Fortuna Düsseldorf

Fortuna Düsseldorf: 1933 German champions, two-time DFB-Pokal winners, and 1979 European Cup Winners' Cup finalists.

Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V., commonly known as Fortuna Düsseldorf or Fortuna 95, is a German football club based in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia that competes in the German 3. Liga.

Quick Facts

First meeting: 1926-27 Gauliga season

Lore & Background

Founded in 1895, Fortuna entered the league in 1913 and was a fixture in the top flight from the early 1920s up to the creation of the Bundesliga in 1963, where they competed in 25 seasons. 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.

Reader's Guide

Fortuna's 1933 German championship victory came against Schalke 04, which was on the verge of becoming the era's dominant side. Fortuna was the first team to win the title without conceding a goal in the final rounds, beating Schalke 3–0 in the final. The club also lost the 1937 Tschammerpokal final to Schalke 04. In the Bundesliga era, Fortuna's best finishes were third place in 1972–73 and 1973–74. The club's DFB-Pokal wins came in 1979 (1–0 vs Hertha BSC) and 1980 (2–1 vs 1. FC Köln).

Did You Know?

Fortuna's 1933 German championship was the first won by a club from the industrial Rhine-Ruhr area.
Fortuna recorded a 7–1 victory against Bayern Munich on 9 December 1978, the highest away defeat for Bayern in Bundesliga history.
Between 1978 and 1981, Fortuna established a record of 18 consecutive DFB-Pokal match victories.