1.FC Kaiserslautern 1.FC Kaiserslautern Despite the fact that it is essentially a backwater town (or perhaps because of it), this club has some of the most fanatical following in all Germany. Known as the Rote Teufel (Red Devils), Kaiserslautern has long been known for feisty, aggressive play. And despite many poor years, they have on many occasions risen to the very top of German soccer.
The original club has it's roots at the turn of the century. In 1900 Germania 1896 and FG Kaiserslautern merged to form FC 1900. In 1929, they merged with SV Phönix, and by 1932, they finally settled on the current name.
The start of the 1950s saw FCK scale the heights for the first time. With the club built around the talents of the legendary Fritz Walter, they won the title both in 1951 and 1953. It wasn't until some 40 years later, in 1991, that they would win the title again. This time, the star of the club was forward Stefan Kuntz.
After a disastrous year in 95-96, when Kaiserslautern dropped out of the Bundesliga for the first time, redemption came with new head coach Otto Rehagel. After marching threw the 2.Liga, FCK became the first directly promoted team to win the Bundesliga title in the first season.
The 1998-99 saw FCK unable to get off the ground and try and defend their title. Despite a respectable standing, the team failed to impress in most of their matches. Nevertheless, they have a strong squad, and should remain near the top of the table. They did just that in 99/00, but really didn't impress, finishing a disappointing (for their fans) 5th. The crap hit the fan in 2002-03. The team played horribly, and looked sure for releagtion. The club also collapsed financially, under a burden of the new stadium and alleged tax fraud. When it looked like this storied club would disappear, a savior appeared in ex-Belgian international Erik Gerets, who took over as coach and a furious run avoided relegation. The city and state also apparently kicked in money to help save the club, and star players, such as Miroslav Klose apparently made wage consessions. But things didn't improve the next year, as FCK barely hung on.
The game was up in 2006, and FCK went down. Rather than bouncing back immediately, the club went through a series of incompetent management fiascos, and in 2008 was almost relegated into the 3rd division. It took a last minute run to save the legendary club.
| Fullname | 1.Fußball-Club e.V. Kaiserslautern
| City |
Kaiserslautern
(Rheinland-Pfalz). Pop: 100,000 (2002)
| Address |
Fritz-Walter-Stadion, 67653 Kaiserslautern. Phone: (06 31) 3 18 80
| Colors |
Usually all red with white trim.
| Nickname |
Roten Teufel (Red Devils)
| Stadium |
Fritz-Walter-Stadion, also known as Betzenberg.
Capacity 41,582 (20,772 seats) | Was refurbished in 1998. Tickets |
Be prepared, as FCK usually sells out the games. If you can get them,
anywhere from 8.50-41 euros (2004). Tickets can be ordered online.
| Supporters |
Some of the most dedicated and die-hard supporters in all Germany.
Averaged over 38,000 in 2004.
| Friends |
|
Foes |
Most recently Bayern, since they stand in the way of winning the title.
Since they dominate the SW, they can pretty much ignore local clubs.
| Heroes |
Well over 20 german internationals. Fritz Walter (61 caps, 1940-58)
is one of Germany's most beloved players. His brother Ottmar (21
caps, 1950-56) was also pretty good. Midfielders Werner
Liebrich and Horst Eckel were also 54 World Cup winners.
Andreas Brehme has 40
caps for
FCK, and another 46 elsewhere (1984-94). Hans-Peter Briegel
was a rugged defender/midfielder, who later moved into club
management. (53 caps with FCK, 19 with Verona, 1979-86). One might
forget that Michael Ballack got his first cap with FCK. | Zeroes |
(Mis)management in the late 1990s-2000s has almost bankrupted the
club.
| Beer |
Karlsberg Urpils, from a
brewery
in nearby Homburg.
|
Grub and Pub |
| The Net |
Official site is www.fck.de . There are a
zillion fan sites. Worth mentioning is the english language sites, led by
Simon Chapman's e-mail list at
www.i-way.co.uk/~pod98/1fck.html
| |
Recent History: -------------- 1963-64 (I) Bundesliga 12th 1964-65 (I) Bundesliga 13th 1965-66 (I) Bundesliga 15th 1966-67 (I) Bundesliga 5th 1967-68 (I) Bundesliga 16th 1968-69 (I) Bundesliga 15th 1969-70 (I) Bundesliga 10th 1970-71 (I) Bundesliga 8th 1971-72 (I) Bundesliga 7th 1972-73 (I) Bundesliga 9th 1973-74 (I) Bundesliga 6th 1974-75 (I) Bundesliga 13th 1975-76 (I) Bundesliga 7th 1976-77 (I) Bundesliga 13th 1977-78 (I) Bundesliga 8th 1978-79 (I) Bundesliga 3rd 1979-80 (I) Bundesliga 3rd 1980-81 (I) Bundesliga 4th 1981-82 (I) Bundesliga 4th 1982-83 (I) Bundesliga 6th 1983-84 (I) Bundesliga 12th 1984-85 (I) Bundesliga 11th 1985-86 (I) Bundesliga 11th 1986-87 (I) Bundesliga 7th 1987-88 (I) Bundesliga 14th 1988-89 (I) Bundesliga 9th 1989-90 (I) Bundesliga 12th 1990-91 (I) Bundesliga 1st CHAMPIONS 1991-92 (I) Bundesliga 5th 1992-93 (I) Bundesliga 8th 1993-94 (I) Bundesliga 2nd 1994-95 (I) Bundesliga 4th 1995-96 (I) Bundesliga 16th DFB Cup Winner 1996-97 (II) 2.Bundesliga 1st 1997-98 (I) Bundesliga 1st CHAMPIONS 1998-99 (I) Bundesliga 5th 1999-00 (I) Bundesliga 5th 2000-01 (I) Bundesliga 8th 2001-02 (I) Bundesliga 7th 2002-03 (I) Bundesliga 14th 2003-04 (I) Bundesliga 15th 2004-05 (I) Bundesliga 12th 2005-06 (I) Bundesliga 16th 2006-07 (II) 2.Bundesliga 6th 2007-08 (II) 2.Bundesliga 13th 2008-09 (II) 2.Bundesliga 7th 2009-10 (II) 2.Bundesliga 1st 2010-11 (I) Bundesliga 7th 2011-12 (I) Bundesliga