2024–25 1. FC Köln season

1. FC Köln
2024–25 season
Manager	Gerhard Struber; (until 5 May); Friedhelm Funkel; (from 5 May)
Stadium	RheinEnergieStadion
2. Bundesliga	1st (promoted)
DFB-Pokal	Quarter-finals
Top goalscorer	League: ; Tim Lemperle (8); All: ; Tim Lemperle (8)
Biggest win	1. FC Köln 5–0 Eintracht Braunschweig
Biggest defeat	1. FC Köln 1–2 Hamburger SV; 1. FC Köln 1–2 1. FC Magdeburg
	All statistics correct as of 21 September 2024.

The 2024–25 season was the 77th season in the history of 1. FC Köln. In addition to the domestic league, the team is scheduled to participate in the DFB-Pokal. After a 4–0 win against Kaiserslautern on the final matchday, they secured promotion and then finished as champions of the 2. Bundesliga after already-promoted Hamburger SV lost 3–2 to Greuther Fürth.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Transfers

In

Pos.	Player	Transferred from	Fee	Date	Source
MF	Mathias Olesen	Yverdon-Sport	Loan return	30 June 2024
GK	Jonas Urbig	Greuther Fürth	Loan return	30 June 2024
DF	Nikola Soldo	1. FC Kaiserslautern	Loan return	30 June 2024	^[4]
FW	Marvin Obuz	Rot-Weiss Essen	Loan return	30 June 2024
FW	Tim Lemperle	Greuther Fürth	Loan return	30 June 2024
MF	Chilohelm Onuoha	RB Leipzig U19		1 July 2024
FW	Mansour Ouro-Tagba	1860 Munich		1 July 2024
DF	Rasmus Carstensen	Genk	€1,500,000	1 July 2024
FW	Luca Waldschmidt	VfL Wolfsburg	Undisclosed	1 July 2024	^[5]
DF	Jusuf Gazibegović	Sturm Graz	€2,000,000	1 January 2025	^[6]
FW	Imad Rondić	Widzew Łódź	€1,500,000	3 February 2025	^[7]

Out

Pos.	Player	Transferred to	Fee	Date	Source
DF	Rasmus Carstensen	Genk	Loan return	30 June 2024
MF	Faride Alidou	Eintracht Frankfurt	Loan return	30 June 2024
DF	Benno Schmitz	Grasshopper	End of contract	1 July 2024	^[8]
FW	Davie Selke	Hamburger SV	End of contract	1 July 2024	^[9]
FW	Mansour Ouro-Tagba	Jahn Regensburg	Loan	1 July 2024	^[10]
DF	Jeff Chabot	VfB Stuttgart	€4,000,000	1 July 2024	^[11]
FW	Justin Diehl	VfB Stuttgart	End of contract	1 July 2024	^[12]
MF	Chilohelm Onuoha	SC Verl	Loan	2 July 2024	^[13]
FW	Sargis Adamyan	Jahn Regensburg	Loan	3 January 2025	^[14]
FW	Florian Dietz	Rheindorf Altach	Loan	5 January 2025	^[15]
DF	Elias Bakatukanda	Blau-Weiß Linz	Loan	8 January 2025	^[16]

Friendlies

Pre-season

29 June 2024 Friendly	VfL Rheingold 1912 Köln-Poll	0–18	1. FC Köln	Cologne
14:00 UTC+2		Report	Adamyan 2' Waldschmidt 6' (pen.), 12', 36' Martel 20', 24', 45' Downs 49', 63', 79', 89' Tigges 50', 67' Olesen 54' Wäschenbach 60' Huseinbašić 74' Čuber Potočnik 76' Dietz 86'	Stadium: Südstadion Attendance: 2,500

5 July 2024 Friendly	Sportfreunden Siegen	0–6	1. FC Köln	Siegen
15:45 UTC+2		Report	Waldschmidt 7' Huseinbašić 10' Lemperle 30', 41' Martel 36' Adamyan 72' (pen.)	Stadium: Leimbachstadion Attendance: 6,500 Referee: Felix Weller

10 July 2024 Friendly	SC Union Nettetal	v	1. FC Köln	Nettetal
18:00
Note: The match was cancelled due to security concerns.^[17]

13 July 2024 Friendly	1. FC Köln	3–1	Kickers Offenbach	Cologne
14:00	Hübers 36' Adamyan 54', 77'	Report	Mustafa 6'	Stadium: Südstadion Attendance: 4,100 Referee: Lutz Meyersieck

19 July 2024 Friendly	1. FC Köln	3–0	Sint-Truiden	Euskirchen
18:00	Lemperle 17' Downs 54' Dietz 79'	Report		Stadium: Heinz-Flohe-Stadion Attendance: 3,500

20 July 2024 Friendly	Viktoria Köln	3–3	1. FC Köln	Cologne
14:00	Engelhardt 4' Vrenezi 50' Güler 74'	Report	Adamyan 19' Heintz 43' Dietz 47' Smajić 64' Thielmann 89'	Stadium: Sportpark Höhenberg Attendance: 6,214 Referee: Luca Marx

24 July 2024 Friendly	1. FC Köln	2–1	Swansea City	Bad Waltersdorf, Austria
16:00	Lemperle 11', 14'		Cabango 41'	Stadium: Thermenstadion

27 July 2024 Friendly	Udinese	2–3	1. FC Köln	St. Veit an der Glan, Austria
16:00 UTC+2	Success 8' Lucca 25'		Downs 45' Kabasele 45+1' (o.g.) Ljubičić 67'	Stadium: Sportplatz St. Veit Rennbahn

Mid-season

20 March 2025 Friendly	1. FC Köln	1–2	SC Verl
14:00

Competitions

Overall record

Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Record
Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
2. Bundesliga	2 August 2024	18 May 2025	Matchday 1	32	16	7	9	47	37	+10	050.00
DFB-Pokal	18 August 2024		First round	0	0	0	0	0	0	+0	!—
Total				32	16	7	9	47	37	+10	050.00

Last updated: 3 May 2025
Source: Soccerway

2. Bundesliga

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion, qualification or relegation
1	1. FC Köln (C, P)	34	18	7	9	53	38	+15	61	Promotion to Bundesliga
2	Hamburger SV (P)	34	16	11	7	78	44	+34	59	Promotion to Bundesliga
3	SV Elversberg	34	16	10	8	64	37	+27	58	Qualification for promotion play-offs
4	SC Paderborn	34	15	10	9	56	46	+10	55
5	1. FC Magdeburg	34	14	11	9	64	52	+12	53

Source: Bundesliga
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head results; 5) Head-to-head away goals scored; 6) Away goals scored; 7) Play-off.^[18]
(Rules 4–6 only apply after home and away matches have been played between the tied teams.)
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted

Results summary


Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
29	15	6	8	43	34	+9	51	7	3	4	25	16	+9	8	3	4	18	18	0

Last updated: 11 April 2025.
Source: DFB

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34
Ground	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H
Result	L	D	W	W	L	D	D	W	L	L	W	W	W	D	W	W	W	L	W	W	W	L	D	L	W	W	W	L	D
Position	12	13	8	6	8	9	8	7	10	12	11	7	5	7	6	2	1	3	2	1	1	1	2	5	2	2	1	2	2

Updated to match(es) played on 11 April 2025. Source: DFB
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

The match schedule was released on 4 July 2024.^[19]

2 August 2024 1	1. FC Köln	1–2	Hamburger SV	Cologne
20:30	Lemperle 39' Pauli 69' Maina 78'	Report	Königsdörffer 5', 35', 86' Muheim 45+3'	Stadium: RheinEnergieStadion Attendance: 50,000 Referee: Max Burda

10 August 2024 2	SV Elversberg	2–2	1. FC Köln	Spiesen-Elversberg
13:00				Stadium: Waldstadion an der Kaiserlinde Referee: Tom Bauer

24 August 2024 3	1. FC Köln	5–0	Eintracht Braunschweig	Cologne
20:30				Stadium: RheinEnergieStadion Referee: Matthias Jöllenbeck

1 September 2024 4	Schalke 04	1–3	1. FC Köln	Gelsenkirchen
13:30				Stadium: Veltins-Arena Referee: Sven Jablonski

14 September 2024 5	1. FC Köln	1–2	1. FC Magdeburg	Cologne
20:30				Stadium: RheinEnergieStadion Referee: Richard Hempel

21 September 2024 6	Fortuna Düsseldorf	2–2	1. FC Köln	Düsseldorf
13:00				Stadium: Merkur Spiel-Arena Referee: Christian Dingert

29 September 2024 7	1. FC Köln	4–4	Karlsruher SC	Cologne
13:30	Waldschmidt 3' Downs 7' 15' Lemperle 45+2'	Report	Burnić 6' Wanitzek 19' 27' 45+4' 55' Jensen 52' Günther 61'	Stadium: RheinEnergieStadion Attendance: 50,000 Referee: Benjamin Brand

5 October 2024 8	1. FC Köln	2–0	Ulm	Cologne
13:00 CET	Hübers 8' 25' Finkgräfe 34' Waldschmidt 47' 73' Paqarada 70'	Report	Max Brandt 21' Chessa 84'	Stadium: RheinEnergieStadion Attendance: 49,900 Referee: Patrick Alt

18 October 2024 9	Darmstadt	5–1	1. FC Köln	Darmstadt
18:30 CET	Hornby 11' 40' Lidberg 41' 54' Förster 65' Vilhelmsson 90' Vukotić 90+4'	Report	Lemperle 38' 46' Heintz 90+2' Hübers 90+3'	Stadium: Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor Attendance: 17,810 Referee: Frank Willenborg

25 October 2024 10	1. FC Köln	1–2	Paderborn	Cologne
18:30 CET	Ljubičić 62' Thielmann 66'	Report	Ansah 40' Luis Engelns 61' Castañeda 68' Zehnter 69' Michel 76' 80'	Stadium: RheinEnergieStadion Attendance: 50,000 Referee: Florian Lechner

2 November 2024 11	Hertha BSC	0–1	1. FC Köln	Berlin
20:30 CET	Leistner 40' Dárdai 58' Karbownik 62' Þorsteinsson 90+4'	Report	Lemperle 31' Julian Pauli 72' Schwäbe 76'	Stadium: Olympiastadion Attendance: 68,763 Referee: Harm Osmers

9 November 2024 12	1. FC Köln	1–0	Greuther Fürth	Cologne
13:00 CET	Heintz 44' Downs 90+1' 90+4'	Report	Futkeu 44' Michalski 45' Dietz 64' Jung 90+1'	Stadium: RheinEnergieStadion Attendance: 49,600 Referee: Daniel Schlager

22 November 2024 13	Preußen Münster	0–1	1. FC Köln	Münster
18:45 CET	Preißinger 28' Jakob Korte 79' Amenyido 90+6'	Report	Lemperle 51' Paqarada 55'	Stadium: Preußenstadion Attendance: 12,422 Referee: Felix Prigan

30 November 2024 14	1. FC Köln	2–2	Hannover 96	Cologne
13:00 CET	Lemperle 48' Kainz 77' Downs 81'	Report	Ngankam 25' Nielsen 43' Christiansen 54' Kainz 86' (o.g.)	Stadium: RheinEnergieStadion Attendance: 50,000 Referee: Sören Storks

8 December 2024 15	Jahn Regensburg	0–1	1. FC Köln	Regensburg
13:30 CET	Kother 58'	Report	Heintz 21' Lemperle 33' Huseinbašić 73' Martel 86'	Stadium: Jahnstadion Regensburg Attendance: 14,232 Referee: Konrad Oldhafer

15 December 2024 16	1. FC Köln	3–1	1. FC Nürnberg	Cologne
13:30 CET	Downs 6' Kainz 17' (pen.) Huseinbašić 31' Hübers 32' Heintz 41' Thielmann 55' Ljubičić 84'	Report	Yılmaz 50' Mathenia 57' Castrop 59'	Stadium: RheinEnergieStadion Attendance: 50,0000 Referee: Robin Braun

22 December 2024 17	1. FC Kaiserslautern	0–1	1. FC Köln	Kaiserslautern
13:30 CET	Gyamerah 56' Heuer 67'	Report	Ljubičić 33' 40' Schwäbe 81' Maina 90+4'	Stadium: Fritz-Walter-Stadion Attendance: 49,327 Referee: Wolfgang Haslberger

18 January 2025 18	Hamburg	1–0	1. FC Köln	Hamburg
20:45 CET	Pherai 13' Königsdörffer 78' Daniel Elfadli 84' Mikelbrencis 90+5'	Report	Gazibegović 6' Waldschmidt 55' Hübers 73' Finkgräfe 77'	Stadium: Volksparkstadion Attendance: 57,000 Referee: Christian Dingert

25 January 2025 19	1. FC Köln	1–0	Elversberg	Cologne
13:00 CET	Gazibegović 56' Ljubičić 81'	Report	Asllani 30' Neubauer 64' Filimon Gerezgiher 83' Elias Baum 90+1' 90+3' Pinckert 90+5'	Stadium: RheinEnergieStadion Attendance: 49,800 Referee: Tom Bauer

1 February 2025 20	Eintracht Braunschweig	1–2	1. FC Köln	Braunschweig
13:00 CET	Bičakčić 1' Philippe 34' Gomez 60' Köhler 79' Ba 81'	Report	Martel 13' Downs 30' Hübers 44' Paqarada 46'	Stadium: Eintracht-Stadion Attendance: 21,864 Referee: Lars Erbst

DFB-Pokal

18 August 2024 First round	SV Sandhausen	2–3	1. FC Köln	Sandhausen
15:30				Stadium: Hardtwaldstadion

29 October 2024 Second round	1. FC Köln	3–0	Holstein Kiel	Cologne
20:45	Lemperle 8' 89' Huseinbašić 44' Waldschmidt 84' 90+7' Paqarada 90+4'	Report	Gigović 37' Porath 52' Machino 76' Arp 79'	Stadium: RheinEnergieStadion Attendance: 48,000 Referee: Bastian Dankert

4 December 2024 Round of 16	1. FC Köln	2–1 (a.e.t.)	Hertha BSC	Cologne
18:00 CET	Hübers 25' Heintz 28' Niederlechner 30' (o.g.) Lemperle 59' Ljubičić 120+1' (pen.) 120+2'	Report	Maza 12' (pen.) Zeefuik 25' Demme 69' Bouchalakis 120'	Stadium: RheinEnergieStadion Attendance: 50,000 Referee: Tobias Reichel

5 February 2025 Quarter-finals	Bayer Leverkusen	3–2	1. FC Köln	Leverkusen
20:45 CET				Stadium: BayArena

References

^ France-Presse, Agence (18 May 2025). "Koln win Bundesliga 2 to secure immediate return to top tier". theScore.com. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
^ "Welcome back Cologne! All you need to know on the Billy Goats following their promotion to the Bundesliga". www.bundesliga.com. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
^ "Hamburg miss out on title in Greuther Fürth defeat". www.bundesliga.com. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
^ "1. FC Kaiserslautern: Warum Soldo mehr Chancen auf Einsatzzeit hat". 3 June 2024.
^ "Köln confirm Waldschmidt's permanent capture: "I will give 111 percent."". Bulinews.Com. 20 June 2024.
^ "Jusuf Gazibegovic joins FC | 1. FC Köln". fc.de.
^ "Imad Rondić joins FC | 1. FC Köln". 1. FC Köln. 3 February 2025. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
^ "Ließ Köln-Angebot verstreichen: Ex-FC-Profi hat einen neuen Klub gefunden: "Eine ideale Verstärkung"". 27 July 2024.
^ "HSV confirm Selke pick up". Bulinews.Com. 11 July 2024.
^ "Stürmer Mansour Ouro-Tagba verstärkt die Jahnelf". www.ssv-jahn.de. 13 June 2024.
^ "Stuttgart sign defender Chabot from relegated Cologne". Yahoo Sports. 25 May 2024.
^ "Diehl signs for next season". VfB Stuttgart.
^ "Chilohelm Onuoha joins FC | 1. FC Köln". fc.de.
^ "FC loan out Sargis Adamyan | 1. FC Köln". fc.de.
^ "Florian Dietz joins SCR Altach on loan | 1. FC Köln". fc.de.
^ https://fc.de/bakatukanda-neuer-vertrag-und-leihe
^ "Sicherheitsbedenken – Das Testspiel gegen Nettetal ist abgesagt". OneFootball. 11 July 2024.
^ "DFL–Spielordnung (SpOL)" [Match rules] (PDF) (in German). Deutsche Fußball Liga. 7 June 2024. p. 3. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
^ "2024/25 Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 fixture lists to be released on 4 July". bundesliga.com. 7 June 2024.

[1] France-Presse, Agence (18 May 2025). "Koln win Bundesliga 2 to secure immediate return to top tier". theScore.com. Retrieved 5 July 2025.

[2] "Welcome back Cologne! All you need to know on the Billy Goats following their promotion to the Bundesliga". www.bundesliga.com. Retrieved 5 July 2025.

[3] "Hamburg miss out on title in Greuther Fürth defeat". www.bundesliga.com. Retrieved 5 July 2025.

[4] "1. FC Kaiserslautern: Warum Soldo mehr Chancen auf Einsatzzeit hat". 3 June 2024.

[5] "Köln confirm Waldschmidt's permanent capture: "I will give 111 percent."". Bulinews.Com. 20 June 2024.

[6] "Jusuf Gazibegovic joins FC | 1. FC Köln". fc.de.

[7] "Imad Rondić joins FC | 1. FC Köln". 1. FC Köln. 3 February 2025. Retrieved 6 February 2025.

[8] "Ließ Köln-Angebot verstreichen: Ex-FC-Profi hat einen neuen Klub gefunden: "Eine ideale Verstärkung"". 27 July 2024.

[9] "HSV confirm Selke pick up". Bulinews.Com. 11 July 2024.

[10] "Stürmer Mansour Ouro-Tagba verstärkt die Jahnelf". www.ssv-jahn.de. 13 June 2024.

[11] "Stuttgart sign defender Chabot from relegated Cologne". Yahoo Sports. 25 May 2024.

[12] "Diehl signs for next season". VfB Stuttgart.

[13] "Chilohelm Onuoha joins FC | 1. FC Köln". fc.de.

[14] "FC loan out Sargis Adamyan | 1. FC Köln". fc.de.

[15] "Florian Dietz joins SCR Altach on loan | 1. FC Köln". fc.de.

[16] ttps://fc.de/bakatukanda-neuer-vertrag-und-leihe

[17] "Sicherheitsbedenken – Das Testspiel gegen Nettetal ist abgesagt". OneFootball. 11 July 2024.

[18] "DFL–Spielordnung (SpOL)" [Match rules] (PDF) (in German). Deutsche Fußball Liga. 7 June 2024. p. 3. Retrieved 10 September 2024.

[19] "2024/25 Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 fixture lists to be released on 4 July". bundesliga.com. 7 June 2024.

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