1. FC Cologne (commonly referred to as "Cologne"; German: FC Köln) is a German professional football club based in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, founded in 1948. The club is nicknamed "the Goats". It was formed from the merger of Kölner Ballspiel-Club 1901 and SpVgg Sülz 07. Like many other professional football clubs in Germany, they are part of a larger sports club that also has teams in handball, table tennis, and gymnastics.
In 1963, 1. FC Cologne was selected as one of the initial 16 teams to participate in the newly established Bundesliga, Germany's professional football league. Cologne continued their victorious path, becoming the first champions of the Bundesliga in the 1963-64 season. The 1977-78 season was the most glorious for Cologne, as they won the Bundesliga title, marking their third national championship.
After the club returned to the European stage in 2018, its fortunes changed rapidly. The team had a poor start in the 2017-18 Bundesliga season, earning only 3 points from the first 16 matches. Meanwhile, the club's Europa League campaign also ended in the group stage. This downward trend led to Jörg Schmadtke's resignation, and Stöger was dismissed in December 2017, with Stefan Ruttenbeck appointed as interim coach. Despite an improvement in performance in the second half of the season, the team still finished at the bottom of the table and was relegated to the 2. Bundesliga by the end of the year.