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Fortuna Düsseldorf is a German football club based in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia.

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History

Foundation to WW2

The club can trace its roots back to Turnverein Flingern founded in 1895. Two other sides figure in the club's early history: Düsseldorfer Fussballklub Spielverein founded in 1908 and FC Alemania 1911, which was founded in 1911 and re-named Fortuna 1911 the following year. In mid-1913, these two clubs merged to form Düsseldorfer FC Fortuna 1911 and, in turn, this new side merged with Flingern to form the current club.

In the late 20's, Fortuna captured a number of local titles on their way to a German championship in 1933 against Schalke 04, who were on the verge of becoming the era's dominant side. 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 30's and made losing appearances in the national final in 1936 (1:2 to 1. FC Nürnberg) and the final of the Tschammerpokal, predecessor of today's German Cup, in 1937. 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 KSG TSV Fortuna/SC 99 Düsseldorf but took part in only two matches as Nazi Germany fell to the advance of Allied armies.

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. The club made 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.

1960s and 1970s

Little better than a mid-table side, the club's performance was not good enough to earn them a place among the original sixteen teams chosen for the new league, but they did manage to play their way into the premier division three years later for a cameo appearance in the 1966-67 season. They were immediately relegated, but returned in 1971-72 for a stay that lasted sixteen seasons and that included two third place league finishes. Fortuna enjoyed better luck in German Cup play, making another three appearances: after losing in their fifth appearance in the final in 1978 they finally broke through and came away as cupholders in 1979 and then repeated in 1980. Their best turn in European competition was in the Cupwinners Cup Final in 1979 where they finished as runners up to FC Barcelona, dropping a 3:4 decision in extra time.

1980s to present

Since relegation in 1987, Fortuna has bounced back 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 2000 and 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. The side currently plays in Regionalliga Nord (III).

Team trivia

  • 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.

Honours

  • German champions: 1933
  • German vice-champions: 1936
  • German Cup winners: 1979, 1980
  • German Cup finalists: 1937, 1957, 1958, 1962, 1978
  • European Cupwinners Cup finalists: 1979
  • Intertoto Cup group winners: 1967, 1984, 1986
  • Ciutat de Palma winners: 1989
  • West German champions: 1931
  • Gauliga Niederrhein champions: 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940
  • German amateur champions: 1977
  • West German Cup champions: 1956, 1957, 1958
  • Level I champions: 1927, 1928, 1929, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1947
  • Level II champions: 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1920, 1943, 1966, 1989
  • Level III champions: 1914, 1994

Famous players

Stadiums

External links

German football clubs | Düsseldorf

Fortuna Düsseldorf | Fortuna Düsseldorf | Fortuna Düsseldorf

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Fortuna Düsseldorf".

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