1. FC Köln is the pre-eminent football club in Cologne, Germany.
The club was formed in 1948.
It was a founding member of the West German Bundesliga and won the championship in its inaugural season of 1963/1964.
In all, 1. FC Köln has won the domestic championship three times and the German Cup four times, including the double in the 1977/1978 season.
In the early years of the Bundesliga, Cologne (called "Der FC" by it´s fans) was the most successful club in West Germany in terms of total points won; however since the early 1980s the club has suffered a decline in achievement and in 1999 it was relegated for the first time.
In recent years it has been flitting between the top and second divisions.
It´s most recent move between the two divisions was relegation from the First Bundesliga at the end of the 2003/04 season.
The club's most famous tie came in 1965 in the quarter-finals of the European Cup, where they met England's Liverpool F.C..
After two 0-0 draws, a third match was played which also ended in a 2-2 stalemate.
As the penalty shootout was yet to be instigated as a means of deciding a tie, Köln went out of the competition on the toss of a coin.
In common with many German professional football clubs, 1. FC Köln also incorporates teams playing other sports, in their case specifically handball, table tennis and gymnastics.
Notable players
Notable managers
Honours
- UEFA cup winners (1986)
- Bundesliga champions x 3 (1962, 1964, 1978)
- Bundesliga runners-up x 7 (1960, 1963, 1965, 1973, 1982, 1989, 1990)
- German Cup winners x 4 (1968, 1977, 1978, 1983)
- German Cup finalists x 6 (1954, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1980, 1991)
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