Fortuna Düsseldorf (Germany)

Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V. to give Fortuna Düsseldorf their full title, are a football club from the industrial city of Düsseldorf in Germany's North Rhine-Westphalia region. The club were formed as part of the Turnverein Flingern gymnastics club in 1895, with the team moving to play home games at Lichtplatz from 1908.

Two other local clubs; Düsseldorfer Fußballklub Spielverein who were founded in 1908, and Fortuna (earlier FK Alemania) who were formed in 1911 amalgamated to form Düsseldorfer Fußball-Club Fortuna 1911 in 1913. Another club, TV Flingern joined forces to create Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna on 15 November 1919 as the club moved to a new home ground at Vennhauser Straße.

In the 1920's Fortuna began to win honours, picking up four Bezirksliga district titles and providing their first German international player; Ernst Albrecht. In 1930 the club moved grounds once again, this time to Flinger Broich or Fortunaplatz as it was otherwise called in the Flingern district of the city. 

In 1933 the club were crowned as German champions after winning the national championships and defeating the prominent FC Schalke 04 3-0 in the final in Cologne. Legendary player Paul Janes was in the side with the goals coming from Paul Mehl, Georg Hochgesang and Felix Zwolanowski for the team coached by Heinz Körner.

During the period in which the Third Reich were in power, Fortuna were placed in Gauliga Niederrhein, one of sixteen top tier divisions. After finishing runners-up in 1933-34 and 1934-35 the team would become dominant winning the next five titles.

Paul Janes Stadion

The glory seasons ran from 1935-36 to 1938-39. In 1936 Fortuna reached the national final where they went down in extra time to 1. FC Nürnberg. The following year the team lost to Schalke 04 in the final of the Tschammerpokal, the predecessor of the DFB Pokal.

Once peace had been restored the club were placed in Oberliga West, where they were mainly a mid table team having moved across the city to the Rheinstadion in 1953. In 1957 Fortuna reached the final of the DFB Pokal German Cup, where they were defeated by Bayern München in Augsburg.

Further finals followed in 1958 and 1962. Both campaigns ended in defeat to VfB Stuttgart in Kassel and then to 1. FC Nürnberg in Hannover.

The Rheinstadion in its prime

Fortuna were not selected as one of sixteen founder members of the Bundesliga in 1963, but they did gain a place after winning the Regionalliga West title in 1965-66 with Kuno Klötzer as head coach. However, their spell in the top flight lasted just one season.

In 1970 Fortuna returned to Fortunaplatz for a couple of seasons while the Rheinstadion was rebuilt, going on to win promotion to the Bundesliga in 1970-71, for a spell that lasted sixteen years. Third place finished came in the 1972-73 and 1973-74 seasons as Reiner Geye and Klaus Budde scored the goals for the side coached by Heinz Lucas. 

The team reached another DFB-Pokal in 1977-78, this time losing 2-0 to local rivals 1.FC Köln at Gelsenkirchen's Parkstadion. On the 9th December 1978 Fortuna hammered Bayern Munich 7-1 at the Rheinstadion in the Bundesliga.

To see Bayern's largest ever Bundesliga's defeat, click here: 

At the end of the 1978-79 season Fortuna embarked on a magnificent run in the UEFA European Cup Winners Cup as Universitatea Craiova, Aberdeen, Servette and Baník Ostrava were defeated to set up a final with FC Barcelona under coach Dietrich Weise.

The match in Berne was a classic encounter with Fortuna eventually going down 4-3 after extra time. Stand out players at the time were brothers Thomas and Klauss Aloffs, Bernd Zimmermann and Rudi Bommer. Thomas Aloffs and Wolfgang Seel with a brace were the scorers in the final.

To see the final, click here: 

Fortuna were relegated in 1986-87, but they returned as 1988-89 2. Bundesliga champions with Sven Demandt scoring the goals for the side coached by Aleksandar Ristić. Between 1990 and 1992 the club went through a succession of coaches until the return of the Bosnian.

He was tasked with restoring top flight status after relegation in 1991-92 yet in his first year back the club dropped to the third tier Oberliga Nordrhein where the team won the 1993-94 title with Richard Cyron top scoring. Fortuna went on to promotion back to the Bundesliga the following season.

The 1995-96 Bundesliga campaign saw the team consolidated before going back down in 1996-97. Igli Tare scored goals but couldn’t prevent Düsseldorf from relegation to Regionalliga West/Südwest at the end of the 1998-99 season.

League restructuring saw a move to Regionalliga Nord for 2000-01, a season that almost saw Fortuna drop down another level. However, there would be no escape in 2001-02 as Fortuna were relegated to Oberliga Nordrhein.

The club were in huge financial trouble, moving out of Rheinstadion to play at the Paul Janes Stadion as Fortunaplatz had been re-named from 1990 in honour of their former hero, with the arena also housing Fortuna Düsseldorf II. Local punk band Die Toten Hosen assisted by sponsoring the club for a couple of seasons.

Promotion to Regionalliga Nord was achieved in 2003-04 as Oberliga runners-up where the club stabilised aided by goals from Marcus Feinbier and Marcel Podszus for Uwe Weidemann’s side. 

The club received a boost in 2005 as the club moved into the new LTU Arena on the site where Rheinstadion formerly stood. A third place in 2007-08 under Norbert Meier with Axel Lawaree top scoring saw Fortuna secure a place in the newly formed 3. Liga.

A runners-up spot in the inaugural season saw Fortuna go up to 2. Bundesliga thanks in part to the goals of Marco Christ. The 2009-10 season saw the team narrowly miss out on another promotion after finishing in fourth place at the re-named Espirit Arena.

After an average following campaign Fortuna started the 2011-12 season in great form, as they headed the table for some time. They eventually won promotion back to the 1. Bundesliga via a play off win over Hertha BSC Berlin. Team captain Andreas Lambertz became the first German player to be promoted three times with the same club.

However, the spell in the top flight lasted just one season as Fortuna were relegated on the final day of the 2012-13 season after defeat to Hannover 96. The relegation led to the sacking of manager Norbert Meier who was replaced by Mike Büskens who lasted just a few months before Lorenz-Günther Köstner came in after the winter break.

After another mid table finish in 2013-14 Oliver Reck came in as the new team manager. Recl lasted just one poor season before giving way to new boss Taşkın Aksoy. The managerial merry go round continued at the Esprit Arena in 2015-16 as Fortuna fought against relegation, with Frank Kramer, Marco Kurz and Friedhelm Funkel all having spells in charge of the team.

Funkel's appointment gave the club some stability as Fortuna finished the 2016-17 campaign towards the wrong end of the table, but safe from relegation. However, greater things were to come the following campaign.

The goals of Rouwen Hennings and Benito Raman, prompted by midfielder Florian Neuhaus saw Fortuna win promotion back to the top flight before sealing the title with a 3-2 away win against fellow promoted side 1. FC Nürnberg.

After a rocky start in 2018-19 Fortuna stabilised to finish tenth with Benito Raman and Dodi Lukebakio netting ten goals. Uwe Rösler was appointed as coach in January 2020 with the team struggling during the disrupted season in which Hennings again led the way.

Fortuna spurned several opportunities in vital matches before slipping to relegation at the end of the 2019-20 campaign.

Fortuna Dusseldorf will play in 2. Bundesliga in the 2020-21 season.


My visits

Fortuna Düsseldorf 1 Bayern München 2 (Saturday 14th October 1989) 1.Bundesliga (att: 55,000)

I was on my first ever trip outside the UK with some pals from the Gas Club in Scarborough on a mini holiday in the Rhine Valley. We arrived in Germany on the Friday afternoon, with the coach stopping for an hour or so in Bonn for our driver Derek, to have his designated rest. Naturally enough, without further ado, we headed for a bar.

The establishment we chose had various football mementos hanging up. We managed to get through to the barman that we wanted to know the fixtures for the following day, with this been in the days before the internet and the same coverage that would later be taken as normal. It was established that the game that stood out was Düsseldorf v Munich, with Scottish international Alan McInally getting great reviews back home while starring for Bayern.

I went drinking on the Friday evening with Crusher and Kev Phillips before meeting up with the rest of the gang. Both were very keen on going to the game, so we agreed to make sure we got up and had breakfast to set us on our way. Derek, who wasn't exactly endearing us gave us the advice that we needed to travel south and across the river to Rüdesheim. 

This needed a costly taxi ride, but we took what he said as gospel. After a couple of liveners at the bar next to the station we got on board our train, only to find out it went via Koblenz, where Derek was taking the rest of the party on a shopping trip!

We arrived a train that got busier with fans as we approached Düsseldorf after our ride that lasted over three hours. We got a few looks as we spoke in English, but the locals were fine once they realised that we weren't Bayern fans. We followed the crowds downstairs to the trams and we were quickly on a packed service to the Rheinstadion.

We managed to work out that we needed tickets in advance, but that was no obstacle. Despite the high attendance, the stadium held 76,000 at the time. We went inside and found ourselves on the terracing behind the goal for 12DM, which was around £4 at the time.

The Rheinstadion was a beautiful venue, although not perfect for football as the pitch was surrounded by an athletics track that had hosted the 1977 World Championships. There was a continuous lower tier with terracing at each end. Above of this tier was a horseshoe shaped upper level, with the far end open. Seating occupied upstairs apart from a couple of blocks at the far end, where the Fortuna fans stood.

Me and my new friend

Bayern began the game well on top and went ahead after just five minutes through Manfred Schwabl. Much though we were urging on the home side, they doubled their lead on thirty two minutes when Roland Wohlfarth netted.

At half time we were chatting away, when a bloke came across with a familiar accent. He turned out to be in the army based nearby, but came from Sheffield and was supporting Bayern. We had a good chat and he gave us some useful tips about the football out there.

Fortuna battled back after the break, but couldn't get a goal back immediately. We wanted to hear the noise if they did. On the hour they did get back into the game via a Klaus Augenthaler own goal. Despite the efforts of Uwe Fuchs leading the home forward line, Bayern held out reasonably comfortably to pick up an away victory.

We let the crowd drift away as we bought a bratwurst and a alcohol free beer and sat in the upper tier seats to get a better view. This allowed us to get on a tram hassle free and even get a seat. We were advised that it was best for us to change trains at Cologne on the way back by the man at the Hauptbanhof. While we were waiting for it to come along a special train full of Bayern fans went past us. I was wearing a Fortuna hat, and received dogs abuse, much to the hilarity of my pals.

We did change at Cologne, and lo and behold we caught a direct train to St Goar, where we were based. A couple of hours later we were sat in the pub having a meal and watching the highlights while drinking away. It was as well Derek didn't feel thirsty, as we ready to offer him major feedback!

Fortuna Düsseldorf 4 DSC Arminia Bielefeld 0 (Friday 21^st October 2016) 2.Bundesliga (att: 24,153)

Fortuna had been the first ever overseas team I’d seen in their own home back in 1989, and even though I’d been through Düsseldorf many times since as a base for other venues, I was long overdue a visit to ESPRIT Arena, which stood where the old Reinstadion was previously located.

I’d been to Genk the previous day over the border in Belgium for their Europa League clash with Athletic Club. My train took me to Liege before I caught the service to first Cologne and then Düsseldorf.

I’d ordered and paid for my match ticket online and needed to collect it. My plan was to head early to the stadium, but I’d read somewhere that the tourist information office issued tickets. I thought it was worth a go, and sure enough the office over the road from the main station sorted me out.

Hotels were unusually expensive so I ended up staying in Oberhausen, twenty five miles away, with my Saturday afternoon entertainment in mind. Following a siesta and a shower I headed back to Düsseldorf and then took the U78 train directly to the stadium.

The trains were very busy but many were not dressed for the game. Their destination was the exhibition centre next door. I found my way inside the entrance to the arena through the security checks. Once inside the box like structure you were free to wander round and find your particular gate.

It had been constructed to be multi purpose with a roof, although that was not allowed to be closed during Fortuna matches under league rules. The concourses had a massive selection of food, drink, sweets and souvenirs. The stadium had two tiers all the way around inside. Both ends had terracing on the lower deck.

I was stood near the back in the corner with an excellent view and just along from the home ultras so I got the best of a very impressive atmosphere to say that the stadium was less than half full. It was certainly different from the old Reinstadion.

I was delighted to see that Fortuna had reverted to their all white kit with red trim, as they had worn when I first saw them. Arminia came to the match in a relegation spot. They were being cheered on by a hard core of visiting fans.

They had little to cheer once Fortuna went one up on twenty minutes as Ihlas Bebou set up Axel Bellinghausen to score. Things got worse for Bielefeld twelve minutes later following an incident that would decide the match.

The game was niggly in parts without anything too nasty. Fortuna were on top and Lukas Schmitz crossed from the left. Rouwen Hennings went for the header but looked as though he had missed his chance. 

However, referee Christian Dietz thought otherwise. He decided that the forward was impeded by Stephan Salger and pointed to the spot before showing the Arminia man a second yellow card and sending him off. Hennings made no mistake with the penalty to make it 2-0.

I’d decided to wear my Scarborough Athletic rain jacket and red woolly hat. Some locals of my age and above realised I was English and involved me in their celebrations and made me really welcome. They told me the reason that rooms were so expensive was that Düsseldorf was staging a huge conference and exhibition for the weekend.

Arminia had to regather, with coach Rüdiger Rehm making a tactical change. They plugged the gaps until the interval when I headed out for a bratwurst and a beer. My place was still there when I returned.

Voglsammer came close for the visitors before the home side stepped up a gear. Bebou on the wing was causing plenty of problems. Ferati made it 3-0 on sixty seven minutes before Hennings, on loan from Burnley, rounded off the scoring with just over fifteen minutes remaining.

The ultras were in tremendous voice with nearly all the home fans getting behind their team, which was obviously easier as they were playing so well. Coach Friedhelm Funkel must have been a happy man.

At full time I hung around to see the celebrations between the Fortuna players and the home fans. The German clubs have it right, as there seems to be a bigger bond involving everyone at the club.

Click here to see the crowd scenes I recorded.

The trains were regular back into the city. I alighted at Heinrich-Heine-Allee for drinks in Aldstadt; one of my favourite European areas for nightlife. I headed for the always superb ‘Chicken Bar’ as we have christened it over the years. The regular staff were on and I got a place at the bar as it filled with revellers and returning Fortuna fans. The beer was good and music right.

After quite a long drink I finished off in the terrific Hausbrauerei Zum Schlüssel for a couple before grabbing a kebab. I took the U Bahn back to Hauptbahnhof for my train home to Oberhausen, where I got lost thinking I knew a short cut back to the City Hotel where I was staying.

It had been a long day but a brilliant evening. My affection for Fortuna had grown stronger.

Fortuna Düsseldorf 1 Bayer 04 Leverkusen 2 (Wednesday 26^th September 2018) Bundesliga (att: 40,046)

I don’t think I could ever tire of trips to Düsseldorf. I had the week off work and it coincided with a full round of German football fixtures. The game that had actually caught my eye was actually the following evening in the Bavarian city of Fürth.

However, I wasn’t going to go all that way just for the one game, so I looked for other fixtures to make up a three day visit. To be honest Fortuna’s was the pick, as I’d been to the other venues staging games.

The first couple of days of my leave had been spent at The Oval watching the final round of county cricket between Surrey and Essex. After a lovely Tuesday night with Nick and Sally I headed to Southend Airport while finishing the Peshwari Naans from the meal.

My flight ran to time to Köln/Bonn Airport from where I took a couple of trains, changing at Köln Messe/Deutz for the forty minute ride north along the Rhine. I decided to walk off some good living to my room, predictably getting lost along the way.

Not that I was too worried. It showed me a part of Düsseldorf I’d never previously seen. I also needed some exercise. It hadn’t passed my attention that I was puffing and blowing a bit and the trousers were that bit tighter.

There was just time for a brief nap and to charge my phone at the KEMPE Komfort Hotel before I headed towards the Aldstadt. I headed to the Uerige Obergärige Hausbrauerei to meet some fellow travelling fans.

The excellent European Football Weekends Facebook group once again led me to meet other fans, including English and German, including a couple of lads from Stockport who were trying to set up a UK supporters club for Bayer Leverkusen.

Several fine glasses of alt later it was time to head to the newly renamed Merkur Spiel-Arena in the latest sponsorship deal. German efficiency came to the fore as trains turned around at Heinrich-Heine-Allee as well as the main station.

This was handy for grabbing a seat for the journey. The station dealt with the crowds easily at the far end. A large banner reminding fans of the protest at the game hung over one of the bridges.

German football fans were united in protesting at every game during the round against increased ticket pricing, kick off times, rearranged fixtures and the commercialisation of the game. I was 100% behind this worthy cause.

I eventually realised that the club shops sold the €1 A4 sized programme rather than vendors as on my last visit. I then took an eternity looking for my entrance into my block, probably going a complete lap of the concourse to the away section in both directions.

All along I needed to pop back outside and climb the staircases that took me to the upper tier. I still managed it before kick off, finally climbing the extremely steep steps, which were right up there with the Commerzbank-Arena in Frankfurt.

My seat, which cost €17, with the ticket being printed at home, was in the middle of a row, but many places had not been taken. Instead I went to the standing area at the back before choosing somewhere on the end of a row right on the back row. I was amazed how many supporters arrived throughout the first half.

There wasn’t total silence for the first twenty minutes, but the crowd were mainly applauding politely. The Ultras and their Capos were certainly subdued with no chanting or flags. An occasional “Fortuna, Fortuna” broke out from the seats down the side but soon subsided.

Fortuna made a decent start in the derby on the pitch. Benito Raman and then Rouwen Hennings forced visiting keeper Lukas Hradecky to save smartly on a couple of occasions in the first six minutes.

Lars Bender was close to connecting with a cross from Tin Jedvaj while in a great position for Leverkusen before normal service was resumed in the stands. Both sets of fans applauded each other and made a real noise.

The atmosphere had been decent enough on my debut in the new stadium, but it was much louder despite the attendance being just under 15,000 light of capacity. It was superbly designed to hold in the noise. I can only imagine what it was like when Fortuna celebrated promotion.

Raman went close again before half time, with all up for grabs in the second half after the hosts had enjoyed the better of the opening period. Bayer took the lead just five minutes after the restart.

A Leon Bailey corner was nodded back by Dominik Kohr for Kevin Volland to head past Michael Rensing in the Düsseldorf net. Bailey missed a guilt edged chance to double the lead, but Bayer didn’t have to wait much longer for further celebration.

Kai Havertz sent in an excellent cross for Volland to add his and his sides second goal on the hour mark. Red smoke emanated from a flare in the away standing section. Fortuna’s fans did their upmost to try and lift their heroes.

Alfredo Morales and then Julian Brandt exchanged off target efforts at either end before a Niko Gießelmann cross found the head of Morales, but Hradecky saved. Dodi Lukebakio then came close as Fortuna’s frustration grew.

Jonathan Tah was adjudged to have brought down Gießelmann in the third minute of stoppage time. Hennings stepped up to slot home the spot kick. Fortuna poured forward in what time remained trying to salvage a point.

Leverkusen held on for the points. They’d taken their chances when they arose. The crowds poured out back towards the station. My seat was actually the nearest block to the entrance. I must have gone on a real route march before the game!

To see the fans mark the twenty minute protest and Fortuna's late penalty, please click here.

Trains came in quick succession after the game. I wasn’t a fan of the crush as fans tried to force their way forward. Several tempers were being lost. I got on and grabbed a seat back to the old town ready for a few libations.

A barman at an old favourite; Schumacher Alt looked shock I wanted to pay for one beer. My plan was to use the loo, have one and move on. I got talking to a friendly older local couple who’d been to the match and ended up having four.

The good old Hühnerstall had its usual eclectic mix of punters and music before I crossed the road and gave Peter's Diebelstreff a go. I’m not sure whether Wednesday was student night, but the bars were busy with youngsters having great fun.

The music was a bit out of my taste so I headed to Sutton's Irish Pub, where two smashing Irish lasses served me. It was meant to be one for the straße that turned into one and a half just to be sociable and to allow the smashed Leverkusen fans time to settle up and head off.

In fairness I’d have got hammered too if I had to go back to Leverkusen, especially following an away win. Supper was provided at Wurstmeister, where I went for the medium sized currywurst and chips before I headed home on the UBahn to Uhlandstraße.

Düsseldorf had done it again. Great beer, pubs and people with a decent game of football chucked in. It was a shame about the result, but I had far greater concerns when the alarm went off at 5.30am to head to the station for my train south.

The pictures at the top of this page of Rheinstadion and Paul Janes Stadion have been taken from the internet. 

KFC Uerdingen 05 (Germany)

KFC Uerdingen 05, or Krefelder Fußballclub Uerdingen 05 e.V., to give them their full title, is a football club in the district of Uerdingen in the 'velvet and silk' city of Krefeld in Germany's North Rhine-Westphalia. 

The club was formed on the 17th November 1905 as Fußball-Club Uerdingen 05, until August 1919 when they were joined by Sportvereinigung des Realgymnasiums Urdingen. In 1927 the club moved into the newly constructed Grotenburg-Stadion.

During World War II the club joined forces with VfB 1910 Uerdingen, playing as Kriegspielgemeinschaft Uerdingen. In peacetime they continued their alliance as Spielvereinigung Uerdingen 05, until February 1948 when VfB became an independent club once more. In 1950 SpVgg returned to their original name of FC Uerdingen 05.

1953 saw another merger with Werkssportgruppe Bayer AG Uerdingen, the works team of the chemical giants Bayer AG, taking the name FC Bayer 05 Uerdingen. Having played their football at local amateur level, the club progressed to Amateurliga Niederrhein in the early 60's and then Verbandsliga Niederrhein.

Further progression came in 1970-71 as Uerdingen won promotion to Regionalliga West before qualifying for a place in the newly formed 2. Bundesliga in 1973-74. Uerdingen finished as runners-up of the Nord division at the first attempt to go up to the top flight after hammering FK Pirmasens in the play-offs under coach Klaus Quinkert.

The climb proved too steep as Bayer dropped back down just twelve months later before a runners-up spot in 1978-79 saw Uerdingen promoted once again with Siegfried Melzig as head coach as Wolfgang Lüttges scored with regularity.

Their spell in the Bundesliga lasted two seasons before a return to the now one division second tier. Werner Biskup led his side to the play-offs in 1982-83 where Horst Feilzer caused damage to FC Schalke 04 as Bayer were promoted after a 4-2 aggregate win.

Bayer Uerdingen  and also winning the DFB-Pokal German Cup in 1984-85 after beating Bayern Munich 2-1 in the final at Berlin's Olympiastadion thanks to goals from Feilzer and Wolfgang Schäfer before finishing in third place in the Bundesliga in 1985-86 under coach Karl-Heinz Feldkamp.

Click here to see action of the great DFB-Pokal triumph. 

The following season saw the club in European Cup Winners Cup action, with the quarter final seeing one of the most dramatic games in UEFA history. By half time in the second leg at the Grotenburg-Stadion Uerdingen were 5-1 down on aggregate to Dynamo Dresden.

The final forty five minutes saw the home side hammer in six unanswered goal to win the tie 7-5 over the two games, before losing to Atletico Madrid in the semi-final. Click here to see the dramatic Dynamo second leg. 

Following these successes, the Grotenburg was given further refurbishments, and all seemed well. Bayer built, finishing sixth in 1986-87 prior to the appointment of new coach Rolf Schafstall as Stefan Kuntz provided the goals for the team.

Gradually the teams finishing places were slipping down the table before Bayer went down in 1990-91. Friedhelm Funkel led the team to the 1991-92 2. Bundesliga Nord title with Bernd Dreher, Stephan Paßlack, Thomas Adler and Andreas Sassen among the sides’ mainstays.

Not for the first time Uerdingen only lasted one season in the Bundesliga before bouncing back as second level runners-up at the first attempt. In 1995 when Bayer withdrew their funding.

The club started their 1995-96 Bundesliga campaign as Krefelder Fußball-Club Uerdingen 05 in the Bundesliga, which ended in relegation despite the goals of Erik Meijer. Hans-Ulrich Thomale took over as coach before being replaced by Jürgen Gelsdorf.

Henk ten Cate was at the helm when KFC were relegated in 1998-99 as the club dropped down to Regionalliga Nord. Worse was to follow in 2003 as the DFB refused the club a license to compete at that level owing to financial problems.

Instead KFC Uerdingen were placed in Oberliga Nordrhein. The German leagues were restructured for the 2008-09 season with the introduction of 3. Liga. Uerdingen hoped for a place in the fourth tier Regionalliga under the stewardship of veteran coach and Fortuna Düsseldorf legend Aleksandar Ristić for a short spell.

However, the club were placed in the Verbandsliga. In 2010-11 Uerdingen won their first promotion in seventeen years as they lifted the Verbandsliga title and a place in the NRW-Liga under head coach Peter Wongrowitz.

The league was disbanded, so KFC were placed in the fifth tier Oberliga Niederrhein as the club tried to raise finances with some innovative ideas to assist in their push back up the leagues, including a friendly with Bayern München which drew a crowd of 30,000 for a friendly.

Uerdingen played in the Oberliga Niederrhein in the 2012-13 season and went on to win the title, gaining promotion back to the Regionalliga. However, the joy wasn't to last too long as Uerdingen finished in fifteenth position in the 2014-15 season and were relegated once again.

The goals of Danny Rankl in 2015-16 saw the side finish runners-up as coach Michael Boris was replaced by Jörn Großkopf towards the seasons end, who in turn was soon succeeded by André Pawlak as the Oberliga Niederrhein title was lifted in 2016-17.

Michael Wiesinger and then Stefan Krämer oversaw the Regionalliga West championship triumph of 2017-18 with Lucas Musculus topping the scoring chart. SV Waldhof Mannheim were defeated 3-0 on aggregate in the play-offs as Uerdingen returned to the third level of German football.

The promotion a slight problem as Grotenburg-Stadion was deemed unfit. The club used MSV Duisburg’s Schauinsland-Reisen-Arena for home matches as they finished in mid table with Maximilian Beister leading the scoring in a season which saw Norbert Meier take over as coach for a short spell.

Uerdingen moved into Merkur Spiel-Arena in Düsseldorf to share with Fortuna in 2019-20 with the side sitting comfortably in the Coronavirus disrupted campaign which also saw several changes of coach with Heiko Vogel, Daniel Steuernagel and a returning Krämer taking charge of the team.

Good news emerged from the local Krefeld mayor who announced that the club should be able to return to an upgraded Grotenburg-Stadion for the 2020-21 season.

KFC Uerdingen 05 will play in 3. Liga in the 2020-21 season.

My visit

Saturday 27th October 2012

I awoke in my Dusseldorf hotel on a beautiful bright late autumn morning after a really good first day in Germany in my search of new stadiums and football. The previous nights 3-3 draw in Cologne, followed by a really good drink in Dusseldorf's Aldstadt had put me in a really good mood, as well as helping me to a much needed deep sleep.

My afternoon destination was Gelsenkirchen for the clash between Schalke and Nuremburg, but I was determined not to waste my morning. I remember Bayer Uerdingen from my youth and had since done some research as to their demise. Their website showed a good old fashioned stadium, and I wanted to see it in the flesh.

After a quick train from my adjacent station to Dusseldorf's Hauptbanhof, I was soon on a train via Neuss which would stop at the Krefeld-Oppum station. After a twenty minute ride I was out in the cool air and taking a ten minutes brisk walk up Buddestrasse past the tram stop and pretty Schonwasserpark and into the busy main Berliner Strasse. This took me past the zoo and to the stadium.

The road up to the stands took me past the wonderful sight of hundreds of kids practising on artificial pitches in the hope of becoming the next local hero, as their doting parents looked on. I was even happier on finding the gates in the corner to the stadium open. What I found was a ground I grew up going to games in. It was a real beauty.

The North Stand was a large covered single tiered block of seats. Opposite was the South Strand, which backed onto the training ground, with a seating tier behind a large terraced paddock. The West Terrace was a huge open end up to the pitch with a scoreboard at the rear. 

These three constructions had all been built after the successes of the Cup Winners Cup. The final East Terrace was the original which was curved away from the pitch, where the athletics track once ran.

I wandered along the back of the South Stand, where a drinks kiosk was open for spectators watching the youngsters going through their drills. Everyone seemed friendly, with a few allo's and smiles being exchanged. 

I gained access into the West Terrace, which was showing signs of not being used for some time. The stadium car park was being used for a car boot stall come flea market, so I had a look at the stalls to see if anything took my interest before heading back to the station.

Having a few minutes to kill, I took the opportunity to pop into a local bakery, where the friendly staff spoke perfect English on seeing me struggle with my pidgin German. The large Danish pastry and strong coffee were most welcoming. 

At this point I made a decision after a bit of thought and took a train into Krefeld, where I hoped to get a fast train towards Duisburg in the hope that time would be a kind enough to allow me the opportunity of visiting the Schauinsland-Reisen-Arena. The trains were fine as I'd planned, but the stadium was too far from the station. I couldn't really complain.

I'd visited a lovely city, albeit briefly and seen a tremendous traditional stadium with youths playing the game. I knew for certain that one day in the future that I wanted to attend a KFC Uerdingen 05, preferably with the club doing well.

SC Victoria Hamburg (Germany)

SC Victoria Hamburg, or Sport- Club Victoria Hamburg von 1895 e. V. to give them their full title are a sports club, with a football department who were formed in 1895 in the northern German city of Hamburg. 

On the 5th May 1895 two youth sides Cito and Excelsior joined forces to form Victoria. After a brief affiliation with Hamburg SV, they became independent as a football club a couple of years later. The sports club also catered for those wishing to partake in badminton, handball, hockey, athletics, tennis, table tennis, gymnastics, baseball and softball.

In 1898 the club was accepted into the Hamburg-Altonaer Fußball-Bund where they played in their A-Klasse competition where Victoria won four titles on the trot in the following decade.

In 1901 the club became founder members of the Deutscher Fussball Bund German FA. The club became Norddeutsche Meisterschaft northern German champions in 1906 and 1907; reaching the semi-final of the national championship before losing out to TuFC Viktoria 89 of Berlin.

Until that time home matches had been played at Heiligengeistfeld, a recreational space in the St Pauli district of the city before the construction of Stadion Hoheluft which for a time would become the largest football venue in the city with a maximum capacity of 47,000.

Further North German titles were won in 1912-12 and 1918-19. The latter of the triumphs was in conjunction with Hamburger SV 1888 who came close to merging with Victoria. Instead they went their own way prior to merging with FC Falke and eventually becoming one of Germany’s biggest clubs.

Englishman William Townley coached the club in the 1920’s with his son Jimmy a star player. Erwin Seeler, father of Uwe, was signed for a substantial sum before Victoria had a period of struggle and were close to relegation.

During the period of the Third Reich being in power the club were placed in one of sixteen top tiers; Gauliga Nordmark and then Gauliga Hamburg of which Victoria were crowned as champions in 1942-43. After the War, the club joined Stadtliga Hamburg and then Oberliga Nord, one of five top tier divisions for the 1947-48 season.

As one of four Hamburg clubs, Victoria finished bottom and were relegated down to Amateurliga Hamburg where they won the title in 1950-51 before winning the ascent round to rejoin the Oberliga. Again, their spell at the top table lasted just one season.

Victoria bounced back to be crowned as Amateurliga Hamburg champions in 1952-53 before winning their play-off round. For a third time Victoria went straight back down before winning the Amateurliga title at the first attempt before missing out on promotion in the play-offs.

The team then hit a spell of mid table finishes prior to responding with another league title in 1959-60 which again ended in ascent round disappointment. Victoria won their next Amateurliga title in 1961-62 but again remained at the same level.

A runners-up place in 1962-63 led to a successful play-off for a place in the newly formed second tier Regionalliga Nord to feed into the Bundesliga. Victoria remained at that level until the end of the 1965-66 campaign when they dropped down to Landesliga Hamburg.

After a fourth place the team was relegated in 1967-68 to the Verbandsliga from where they returned to the Landesliga in quick succession where they enjoyed a title winning season in 1973-74 which was rewarded with promotion to Oberliga Nord.

Victoria finished fourth on their return but ended in the relegation places in 1976-77 back down to the retitled fourth tier Verbandsliga where they finished third in 1978-79 and again the following season. The first half of the 1980’s saw Victoria finish in the lower reaches of the table.

A fifth place in 1991-92 was the best for over a decade in a stale period for the club. In 1994 league re-organising meant that the Verbandsliga became the fifth tier. Victoria won the title in 1994-95 to rise to Oberliga Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein where they finished bottom to return to the Verbandsliga.

A runners-up place in 2002-03 was enough to secure promotion after champions Harburger TB 1865 were demoted owing to a financial infringement. However, Victoria were once again demoted in 2004-05. After the introduction of 3. Liga the fifth tier became Oberliga Hamburg with Victoria finishing as champions in 2006-07.

However, Victoria declined promotion before retaining the title for the next three seasons to make it four in a row. In 2010-11 Victoria led by coach Bert Ehm once again played in the DFB Pokal and provided a big shock as they defeated 2. Bundesliga club Rot-Weiß Oberhausen with a Stephan Rahn goal before they went down to VfL Wolfsburg.

After a seasons absence the club became Oberliga champions again in 2011-12 but this time resulting in promotion to Regionalliga Nord. Victoria were demoted in 2013-14 to Oberliga Hamburg where they finished as runners-up in 2014-15.

This was backed up with third the following season and then fourth in 2016-17. It was runners-up again for Victoria again in 2017-18 under head coach Jean-Pierre Richter with Nick Scharkowski and Klaas Kohpeiß supplying the goals.

2018-19 saw a fourth place return as Dennis Bergmann finished as the league top scorer for Fabian Boll’s side. Victoria were in fourth again when the 2019-20 campaign was aborted owing to the outbreak of COVID-19 as Ian Claus got among the goals for the side coached by Marius Ebbers.

SC Victoria Hamburg will play in Oberliga Hamburg in the 2020-21 season.

My visit

Monday 29th October 2012

I was ready to get back to visiting some new stadiums after the previous days football and drinking in Hamburg. It was my final day of four in Germany and I was determined to make the most of it, despite the biting winds and overcast conditions.

 

After heading the wrong way on the train and a brief look down on the waterfront, I soon found my correct way to alight at Hoheluftbrucke station. I was getting the hang of the transport network and new that my one day ticket was also valid, so I got on a long bendy bus heading up the road of the same name, which dropped me just past the ground.

To my joy the gates were open with the groundsman getting on with his work after the previous days match against FC St Pauli II. I walked in to find a wonderful old fashioned three sided football ground, the sort of which are slowly being swallowed up by developers in the UK in exchange for soulless out of town arenas.

The near end had an open terrace with a grass bank behind. Another larger open terrace ran down one side of the pitch with segregation barriers in place. There was nothing behind the far goal as it bordered some trees but the final side had a sizeable open terrace. 

The crowning glory a majestic raised Main Stand painted in the club colours of yellow and blue, set back from the pitch with seating inside. It really was a beauty of a ground, especially the stand.

I took plenty of photos before heading back to the main road and a return bus ride, in search of my next venue at Altona 93.