Fortuna Düsseldorf 1972-1979

GOALKEEPERS:

Wilfried WOYKE
Jörg DANIEL

DEFENDERS:

Gerd ZEWE
Werner KRIEGLER
Gerd ZIMMERMANN
Werner LUNGWITZ
Fred HESSE
Reinhold FANZ
Dieter BREI
Heiner BALTES

MIDFIELDERS:

Egon KÖHNEN
Holger FACH
Klaus BUDDE
Rudi BOMMER
Josef HICKERSBERGER
Ralf DUSEND
Hubert SCHMITZ

FORWARDS:

Klaus ALLOFS
Flemming LUND
Dieter HERZOG
Wolfgang SEEL
Reiner GEYE
Thomas ALLOFS




In this period Fortuna's achievements included two third place league finishes (in the 1972/73 and 1973/1974 seasons). On December, the 9th, 1978 Fortuna obtained a 7:1 victory against FC Bayern Munich, up to date the highest away defeat for Germanys top club in their overall Bundesliga-history. In addition Fortuna continued prosperous in German Cup play, making another three appearances: after losing in their fifth appearance in the final in 1978 against local rivals 1.FC Cologne 0:2, they finally broke through and came away as cupholders in 1979 (1:0 against Hertha BSC Berlin) and then repeated in 1980 (2:1 against 1.FC Cologne). In this period they established a record for consecutive German Cup match victories (18 straight victories between 1978 and 1981). Fortuna is among a group of four teams which have made frequent appearances in the German Cup final only to come away empty handed. Like 1. FC Kaiserslautern they have just two wins against fives losses. 1. FC Cologne has four wins and six losses in the Cup final, while FC Schalke has been frustrated most often with four wins and seven losses. Four of 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 they finished as runners up to FC Barcelona, losing 4:3 in extra time in an exciting finale at Basle. It was the first of four occasions that the Catalan club won the tournament. Fortuna achieved their success mostly with hometown players like 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.