Oct 1982)
- Willibert Kremer (Oct 1982 – April 1985)
- Dieter Brei (April 1985 – April 1987)
- Gerd Meyer (April 1987 – June 1987)
Aleksandar Ristić (July 1987 – Dec 1990)- Josef Hickersberger (Dec 1990 – Aug 1991)
- Rolf Schafstall (Aug 1991 – Jan 1992)
- Hans-Jürgen Gede (Jan 1992 – March 1992)
- Horst Köppel (Jan 1992 – Aug 1992)
Rudolf Wojtowicz (interim) (Aug 1992)- Aleksandar Ristić (Aug 1992 – Nov 1996)
- Rudolf Wojtowicz (Nov 1996 – Sept 1997)
- Uli Maslo (Sept 1997 – April 1998)
- Enver Marić (interim) (April 1998 – June 1998)
- Klaus Allofs (July 1998 – April 1999)
- Peter Neururer (April 1999 – June 1999)
- Jürgen Gelsdorf (July 1999 – May 2000)
- Aleksandar Ristić (July 2000 – Jan 2001)
- Uwe Fuchs (Jan –April 2001)
- Tim Kamp (April 2001 – April 2002)
- Stefan Emmerling (April –June 2002)
Slavko Petrović (July 2002 – May 2003)- Uwe Weidemann (May –June 2003)
Massimo Morales (July 2003 – Nov 2004)- Uwe Weidemann (Nov 2004 – Nov 2007)
- Wolf Werner (interim) (Nov –Dec 2007)
- Norbert Meier (Jan 2008 – June 2013)
- Mike Büskens (June–November 2013)
- Oliver Reck (interim) (November and December 2013)
- Lorenz-Günther Köstner (Jan 2014 – June 2014)
- Oliver Reck (June 2014 – February 2015)
- Taşkın Aksoy (interim) (April 2015 – June 2015)
- Frank Kramer (July 2015 – November 2015)
- Peter Hermann (interim) (November 2015 – December 2015)
- Marco Kurz (December 2015 – March 2016)
- Friedhelm Funkel (March 2016–)
Stadiums
- Lichtplatz (1908–19)
- Vennhauser Straße (1919–30)
- Paul-Janes-Stadion (1930–53, 1970–72, 1975–76 (Evasive), 2002–05, 2005–07 (Evasive))
- Rheinstadion (1953–70, 1972–2002)
- LTU Arena/Esprit Arena (since 2005)[2]
Records and firsts
- 1928: first German team to visit Africa for friendly competition
- 1960: first German team to sign an African player (Charles Gyamfi)
- 1978 – Dec. 7: Fortuna obtained a 7:1 victory against FC Bayern Munich, up to date the highest away defeat for Germany's top club in their overall Bundesliga-history.
- 1978 – 1981: consecutive German Cup match victories (18 straight victories)
- 2009: Fortuna set an alltime 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 2nd Bundesliga.
References
- ↑ ESPRIT arena
- 1 2 Grüne, Hardy (2001). Vereinslexikon. Kassel: AGON Sportverlag ISBN 3-89784-147-9
- ↑ Grüne, Hardy (1996). Vom Kronprinzen bis zur Bundesliga. Kassel: AGON Sportverlag ISBN 3-928562-85-1
- ↑ FAZ-online article
- ↑ http://www.kicker.de/news/fussball/bundesliga/spieltag/1-bundesliga/2012-13/5/0/spieltag.html
- ↑ http://www.kicker.de/news/fussball/bundesliga/vereine/1-bundesliga/2012-13/fortuna-duesseldorf-13/vereinstermine.html
- ↑ http://www.rp-online.de/sport/fussball/fortuna/ansatz-des-gut-spielens-zu-hoch-angesiedelt-aid-1.3408379
- ↑ http://www.rp-online.de/politik/fortuna-duesseldorf-trennt-sich-von-trainer-meier-aid-1.3428158
- ↑ Kader
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fortuna Düsseldorf. |