Fun Facts — Fortuna Düsseldorf
Everyone in Cologne, Mönchengladbach and Leverkusen knows that Fortuna Düsseldorf have never been Bundesliga champions.
Fun Facts
Everyone in Cologne, Mönchengladbach and Leverkusen knows that Fortuna Düsseldorf have never been Bundesliga champions.
Everyone in Cologne, Mönchengladbach and Leverkusen knows th...
Everyone in Cologne, Mönchengladbach and Leverkusen knows that Fortuna Düsseldorf have never been Bundesliga champions.
Everyone in Cologne, Mönchengladbach and Leverkusen knows that Fortuna Düsseldorf have never been Bundesliga champions. But here are a few fun facts about “Tuna” that not everyone knows.
The Kaiser of the Rhine: Gerd Zewe played
The Kaiser of the Rhine: Gerd Zewe played for Fortuna Düsseldorf with the ease, vision and game intelligence of Franz Beckenbauer.
The Kaiser of the Rhine: Gerd Zewe played for Fortuna Düsseldorf with the ease, vision and game intelligence of Franz Beckenbauer. But the Rhineland original never really overtook the Munich original and won only four caps. He did at least make Germany’s 1978 World Cup squad in Argentina after Beckenbauer’s retirement, though he never got more than a free spectator’s pass to the bench or the stands while the reigning world champions played.
The Karlo Party: one Fortuna player enjoys absolute
The Karlo Party: one Fortuna player enjoys absolute cult status – Karl “Karlo” Werner, who made 145 Bundesliga appearances for the club.
The Karlo Party: one Fortuna player enjoys absolute cult status – Karl “Karlo” Werner, who made 145 Bundesliga appearances for the club. A university party was named after him: the DKP, the Düsseldorfer Karlo Party. Whether it ever cleared the F95 threshold is unknown. Nor is it known what the actual communists of the DKP in West Germany made of it.
Never longer than three: since the second relegation
Never longer than three: since the second relegation of 1987, Fortuna have never stayed in the Bundesliga for more than three seasons in a row.
Never longer than three: since the second relegation of 1987, Fortuna have never stayed in the Bundesliga for more than three seasons in a row. From 2002 to 2004, they even had to play in what was then the fourth-tier Oberliga. In 2008 they qualified for the newly founded 3. Liga. In 2009 they returned to the second division. In 2012 they went up to the Bundesliga through the playoffs. The following season, however, they came straight back down again in dramatic fashion.
10th place and the “old man”: 10th place
10th place and the “old man”: 10th place in 2018/19 was seen as a real success for Friedhelm Funkel’s team. “Fortuna were one of the biggest surprises,” said former player Mike Rietpietsch. “That was only possible because calm had finally returned to the club.” Though even that calm did not last long: in the winter break chief executive Robert Schäfer announced that Fortuna and Funkel would part ways at the end of the season because they could not agree on contract length.
10th place and the “old man”: 10th place in 2018/19 was seen as a real success for Friedhelm Funkel’s team. “Fortuna were one of the biggest surprises,” said former player Mike Rietpietsch. “That was only possible because calm had finally returned to the club.” Though even that calm did not last long: in the winter break chief executive Robert Schäfer announced that Fortuna and Funkel would part ways at the end of the season because they could not agree on contract length. After fan protests, the supervisory board overruled Schäfer, and by season’s end Schäfer was gone while Funkel was still there – as of December 2019.
Friedhelm the record-promoter: club legend Friedhelm Funkel ...
Friedhelm the record-promoter: club legend Friedhelm Funkel only arrived at Fortuna Düsseldorf in 2016.
Friedhelm the record-promoter: club legend Friedhelm Funkel only arrived at Fortuna Düsseldorf in 2016. But in 2018, in Fortuna’s colours, he set a new record. Promotion to the Bundesliga – as champions of the second division – was the sixth of his career, an all-time record. He had previously taken Bayer Uerdingen twice, MSV Duisburg, 1. FC Köln and Eintracht Frankfurt up. On 5 October 2019, in a 1–3 defeat at Hertha BSC, Funkel managed his 500th Bundesliga match.
“Lumpi” Lambertz: he went through it all. Former
“Lumpi” Lambertz: he went through it all.
“Lumpi” Lambertz: he went through it all. Former youth player Andreas “Lumpi” Lambertz reached the fulfilment of his dreams in 2012 and set a unique record in professional German football. He went up to the Bundesliga with Düsseldorf after marching with the Flingerans all the way from the fourth tier to the very top.
The world champions’ front line: in Germany’s first
The world champions’ front line: in Germany’s first match after winning the 1974 World Cup, on 4 September in Basel, national coach Helmut Schön experimented and gave Dieter Herzog and Reiner Geye a chance out wide.
The world champions’ front line: in Germany’s first match after winning the 1974 World Cup, on 4 September in Basel, national coach Helmut Schön experimented and gave Dieter Herzog and Reiner Geye a chance out wide. At half-time he also sent on central striker Wolfgang Seel, which meant that for 45 minutes Fortuna Düsseldorf provided the entire forward line of the reigning world champions. A proud and unique day in the club’s history, crowned by Geye’s winner in a 2–1 victory.
A red flag to public television: in 1974
A red flag to public television: in 1974 Fortuna became one of the first Bundesliga sides to wear a shirt sponsor.
A red flag to public television: in 1974 Fortuna became one of the first Bundesliga sides to wear a shirt sponsor. Eintracht Braunschweig had broken the taboo in 1973 with Jägermeister. The DFB reluctantly gave permission. ARD and ZDF, however, threatened not to show matches involving sponsored clubs because they regarded it as surreptitious advertising. Fortuna’s bright red shirts carried the name of the supermarket chain allkauf, on a deal worth 50,000 deutschmarks per year, and thus became a red rag to the public broadcasters. Allkauf did not want the blame and quickly withdrew, leaving Fortuna with a blank chest again in 1975/76. Not for long, though: times changed, and from 1976 onward Fortuna advertised for the insurance company Arag. The shirt with the yellow circle on the chest became a cult object among supporters.
Reunion with Benfica: before the Bundesliga comeback in
Reunion with Benfica: before the Bundesliga comeback in 2012, Benfica Lisbon were Fortuna’s pre-season opponents.
Reunion with Benfica: before the Bundesliga comeback in 2012, Benfica Lisbon were Fortuna’s pre-season opponents. Benfica had also been Fortuna’s last opponents in a European competition, in the 1980/81 quarter-final of the Cup Winners’ Cup.
Manni, the terror of Fortuna: striker legend Manfred
Manni, the terror of Fortuna: striker legend Manfred “Manni” Burgsmüller, who died unexpectedly in May 2019, was the club’s greatest tormentor.
Manni, the terror of Fortuna: striker legend Manfred “Manni” Burgsmüller, who died unexpectedly in May 2019, was the club’s greatest tormentor. The striker, who played for Dortmund, Rot-Weiß Essen and Werder Bremen among others, scored 17 goals in 29 competitive matches against Fortuna. No one scored more against them.
Only one Spaniard: among all the foreign players
Only one Spaniard: among all the foreign players to appear for Fortuna Düsseldorf in the Bundesliga, there has been only one Spaniard – Juanan.
Only one Spaniard: among all the foreign players to appear for Fortuna Düsseldorf in the Bundesliga, there has been only one Spaniard – Juanan. Signed in 2011 from Real Madrid’s B team, the centre-back made 39 competitive appearances through 2014.
The youngest player? A goalkeeper: the youngest player
The youngest player?
The youngest player? A goalkeeper: the youngest player in Fortuna Düsseldorf’s Bundesliga history is goalkeeper Frank Kirn. On his debut, a 0–4 defeat to 1. FC Köln on 18 October 1986, he was 17 years, eight months and one day old, overtaking legendary libero Ralf Loose, who had debuted for Fortuna in 1978 at 18 years, six months and four days.
Goals on demand(t): no player ever scored more
Goals on demand(t): no player ever scored more for Fortuna Düsseldorf in a single season than Cologne-born Sven Demandt.
Goals on demand(t): no player ever scored more for Fortuna Düsseldorf in a single season than Cologne-born Sven Demandt. He played for the club in two spells, from 1984 to 1989 and from 1990 to 1992. In the successful 1988/89 second-division season, Demandt scored 35 goals in 38 matches and became top scorer of the second division. With 121 goals, he also remains the all-time leading scorer in the single-table 2. Bundesliga since 1981.
Fun Facts — Update 2020–2026
Greek loanee Christos Tzolis became a cult favourite in the 2023/24 season.
Greek loanee Christos Tzolis became a cult favourite
Greek loanee Christos Tzolis became a cult favourite in the 2023/24 season.
Greek loanee Christos Tzolis became a cult favourite in the 2023/24 season. The quick winger, on loan from Club Brugge, electrified the fans in the Merkur Spiel-Arena with his dribbling.