1. FC Köln

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  (Redirected from 1. FC Köln II)
Jump to: navigation, search
1. FC Köln
Full name 1. Fußball-Club Köln 01/07 e. V.
Nickname(s) Die Geißböcke (The Billy Goats)
Founded 13 February 1948; 66 years ago (13 February 1948)
Ground RheinEnergieStadion
Ground Capacity 50,000
President Werner Spinner
Manager Peter Stöger
League Bundesliga
2013–14 1st, 2. Bundesliga (promoted)
Website Club home page
Current season

1. Fußball-Club Köln 01/07 e. V., commonly known as simply 1. FC Köln (German pronunciation: [ʔɛf ˈt͡seː ˈkœln]), is a German association football club based in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia. It was formed in 1948 as a merger of the clubs Kölner Ballspiel-Club 1901 and SpVgg Sülz 07. Köln play in the Bundesliga, the highest league of German football.

The club's nickname Die Geißböcke ("The Billy Goats") refers to the club's mascot, a male goat named Hennes after the veteran FC player and (later) manager Hennes Weisweiler. The first Hennes was donated by a circus entrepreneur as a Cologne carnival joke. Currently (since 24 July 2008) the eighth Hennes is the acting mascot. Another nickname, more common locally due to its ambiguity, is FC, a common German abbreviation for football clubs. Characteristic for the dialect spoken around Cologne, this is pronounced "EF-tsay", in contrast to the high language pronunciation of the abbreviation where the emphasis is on the "C".

Like many of Germany's other professional football clubs, 1. FC Köln is part of a larger sports club that also incorporates departments playing other sports, in this case handball, table tennis and gymnastics. The club's main rivals are Borussia Mönchengladbach, Bayer Leverkusen, and Fortuna Düsseldorf — all clubs from the same general region, near the river Rhine.


Predecessor sides[edit]

Historical logos of predecessor side Kölner BC

Kölner BC was formed on 6 June 1901 by a group of young men who were unhappy as part of the gymnastics club FC Borussia Köln and far more interested in football. BC was a competitive side in the Zehnerliga West in the years before World War I who took the Westdeutsche championship in 1912 and advanced to the preliminary rounds of the national finals. Their next best result was a losing appearance in the 1920 league final, where they lost a 1–3 to Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Historical logo of predecessor side SpVgg Sülz


A successful new club[edit]

After the union of these two predecessor sides, 1. FC Köln began play in the tough Oberliga West in the 1949–50 season and by 1954 had won their first divisional championship. That same year they lost the DFB-Pokal final 1–0 to VfB Stuttgart. Die Geißböcke won their second divisional championship in 1960 and appeared in the national final against Hamburger SV, where they went down to a 2–3 defeat. They went on to finish first in the Oberliga West in each of the next three seasons and again played their way to the national final in 1962 and 1963. They won the '62 match 4–0 over 1. FC Nürnberg resulting in entry to the 1962–63 European Cup where they were one of the favourites to win the trophy. In the first round Köln visited Dundee F.C. of Scotland and lost 1–8, and despite winning the second leg back in Germany by 4–0 they were out of the tournament. In the following year's national final they lost 1–3 to Borussia Dortmund.

Continuing success[edit]

In 1963, FC Köln was selected as one of the original sixteen teams to play in the Bundesliga, Germany's new professional football league. Köln continued their winning ways by becoming the first ever Bundesliga champion in the league's inaugural 1963–64 season. As German champions, Köln entered the 1964–65 European Cup where they met England's Liverpool at the quarter-final stage. After two 0–0 draws, a third game was played which was also a stalemate, this time 2–2. As the penalty shootout had not yet been introduced as the means of deciding a tie, Köln went out of the competition on the toss of a coin. Ironically enough there was the need for a second coin toss, because the first time the coin stuck vertically in the ground. Domestically, Köln recorded a second place finish in the 1964–65 Bundesliga season and won its first DFB-Pokal in 1967–68.

At the start of the 1970s, Köln reached three DFB-Pokal finals in four seasons, losing all three; to Kickers Offenbach in 1970, FC Bayern Munich in 1971 and Borussia Mönchengladbach in 1973. The team also achieved another second place Bundesliga finish in 1973 before reaching another DFB-Pokal final in 1977, beating Hertha BSC over two legs to win the trophy for the second time.

In 1977–78, FC Köln enjoyed its most successful season, winning the Bundesliga title, its third national title overall, and retaining the DFB-Pokal. This makes Köln one of only four clubs to have won the double in the Bundesliga era.

Köln had another losing DFB-Pokal final appeance in 1980, before winning the competition for a fourth time in 1983. In 1986, the club appeared in its first European final, losing 5–3 on aggregate to Real Madrid in the UEFA Cup Final. Two second place Bundesliga finishes, in 1988–89 and 1989–90, and another DFB-Pokal final loss in 1991, marked the end of a glorious thirty year period for FC Köln.

21st century: ups and downs[edit]

In recent years, the club's performance has been mixed. The FC holds the dubious distinction of the worst goal drought in Bundesliga history: in 2002, the supporters had to wait 1034 excruciating minutes (equivalent to 11 and a half games) until Thomas Cichon found the back of the net again.[1]

In the early years of the Bundesliga, 1. FC Köln was the most successful club in West Germany in terms of total points won. Beginning in the early 1990s, however, the club's performance fell, and in 1998, they were relegated for the first time. Since about 2000, the side has been a "yo-yo team", moving between the first and second divisions. They returned to the Bundesliga at the end of the 2004–05 season as 2. Bundesliga champions after having been relegated the season before. There was little optimism about their return to the top flight as they were picked by German football magazine Kicker as one of the clubs most likely to be relegated.

This prediction came true when Köln lost to Hamburger SV 1–0 in the third to last match of the season. The club finished the season in second to last place and was relegated after conceding a league-worst 71 goals. The team's most prolific goal scorer was Lukas Podolski with a total of 12 goals, who transferred to Bayern Munich after the end of the season. He also appeared with the German national side at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

In late 2006, former coach Christoph Daum was convinced to once again take the helm of the 2. Bundesliga club and succeeded in leading the club back to the 1. Bundesliga in 2008. After a successful Bundesliga campaign in 2008–09, Daum left Köln for his former club Fenerbahçe. Köln's former star-striker Lukas Podolski returned for the 2009–10 season.

After a poor run of form in the 2010–11 season, recording only one win from their opening nine Bundesliga fixtures, Köln replaced coach Zvonimir Soldo with Frank Schaefer. Schaefer, who was originally in charge of the under-23 team of Köln, decided after the season that he would rather spend more time with his family than be a coach in the Bundesliga. Former Norwegian international and recent F.C. Copenhagen coach, Ståle Solbakken, replaced him. After earning just eight points in the first 13 matches of the second half of the season, Frank Schaefer and former Köln player Dirk Lottner replaced Solbakken.[1] However, the club was relegated at the end of the season, finishing in seventeenth place.

In the 2012–13 season, under new trainer Holger Stanislawski, Köln finished in fifth place in the 2. Bundesliga, missing out on promotion back to the top division.

In the 2013-14 season, FC Koln finished first in the 2. Bundesliga, and has been promoted back to the top division for the 2014-15 season.


Köln against rivals Bayer Leverkusen at the RheinEnergie Stadion in the Bundesliga in 2012

The team plays its home matches in the RheinEnergie Stadion, with a capacity of just over 50,000. The name comes from a contract with the local power supplier RheinEnergy AG that will last until 2014. However, most fans still call the stadium "Müngersdorfer Stadion", named after the suburb of Müngersdorf, where it is located.


Reserve team[edit]



See also 1. FC Köln statistics


FC Köln's kits are currently made by Erima.[2]


Current squad[edit]

As of 6 July 2014

For recent transfers, see List of German football transfers summer 2014.


No. Position Player
1 Germany GK Timo Horn
2 Slovenia DF Mišo Brečko (captain)
3 Czech Republic DF Tomáš Kalas (on loan from Chelsea F.C.)
4 Spain DF Román Golobart
5 Slovenia DF Dominic Maroh
6 Germany MF Kevin Vogt
7 Germany MF Marcel Risse
8 Poland MF Adam Matuszczyk
9 Nigeria FW Anthony Ujah
10 Germany FW Patrick Helmes
11 Germany FW Thomas Bröker
13 Japan FW Yuya Osako
14 Germany DF Jonas Hector
15 Germany MF Maxi Thiel
16 Poland DF Paweł Olkowski
17 Poland MF Sławomir Peszko
No. Position Player
18 Germany GK Thomas Kessler
19 Albania DF Mërgim Mavraj
21 Germany MF Sascha Bigalke
22 Germany MF Daniel Halfar
23 Germany FW Simon Zoller
25 Japan MF Kazuki Nagasawa
26 Norway FW Bård Finne
28 Austria DF Kevin Wimmer
29 Slovakia MF Dušan Švento
30 Brazil DF Bruno Nascimento
31 Germany MF Yannick Gerhardt
32 Germany MF Lucas Cueto
33 Germany MF Matthias Lehmann
34 Germany GK Marcel Schuhen
37 Germany GK Daniel Mesenhöler
39 Germany MF Andre Wallenborn

Players out on loan[edit]


No. Position Player
Brazil DF Pedro Geromel (at RCD Mallorca until the end of the 14/15 season)
Croatia MF Mato Jajalo (at FK Sarajevo until the end of the 14/15 season)

1. FC Köln II squad[edit]

As of 6 September 2013

Manager: Germany Stephan Engels


No. Position Player
Germany GK Sven Bacher
Germany GK Daniel Mesenhöler
Germany GK Marcel Schuhen
Germany DF Bienvenue Basala-Mazana
Germany DF Leon Binder
Germany DF Sven Engelke
Germany DF Koray Kacinoglu
Germany DF Jannik Müller
Germany DF Jannis Nikolaou
Germany DF Steffen Schäfer
Germany DF Stefan Schwellenbach
Turkey DF Firat Tuncer
No. Position Player
Germany MF Mario Engels
Germany MF Robin Hömig
Germany MF Marius Laux
Germany MF Jacub Przybylko
Germany MF Lucas Scepanik
Germany MF Fabian Schnellhardt
Germany MF Danilo Wiebe
Croatia FW Marco Ban
Serbia FW Vojno Jesic
Italy FW Fabio La Monica
Germany FW Fabian Poß
Germany FW Robin Schmidt

Women's section[edit]

Since July 2009 the club has had a women's football section. FFC Brauweiler Pulheim dissolved their club to join 1. FC Köln. The team is coached by Klaus Schmischke[3] and plays in the 2nd Bundesliga. In their first season in 2009–10, they managed a solid third place.[4] They play in the Franz-Kremer-Stadion.

Season League Place W D L GF GA Pts DFB-Cup
2009–10 2nd Bundesliga South (II) 3 14 3 5 54 24 45 Quarter final
2010–11 2nd Bundesliga South 2 16 3 3 74 19 51 Round of 16


No. Position Player
1 Germany GK Marina Hergenröther
2 Germany DF Jeanette Blömen
3 Germany DF Romina Frommont
4 Germany DF Catherine Zaumsell
5 Germany MF Janine Grewe
6 Germany DF Susanne Kasperczyk
7 Germany MF Nicole Bender
8 Germany MF Anne Lenz
9 Germany DF Frauke Renner
10 Germany MF Patricia Hanebeck
11 Turkey FW Bilgin Defterli
13 Germany FW Carline Hartmann
No. Position Player
15 Germany MF Sonja Fuss
16 Germany FW Lena Schüth
17 Germany MF Yvonne Zielinski
18 Germany DF Julia Pfannschmidt
19 Germany DF Maike Seuren
20 Germany MF Tugba Tekkal
21 Germany MF Nina Windmüller
22 Germany GK Sonja Metz
23 Germany MF Paula Balzer
25 Germany MF Lena Fehrenbach
30 Germany GK Kathrin Wojtasik
50 Germany GK Klara Muhle


  1. ^ "Köln confirm Stale Solbakken as new coach for next season". goal.com. 14 May 2011. Retrieved 15 May 2011. 
  2. ^ http://www.fc-koeln.de/partner/erima/
  3. ^ "Trainerteam" (in German). 1. FC Köln. 2009. Archived from the original on 26 September 2009. Retrieved 24 September 2009. 
  4. ^ "Letzte Hürde zur Fusion mit dem 1. FC Köln genommen" (in German). FFC Brauweiler Pulheim. 2009. Archived from the original on 20 July 2009. Retrieved 30 June 2009. 

External links[edit]