The best eleven of 1. FC Köln of all time
1. FC Köln is characterized by “ups & downs” but is one of the most traditional teams in German football. The Effzeh legends also played a big part in numerous victories in world and European championships for the DFB team. We take a look at the Allstar XI.
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The 73-time German international goalkeeper was under contract with 1.FC Köln between 1972 and 1987. Schumacher played 542 competitive games for the “Effzeh”, which makes him the record player for Cologne, and he celebrated a championship title and three cup successes with the team. He was also European champion with the DFB-Elf in 1980 and twice named German Footballer of the Year.
His time as a Cologne professional ended with his book “Abpfiff”, which is a general settlement with German football. After publication, the keeper never enters an international match again.
The strong central defender played for 1.FC Köln between 2008 and 2012 and was one of the really few bright spots in a rather difficult time in Cologne. Previously, he was named player of the season at Vitória Guimarães.
The two-time Brazilian international played 123 games and enriched the Cologne defense enormously, especially in his early years. The now 36-year-old is back in Brazil, where he captains second-division club Gremio.
Kohler took his first steps towards a world career at FC Köln. The defender played for the billy goats from 1987 to 1989 after moving from Mannheim. Kohler played 67 competitive games before continuing his career with Borussia Dortmund and Juventus Turin. The 56-year-old has won pretty much everything: world champion, European champion, champions league winner, champion in Italy and Germany, world cup winner. He was also once voted German footballer of the year.
Jonas Hector is a leader and reliable worker that every coach likes to have on the team. The left-back has only played for “Effzeh” in his professional career and has played 307 games to date. The highlight of his career was with the German national team, when he converted the decisive penalty against Buffon in the 2016 European Championship quarter-finals against Italy.
The midfielder played for 1. FC Köln from 1978 to 1986 and from 1987 to 1993. His time in Cologne was only interrupted by a year at RC Paris. Littbarski was one of the best technicians in Germany and completed 504 games for Effzeh. He scored 144 goals and gave 57 assists. This makes him the fifth-best scorer and third-best assister in club history. Littbarski was a cup winner with Cologne and a world champion with Germany in 1990.
Wolfgang Weber worked for “Effzeh” between 1962 and 1978 and acted as a central defender and midfielder. Weber played a total of 468 games, which puts him sixth in club history. Weber celebrated his two championships with the club in his first and his last year as a professional player. But even in between, the player kicked very successfully and appeared 53 times for the DFB-Elf.
It’s hard to believe, but Thomas Hässler was a very successful footballer before his time at the jungle camp. The 1.66 meter small midfielder began his professional career in 1984 with “Effzeh” and remained loyal to the billy goats until 1990. Hässler was voted German Footballer of the Year for the first time in 1989 and a year later won the World Cup with Germany. After this success he moved to Italy and kicked for Juventus Turin and AS Roma. He later returns to Germany.
Löhr played for 1.FC Köln from 1964 to 1978 and has played 503 games for the club, which puts him in fifth place internally. The left winger and striker scored 236 goals for the ‘Effzeh’, making him the club’s all-time leading goalscorer. Löhr was champion once and top scorer once. He was even more successful in the DFB Cup, which he won three times and was top scorer four times. The 20-time national player was also European champion with Germany.
The attacking midfielder is one of the club’s absolute legends. With 537 appearances for 1.FC Köln, Overath is the internal vice-record player. The now 78-year-old has scored 120 goals and provided 81 assists, making him Cologne’s all-time leading assist provider. Overath was a great technician and a creative mind. He was also part of the 1974 World Cup team and won both the championship and the DFB Cup with the team from Cologne.
Of course, “Prinz Poldi” is not allowed to play in this line-up either. Even if he hasn’t remained loyal to Effzeh throughout his career compared to other club legends, there is hardly a player who could identify with the club like that. The powerful left footer came to “Effzeh” as a ten-year-old kid and played his way into the professional team. He played there from 2003 to 2006 before joining Bayern Munich.
In 2009 he returned to Cologne, but only stayed for three years. Podolski was drawn to Arsenal FC, where he was also successful, at least in phases.
Podolski scored 86 goals for Cologne. He has made 130 appearances for the national team, which puts him third in history. He was also part of the 2006 summer fairy tale and the 2014 world champion team.
The striker learned how to play football when he was a youth player in Düsseldorf and went scoring goals for Fortuna for a number of years before he joined 1. FC Köln in 1981. In six years, the attacker scored 120 goals and meanwhile became the top scorer in the Bundesliga and the UEFA Cup. In addition, he once became a champion and also collected numerous titles in his later stations. Allofs was also part of the German EM winning team in 1980.