The Rheinstadion ( German pronunciation: [ˈʁaɪnˌʃtaːdi̯ɔn] ) was a multi-purpose stadium , in Düsseldorf , Germany . The stadium was built, near the Rhine , in 1926 and held 54,000 people at the end of its life.
91-605: It was the home ground for Fortuna Düsseldorf from 1953 to 1970 and 1972–2002. It was used during the 1974 FIFA World Cup and 1988 European Championships . In 1995, the Rhein Fire , of the World League of American Football became tenants in their inaugural season. It hosted World Bowl '99 and World Bowl X . Metallica performed at the stadium during their Nowhere Else to Roam Tour on May 20, 1993, with The Cult & Suicidal Tendencies as their opening act. It
182-479: A German football championship in 1933 against Schalke 04 , which was 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. It beat Vorwärts-Rasensport Gleiwitz (9–0), Arminia Hannover (3–0), Eintracht Frankfurt (4–0) and finally Schalke 04 (3–0) en route to becoming the first national champion from
273-427: A defender for Eintracht Frankfurt. The club's primary rival is local club Kickers Offenbach , although, due to spending most of their history in different divisions, the two have only played two league matches within the last 40 years. With almost 14,000 active athletes in over 50 sports in 2024, Eintracht Frankfurt is the largest multi-sports club in the world with a professional football team. The origins of
364-473: A 1–1 draw in extra-time, with Rafael Santos Borré scoring Eintracht's goal and the winning penalty. Goalkeeper Kevin Trapp was named man of the match in the final after making a crucial late save from Ryan Kent and saving Aaron Ramsey 's penalty in the shootout. Eintracht won the competition unbeaten; their success also qualified them for the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League , Eintracht's first appearance in
455-458: A 3–3 draw in the 93rd minute, with Dodi Lukebakio scored all three of Fortuna's goals. However, Fortuna failed to play well against clubs lower in the table, losing to Augsburg, Nürnberg and Mainz, and only managing a draw against Stuttgart. Fortuna Düsseldorf entered the mid-winter break in 14th place in the table, concoluding the first half of the season with three successive wins against Freiburg, Dortmund and Hannover. Fortuna Düsseldorf enjoyed
546-433: A 5–1 win over Kaiserslautern. The following year, in another struggle to avoid relegation, the club was docked two points for violating the conditions of their license. Eintracht secured survival on the last day of the season with a win over SSV Ulm , who were relegated instead. Eintracht would go down the season afterwards with Friedel Rausch in charge, and did not come close to promotion in 2001–02 . Eintracht secured
637-572: A 7–1 victory against Bayern Munich, to date the highest away defeat for Bayern in its entire Bundesliga history. In addition, Fortuna continued its prosperous play in the DFB-Pokal, making another three appearances. After losing in its fifth appearance in the final in 1978 against local rivals 1. FC Köln (0–2), the club finally broke through and came away as champions in 1979 , prevailing 1–0 against Hertha BSC , then repeating as champions 1980 with 2–1 victory against 1. FC Köln. During this period,
728-591: A Bundesliga return on the final day of the 2002–03 season with a 6–3 win over Reutlingen , dramatically scoring 3 in the last 10 minutes of the game. They were then relegated straight back to the 2. Bundesliga, but were promoted again the season after, managed by Friedhelm Funkel . Funkel led the team to safety in 2005–06 and also took Eintracht to the DFB-Pokal final for the first time since 1988, where they lost to Bayern Munich. As Bayern had already qualified for Europe, this also meant that Eintracht qualified for
819-527: A better second half of the season, with away wins over Augsburg, Hertha Berlin and one of their best performances in recent times, in a 0–4 win at Schalke 04. A 4–1 win at home to Werder Bremen and a 3–1 victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach were highlights at home, whilst other home wins over VfB Stuttgart, Nürnberg and a final day defeat of Hannover 96 ensured a 10th-place finish in the Bundesliga. This achieved Fortuna Düsseldorf's highest league finish since
910-516: A bizarre and unlikely victory by Hoffenheim over second-place Borussia Dortmund, resulted in Fortuna dropping two places. Fortuna finished 17th and were again reglegated to the 2. Bundesliga. 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 its final eight matches, it did not win a single one; just one win would have secured its position for
1001-415: A bottom-half club in the Bundesliga, Eintracht had a successful 1987–88 season, finishing in the top half of the league for the first time since 1982. More importantly, they won the 1987–88 DFB-Pokal , with a 1–0 win over VfL Bochum in the 1988 final . The goalscorer was Hungarian Lajos Détári , who became a hero among the club's fans. Only two days after the final, Détári was sold to Olympiacos for
SECTION 10
#17327832574671092-490: A competitive rivalry with the Bavarians. Although Düsseldorf has not mounted a serious challenge for the Bundesliga championship since the early 1970s, matches between Fortuna and FC Bayern have been fiercely contested. In a 1975 match, Bayern led at halftime 4–2, but Fortuna came back to win 6–#5. On 9 December 1978, Fortuna defeated FC Bayern 7–1, an outcome which, to this day, remains FC Bayern's worst-ever away loss. During
1183-459: A heated rivalry, but direct matches have been rare in recent years. Fortuna also has inter-city rivalries with Düsseldorf SC99 and TuRU Düsseldorf, yet these have also lost their intensity. During the post-war years, no other club within the Düsseldorf city limits has ever played in a higher division than Fortuna. Because of the dominance of FC Bayern München in recent decades, Fortuna also has
1274-417: A large fee, helping to pay the club's debts. In 1988–89 Eintracht found themselves in the relegation fight again. Jörg Berger was appointed coach and led the side to safety with a 4–1 aggregate win over 1. FC Saarbrücken in the relegation playoff. A year later, Berger had taken the club to 3rd place, and was recognised as the best coach in the league. Berger left in 1991 after a 4th-place finish, but
1365-400: A living mascot, a golden eagle named Attila from the nearby Hanau Zoo, who has currently been present at over 200 different games. The official club colours of red, black, and white have their origins in the colours of the founding clubs Frankfurter FC Viktoria and Frankfurter FC Kickers , which sported red and white and black and white respectively. Red and white are the colours of
1456-533: A place among the original 16 teams chosen for the newly founded Bundesliga in 1963, but the club played its way into the premier division three years later for a cameo appearance in 1966–67 . Despite a sensational 2–1 away win at recent European Cup Winners' Cup winners Borussia Dortmund on its Bundesliga debut, Fortuna was immediately relegated, though only to return in 1971 for a stay that lasted 16 seasons and included two third-place league finishes (in 1972–73 and 1973–74 ). On 9 December 1978, Fortuna recorded
1547-402: A row in 2017–18 , this time winning 3–1 against heavy favourites Bayern Munich – who Kovač had already agreed to join from next season. He was replaced by Adi Hütter . In 2018–19 , Eintracht's attacking trio of Luka Jović , Ante Rebić and Sébastien Haller won lots of praise for their outstanding performances, scoring 41 league goals and 16 Europa League goals between them and earning
1638-433: A series of coaching changes, with Oliver Reck, Frank Kramer, and former player Mike Buskens among others leading the club at various points. Success however remained elusive. In March 2016, Friedhelm Funkel – a native of Neuss – took over as coach of Fortuna Düsseldorf. In his first game as coach, Funkel led the club to a 4–3 win against 1. FC Kaiserslautern, ending a month-long winless streak. Funkel's start as coach marked
1729-424: Is SGE , taken from the club's old official name S port g emeinde E intracht (Frankfurt), which roughly translates into English as "Sports Community Harmony." The nickname Launische Diva ("Moody Diva") was heard most often in the early 1990s, when the club would comfortably defeat top teams only to surprisingly lose to lesser clubs. The nickname Schlappekicker ("Slipper Kickers") has been around since
1820-479: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Fortuna D%C3%BCsseldorf Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V. , commonly known as Fortuna Düsseldorf ( pronounced [fɔʁˈtuːna ˈdʏsl̩dɔʁf] ), is a German football club based in Düsseldorf , North Rhine-Westphalia , that competes in the 2. Bundesliga . Founded in 1895, Fortuna entered the league in 1913 and
1911-681: The 1967 Intertoto Cup in the last season of its original format. That year, they also reached the semi-final of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup , losing to Dinamo Zagreb . From 1973 to 1981, Eintracht had arguably their most successful period of the Bundesliga era, winning three DFB-Pokals and the UEFA Cup . Many of the most iconic players from the club's history played during this era, such as Bernd Nickel , Charly Körbel , Bernd Hölzenbein , Jürgen Grabowski and Cha Bum-kun . The first title success came under Dietrich Weise in
SECTION 20
#17327832574672002-496: The 1973–74 DFB-Pokal , winning 3–1 in the final over Hamburger SV – due to the 1974 FIFA World Cup , which Hölzenbein and Grabowski had won with West Germany , the final was not played until August 1974. Eintracht would win the cup again in 1975, beating MSV Duisburg 1–0. That season, they played in the European Cup Winners' Cup for the first time, and in the 1975–76 campaign, they would go far, reaching
2093-473: The 2. Bundesliga , Eintracht won the title in 1997–98 and returned to the Bundesliga. Promotion coach Horst Ehrmantraut left in December, and Jörg Berger returned to try to save Eintracht once more. On the final day of the 1998–99 season, Eintracht were expected to be relegated, but dramatically climbed out of the relegation zone on goal difference thanks to a late goal from Jan Åge Fjørtoft giving them
2184-412: The 2010–11 season began poorly for Fortuna. After the first six games of the season, the club was in last place, having lost every match. During these first six matches, the club scored 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
2275-474: The 2012–13 Bundesliga season strongly, ranking fifth after five games and concerns about relegation seemed to have been put to rest. However, Fortuna's 1–0 home win over Greuther Fürth on 16 February would prove to be the club's final victory of the season. The season concluded with Fortuna playing in Hannover 96 , a match Fortuna lost 0–3. This defeat, combined with an Augsburg win over Greuther Fürth and
2366-576: The 2021–22 Europa League , Eintracht topped their group and stunned Barcelona in the quarter finals, taking a 3–0 lead at the Camp Nou and eventually winning 3–2 with approximately 30,000 travelling Frankfurt fans in attendance. Eintracht went on to beat West Ham home and away in the semi-finals to set up their first European final since 1980. In the final in Seville's Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium , Frankfurt beat Rangers 5–4 on penalties after
2457-743: The Deutsche Futsal Meisterschaft 2021 of the DFB as the winner of the Futsalliga West in the 2020–21 season and is one of the founding members of the Futsal Bundesliga . Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. ( German pronunciation: [ˈaɪntʁaxt ˈfʁaŋkfʊʁt] ) is a German professional sports club based in Frankfurt , Hesse. It is best known for its football club , which
2548-472: The German championship , though they did not make it to the final. Former coach Paul Oßwald returned to the club for third stint with Eintracht in 1958. In the 1958–59 season the club won their Oberliga again, qualifying for the 1959 German championship . Winning all six of the games in the group phase, Eintracht made it to the final with a perfect record; there, they would meet rivals Kickers Offenbach ,
2639-610: The Kreisliga Nordmain , then in the Bezirksliga Main and Bezirksliga Main-Hessen . After being eliminated from the national level playoffs after quarterfinal losses in 1930 and 1931, they won their way to the final in 1932 where they were beaten 2–0 by Bayern Munich , who claimed their first ever German championship. In 1933, German football was re-organized into sixteen Gauligen under the Third Reich , and
2730-472: The national side earning 240 caps between them. With the exception of Erich Juskowiak, all players debuted as Fortuna players: Fortuna's fiercest rivalry is with 1. FC Köln, which stems from the geographic proximity of Düsseldorf and Cologne as well as the historic rivalry between the two cities. However, in recent seasons, the clubs have rarely played in the same division, meaning that head-to-head encounters have become rarer. The 2013–14 season marked
2821-485: The "ultra" curve of the stadium are well known for their elaborate choreographed displays and enthusiastic support for their club, which occasionally includes the lighting of "Bengalos" or fireworks in the stands. Members of the band Die Toten Hosen , including lead singer Campino, are often present at Fortuna matches at home and on the road, and when Fortuna celebrated its recent 2. Division championship in front of thousands of fans at Düsseldorf's city hall on 14 May 2018,
Rheinstadion - Misplaced Pages Continue
2912-481: The 1920s, when J. & C. A. Schneider , a local manufacturer of shoes and especially slippers (called Schlappe in the regional Hessian dialect ) was a major financial backer of the club and helped propel it to national relevance. Since July 2022, the executive board consists of Axel Hellmann (CEO), Markus Krösche (head of sports) and Oliver Frankenbach (head of finances) and Philipp Reschke (head of fan relations, merchandising and HR). Green denotes
3003-455: The 1985–86 season, Fortuna was the only team to win both of its games against the eventual champions from Munich, winning 4–0 and 3–2. The band Die Toten Hosen , many of whose members are enthusiastic fans of Fortuna Düsseldorf, have celebrated the team's success against FC Bayern in their song "Bayern", which appears on their album Immortal . The last Bundesliga game was a draw after Munich had led 3–1. Fortuna scored two goals to make it 3–3 in
3094-823: The 1989–90 Bundesliga season, where they finished 9th. For the 2017–18 season, online sports betting website Tipbet renewed its agreement as Premium Partners of Fortuna. The deal involves marketing campaigns to raise brand awareness, while regular promotions are organised. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. The club's honours are as follows: The last five seasons are shown. Twenty-five Fortuna players have made appearances with
3185-610: The 2017–18 season could be difficult for Fortuna. However, the club started extremely strongly: on the fourth day of the season, Fortuna had climbed to first place in the table, with a draw and three wins. For the remainder of the year, they would not drop below third place, benefitting from particularly strong play by Rensing's replacement in goal, Raphael Wolf, newly acquired Belgian forward Benito Raman, striker Rouwen Hennings, and midfielder Florian Neuhaus. A late-season slump saw Fortuna lose three games in succession in early April, but Fortuna won their next two matches, securing promotion to
3276-442: The Bundesliga in 1989–92 (after winning the 1988-89 2nd Bundesliga championship) and 1995–97 and slipping as low as Oberliga Nordrhein (IV) in 2002–04. In 2001, the club escaped relegation to tier IV only because two other clubs were denied licenses to play in tier III for financial reasons. Fortuna had its own money problems at the time but have since managed to arrange its finances more or less back into order. Between 2001 and 2003,
3367-441: The Bundesliga, took Frankfurt into fourth place by the end of the season, finishing only two points behind champions Borussia Mönchengladbach . Soon, however, Lóránt would leave for Bayern Munich , with Dettmar Cramer coming the other way to coach Frankfurt. Cramer left at the end of the disappointing 1977–78 season, replaced by Otto Knefler , who soon had to leave on health grounds. In January 1979, Friedel Rausch joined
3458-411: The Bundesliga. In the final game of the season, with promotion already secured, Fortuna defeated 1. FC Nürnberg 3–2 with a last-minute goal thereby securing first place and the 2. Bundesliga Championship, their second title after 1988–89. For coach Friedhelm Funkel, this marks the sixth time he had led a club to promotion—a German record. Fortuna Düsseldorf's return to first-division football in 2018–19
3549-828: The Bundesliga. Both Essen and Wuppertal have since dropped to lower leagues. Bayer Leverkusen, on the other hand, has emerged as a powerful force in the Bundesliga. Leverkusen's financial support from the Bayer chemical conglomerate has led to many Düsseldorf fans criticizing the club as "plastic" and inauthentic, without any real tradition. During the seasons when they both played in the Second Division, Fortuna's matches against MSV Duisburg and Borussia Mönchengladbach were hotly contested and were often referred to as "Lower Rhein Derbys". Fortuna Düsseldorf and Rot-Weiss Essen have played one another 59 times, and many fans still regard this as
3640-603: 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 it finished as runners-up to Barcelona , losing 4–3 in extra time in an exciting finale at Basel . It was the first of four occasions that the Catalan club won the tournament. Fortuna achieved its success mostly with hometown players like
3731-677: The Eagles played an unbeaten campaign, mostly sporting an all-white kit that gained them the nickname la bestia blanca (literally the white beast in Spanish), a wordplay on the Spanish term la bestia negra (literally the black beast , also meaning bogey team in Spanish). This nickname was received after Eintracht knocked FC Barcelona out of the competition at Camp Nou . The club is nicknamed " Die Adler " ("The Eagles"), which derives from their logo. A nickname still popular among supporters
Rheinstadion - Misplaced Pages Continue
3822-604: The Nordkreis-Liga and qualifying for the Southern German championship in each of those seasons. In turn, Frankfurter FV joined the gymnastics club Frankfurter Turngemeinde von 1861 to form TuS Eintracht Frankfurt von 1861 in 1920. The German word Eintracht means 'harmony' or 'concord', and so Eintracht is the equivalent of United in English in the names of sports teams. At the time, sports in Germany
3913-594: The Oberliga again, though they were runners-up in 1961 and 1962 . Both times they would finish second in the group phase of the German championship, missing out on the final. The side earned themselves a place as one of the original 16 teams selected to play in the Bundesliga , Germany's new professional football league, formed in 1963 . Eintracht played Bundesliga football for 33 consecutive seasons, finishing in
4004-490: The UEFA Cup. After years of stability under Funkel, Michael Skibbe replaced him in 2009. The 2010–11 season ended with the club's fourth Bundesliga relegation. After setting a new record for most points in the first half of the season, the club struggled after the winter break, going seven games without scoring a goal. Coach Skibbe was replaced with Christoph Daum , but Eintracht went down again after winning just once in
4095-631: The advance of Allied armies. 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 of 11 games played during that year; Stanislaus Kobierski , who earned 26 caps and scored Germany's first ever FIFA World Cup goal; Ernst Albrecht ; and Jakob Bender . After World War II , Allied occupation authorities ordered
4186-516: The band appeared with them. The band is also highly regarded by the club for serving as sponsors during the 2001–02 and 2002–03 seasons, when the club had been relegated to the Regional League and faced financial difficulty. Since 1 June 2015, Fortuna Düsseldorf has its futsal department. Since then, the Futsal department has developed into one of the strongest in Germany. They took part in
4277-578: The beginning of a period of increased stability and success for Fortuna. At the start of the 2017–18 season, two of Fortuna's strongest performers from the previous year, goalkeeper Michael Rensing and forward Ihlas Bebou, were both lost from the club with Rensing suffering two broken ribs and Bebou transferring to Bundesliga side Hannover 96. A further setback was that Funkel's assistant Peter Hermann asked to be released from his contaract with Fortuna in order to reojoin his mentor Jupp Heynckes upon his return to Bayern. With these three losses, it appeared that
4368-580: The best football in Bundesliga history, making 'Stepi' a fan favourite to this day. In 1991–92 , the club came closer than ever before to winning the Bundesliga. Going into the last game of the season, Eintracht were top of the table and only needed a win against already-relegated Hansa Rostock . With the scores level at 1–1 Eintracht were denied what seemed a clear penalty, they would go on to lose 2–1. Referee Alfons Berg later apologised for his decision, but VfB Stuttgart became champions. Eintracht also came close in 1993–94 , under Klaus Toppmöller , leading
4459-417: The city coat of arms, and black and white the colours of Prussia . When the clubs merged, officials decided to adopt the colours of both sides. Since local rival Kickers Offenbach sport the colours red and white, Eintracht avoids playing in such a kit, preferring to play in black and red, or in black and white. In the 2023–2024 season, the home kit is black and red. In the 2021–22 UEFA Europa League ,
4550-561: The club as head coach. This was one of two important arrivals in 1979, as Cha Bum-kun would sign for Eintracht in July, becoming the first Korean to play in Europe. He would quickly become an icon in Frankfurt, scoring 12 league goals in his debut season. Eliminating Aberdeen , Dinamo București , Feyenoord and FC Zbrojovka Brno in the earlier rounds of the UEFA Cup , Eintracht reached
4641-518: The club established a record for consecutive DFB-Pokal match victories, with 18-straight between 1978 and 1981. Fortuna is among a group of four teams which have made frequent appearances in the DFB-Pokal final only to come away empty-handed. Like 1. FC Kaiserslautern , Fortuna has just two wins against five losses. 1. FC Köln has four wins and six losses in the Cup final, while Schalke 04 has been frustrated most often, with five wins and seven losses. Four of
SECTION 50
#17327832574674732-506: The club go back to a pair of football clubs founded in 1899: Frankfurter Fußball-Club Victoria von 1899 – regarded as the original team in the club's history – and Frankfurter Fußball-Club Kickers von 1899 . Both clubs were founding members of the new Nordkreis-Liga in 1909. These two teams merged in May 1911 to become Frankfurter Fußball Verein (Kickers-Victoria) , an instant success, taking three league titles from 1912 to 1914 in
4823-564: The club played first division football in the Gauliga Südwest , consistently finishing in the upper half of the table and winning their division in 1938. Eintracht picked up where they left off after World War II, joining the new first division Oberliga Süd . In 1946, Eintracht won the first Hessenpokal , and finished third in the Oberliga Süd a year later. In 1953, they would win the Oberliga Süd title, qualifying Eintracht for
4914-519: The club that Oßwald joined from, and the runners up behind Eintracht in the Oberliga Süd. Frankfurt went on to win the final 5–3 after extra time, becoming German champions for the first and so far only time in front of 75,000 fans in Berlin's Olympiastadion . As champions, Frankfurt would represent Germany in the 1959–60 European Cup , where they would come to international prominence. Having beaten BSC Young Boys and Wiener Sport-Club to make it to
5005-418: The club was sponsored by German punk rock band Die Toten Hosen . In 2008–09 , Fortuna competed in the newly established 3. Liga , finishing second and gaining automatic promotion to the 2. Bundesliga , where it finished fourth in its 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 season,
5096-405: The coat of arms of the city of Frankfurt , which itself is a reference to the one-headed Imperial Eagle of the 13th century. The crest has evolved showing little significant change until 1980, when a stylized eagle in black and white was chosen to represent the team. In Eintracht's centenary year of 1999, the club decided to re-adopt a more traditional eagle crest. Since 2005, Eintracht has had
5187-540: The competition since 1960. Eintracht finished second in their Champions League group, qualifying for the knockout stages, but lost in the round of 16 against S.S.C. Napoli . The team was more successful in the 2022–23 DFB-Pokal , reaching the final on 3 June 2023, where they lost 2–0 against RB Leipzig . A 7th-place finish at the end of 2022–23 season secured qualification for the UEFA Europa Conference League . The club crest derives from
5278-483: 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 , West Germany 's professional football league, in 1963. It played as a lower-to-mid-table side, though it also made three appearances in the DFB-Pokal final in – 1957, 1958 and 1962 – but did not
5369-504: 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. Since its relegation in 1987, Fortuna has bounced back and forth between leagues, spending five more seasons in
5460-473: The final of the Tschammerpokal, the predecessor of today's DFB-Pokal , in 1937 (1–2 against Schalke 04). The club was reglegated in 1942, but returned to the top flight the following season. In 1944–45, it 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
5551-526: 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. 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. Hertha fans, however, threw firecrackers at the field and
SECTION 60
#17327832574675642-419: The following season's Bundesliga. This poor performance contributed to the dismissal of head coach Norbert Meier . Reglegation to the 2. Bundesliga led to a period of generally disappointing performance. Fortuna spent the years between 2013 and 2017 in the middle of the table, often battling against relegation and rarely challenging for promotion back to the Bundesliga. During these years, the club went through
5733-428: The fourth time in his career that he was promoted from the Second Division into the Bundesliga. Coming with the recent promotion, the club achieved a new record in German football history, becoming the only German club that has been relegated from the Bundesliga to a fourth-tier league (time period of downfall: 1997–2002) and promoted again to the Bundesliga afterwards (time period of ascent: 2004–2012). Fortuna started
5824-520: The game, the Rangers players gave their opponents a guard of honour as they left the pitch. Eintracht would return to Glasgow for the final at Hampden Park , although they lost 7–3 to Real Madrid despite taking an early lead. The final was widely regarded as one of the best football matches ever played, remembered for a hat-trick by Alfredo Di Stéfano and four goals by Ferenc Puskás . After their championship-winning year, Eintracht did not win
5915-419: The game, winning Eintracht the title on away goals. As Lothar Buchmann succeeded Rausch, Eintracht won their third DFB-Pokal in 1981 . This effectively marked the end of Eintracht's golden period, as they began their battle with relegation. In 1984 , they defeated MSV Duisburg 6–1 on aggregate in the relegation playoff after finishing 16th; in 1986 and 1987 , they would finish 15th. After years as
6006-481: The industrial Rhine-Ruhr area. In the following season, the club began playing in Gauliga Niederrhein , 1 of 16 top-flight divisions formed in the re-organization of German football under the Third Reich . Düsseldorf dominated the division through the 1930s as five-time champions between 1936 and 1940, and made losing appearances in the national championship final in 1936 (1–2 to 1. FC Nürnberg ) and
6097-472: The last 10 minutes. The club has a particular strong affiliation with English Premier League side Ipswich Town , with their supporters making annual visits to see them at their home ground, Portman Road , since 2006. Ipswich fans have also done the same, with some coming to cheer Düsseldorf on at the Merkur Spiel-Arena. Fortuna Düsseldorf enjoys a strong a spirited fan base, and supporters in
6188-418: The last time the two clubs met in competitive matches when both played in the Second Division. For the 2018–19 season, Fortuna was promoted to the 1. Bundesliga precisely as 1. FC Köln was demoted from the Bundesliga to the Second Division, again avoiding the "Rheinland Derby". Fortuna's other historic rivals are Rot-Weiss Essen, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, and Wuppertaler SV. During the 1970s, all four clubs played in
6279-494: The late 1920s, Fortuna won its first honours as a first tier side; it captured a district level Bezirksliga title in 1927, sent its first representative to the Germany national team in 1928 ( Ernst Albrecht ), and took a second Bezirksliga title in 1929. The team continued to perform well into the 1930s, winning its third and fourth district titles en route to a Western German football championship in 1931 and its greatest success,
6370-479: The nickname "the Buffalo Herd". Making only their second appearance in the modern Europa League, Eintracht won all six group games against Lazio , Apollon Limassol and Marseille , and beat highly rated opponents Shakhtar Donetsk , Inter Milan and Benfica . In the semi-finals against Chelsea , Eintracht drew both legs 1–1 but ended up losing on penalties at Stamford Bridge . Chelsea would go on to win
6461-480: The players, and one minute before the match ended, overexcited Fortuna fans stormed the field. The promotion to the Bundesliga represented an extraordinary personal achievement for team captain Andreas Lambertz , as he became 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 marked
6552-408: The prize, losing each of those matches to Bayern Munich , VfB Stuttgart and 1. FC Nürnberg. It was also during this era that Toni Turek , goalkeeper for West 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 all represented Fortuna. Fortuna's performance was not good enough to earn them
6643-402: The season, Fortuna was in first place in the table with a remarkable record of 12 wins, 5 draws and 0 losses. 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 its pace: it suffered four losses and a number of draws, slipping to third place in
6734-485: The second half of the season. One year later, Eintracht defeated Alemannia Aachen 3–0 on the 32nd matchday of the 2011–12 season , securing promotion to the Bundesliga. This was followed up by a 6th-place finish in the Bundesliga in 2012–13 , qualifying Frankfurt for the Europa League . Having finished in the top half in 2014–15 , a season in which Eintracht's Alexander Meier was the league's top scorer,
6825-549: The semi-finals, at which point only West German teams remained. Drawn against Bayern Munich, they won 5–1 in extra time to earn a place in the final. Eintracht lost 3–2 in the first leg of the final to Borussia Mönchengladbach, the reigning champions. The two away goals, scored by Harald Karger and Hölzenbein, would prove crucial. Two weeks later, they hosted the return leg. With the score still at 0–0, Friedel Rausch sent on teenager Fred Schaub with 13 minutes to play. Almost immediately, Schaub scored what proved to be only goal of
6916-470: The semi-finals, they were drawn against Scottish champions Rangers , who were considered favourites, at least in Scotland – Rangers manager Scot Symon allegedly asked, "Eintracht, who are they?" before the game. Eintracht won the first leg 6–1 at home, in a performance described as the greatest in the club's history. They would score six more in the second leg at Ibrox , winning 12–4 on aggregate. After
7007-476: The semi-finals. Despite beating West Ham 2–1 at home, Eintracht were beaten 3–1 in the second leg and were knocked out, while also finishing a relatively low ninth place in the Bundesliga. The club then had a difficult start to the 1976–77 season, but under new coach Gyula Lóránt , appointed in November, Eintracht went unbeaten in the second half of the season. Lóránt, notable for introducing zonal marking to
7098-405: The squad now included players considered among the Bundesliga's best, such as Uwe Bein , Uli Stein , Jørn Andersen , Manfred Binz , Tony Yeboah and Andreas Möller . Dragoslav Stepanović took over as coach when Berger left, and Eintracht would finish 3rd in both seasons he coached, although he left before the end of 1992–93 . Under Stepanović, Eintracht played what was considered some of
7189-428: The successful side of the early 90s, Heynckes is still reviled by many fans in Frankfurt. Relegation would come in 1995–96 , with neither club legend Charly Körbel or the previously successful Dragoslav Stepanovic able to rescue Eintracht. After 33 consecutive years in the Bundesliga, Frankfurt went down alongside 1. FC Kaiserslautern , who had also been ever-present until 1996. After a tumultuous debut campaign in
7280-426: The table at the halway point; however, they fell to 5th place and Toppmöller was sacked. In the summer of 1994, Jupp Heynckes was appointed coach. Things quickly began to turn sour, as Heynckes fell out with key players Tony Yeboah, Maurizio Gaudino and Jay-Jay Okocha . The club suspended all three players; Yeboah and Gaudino soon left. With the club in 13th, Heynckes decided to leave. For his role in breaking up
7371-400: The table, but also having the highest number of losses in the league (657). With an average attendance of 47,942 since 2013 the team also has one of the highest attendance ratings in the world and the eighth highest out of the 36 Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga teams. The player with the highest number of appearances (602) in the Bundesliga, Charly Körbel , spent his entire senior career as
7462-499: The team struggled again in 2015–16 and Niko Kovač was appointed coach in March 2016. Frankfurt survived only through the relegation playoff; ending the season in 16th place, they beat 1. FC Nürnberg 2–1 on aggregate in the playoff. In Kovač's first full year, his team survived comfortably and also reached the final of the 2017 DFB-Pokal , where they were beaten by Borussia Dortmund. Eintracht reached their second DFB-Pokal final in
7553-462: The top division, thus making them the seventh longest participating club in the highest tier of the league. Since 1925 their stadium has been the Waldstadion , which is currently named Deutsche Bank Park for sponsorship reasons. Eintracht Frankfurt have either won or drawn more than three-quarters of their games as well as having finished the majority of their seasons placed in the top half of
7644-549: The top half of the table for the majority of them. In the inaugural season, Eintracht finished 3rd behind 1. FC Köln and Meidericher SV – the club has still never managed a better Bundesliga finish – and also reached the 1964 DFB-Pokal Final . Eintracht finished in the top half of the Bundesliga every season until 1970–71 . Although they didn't make it back to the European Cup, Eintracht did play in other non-UEFA European competitions, beating FK Inter Bratislava to win
7735-484: The tournament. Eintracht also missed out on Champions League qualification in the Bundesliga, dropping from 4th to 7th after losing their last two games. With Jović, Rebić and Haller all leaving in the summer of 2019, Eintracht regressed in 2019–20 and failed to qualify for Europe, but returned to the Europa League with a 5th-place finish in 2020–21 , after which Adi Hütter left for Borussia Mönchengladbach. In
7826-621: 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-1912, 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. In
7917-502: Was a fixture in the top flight from the early 1920s up to the creation of the Bundesliga in 1963. Fortuna captured one German championship in 1933 and two German cup DFB-Pokal wins in 1979 and 1980. Their greatest feat in European competition was a Cup Winners Cup final in 1979 where they lost to Barcelona . The earliest roots of the association go back to the establishment of the gymnastics club Turnverein Flingern on 5 May 1895 in
8008-553: Was demolished in the summer of 2002, after the World Bowl X championship game, and has been replaced by the Merkur Spiel-Arena in 2004. 51°15′37″N 6°44′03″E / 51.26028°N 6.73417°E / 51.26028; 6.73417 This article about a German sports venue is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a North Rhine-Westphalian building or structure
8099-402: Was dominated by nationalistic gymnastics organizations, and under pressure from that sport's governing authority, the gymnasts and footballers went their separate ways again in 1927, as Turngemeinde Eintracht Frankfurt von 1861 and Sportgemeinde Eintracht Frankfurt (FFV) von 1899 . Through the late 1920s and into the 1930s, Eintracht won a handful of local and regional championships, first in
8190-535: Was founded on 8 March 1899. The club currently plays in the Bundesliga , the top tier of the German football league system . Eintracht have won the German championship once, the DFB-Pokal five times, the UEFA Europa League twice and finished as runner-up in the European Cup once. The team was one of the founding members of the Bundesliga at its inception and has spent a total of 55 seasons in
8281-410: Was greeted with great enthusiasm by their supporters. The first half of the season was marked by inconsistent play. Fortuna played remarkably well against top Bundesliga sides, taking a point from Leipzig and defeating Hoffenheim and first-place Borussia Dortmund. Most encouraging was an away draw against the defending champions Bayern Munich, when Fortuna came back after trailing 2–0 and 3–1, to secure
#466533