1. FC Köln, the yo-yo team of the Bundesliga

1. FC Köln has been at both extremes of German professional football. This proud club were the very first Bundesliga champions and the earliest German team to play in a European competition. They've also been relegated more than once and have spent more time in the second division than their heritage merits. Get involved with Cologne's famous Billy Goats – buy or sell 1. FC Köln tickets on StubHub.

Hennes the goat, a real live football mascot

The mascot of 1. FC Köln has always been a live goat named Hennes – there have been over eight of them in the team's history. He was named in honour of a hugely respected figure in 1. FC Köln figures, Hennes Weisweller, who was a much-loved player and manager. The club is over a century old, having been formed as Kölner BC in 1901. They won plenty of Westdeutscher championships until they merged with VfL Köln 1899 after the Second World War, changing their name to the current one. In the modern Bundesliga era, the team has played its home games at Rheinenergiestadion, which has also been known as Müngersdorfer Stadion, for most of its existence. A rival team that has always been a thorn in the side of 1. FC Köln is Hamburger SV. They lost their very first German Federal Republic national championship to the Hamburg team in 1960, and in 2005 were knocked out of 1. Bundesliga for the first time by the same team. Since then, they've been up and down the promotion/relegation ladder, but that's never dampened the spirits of their supporters, as you'll find out with 1. FC Köln tickets to any of their home games.

Early European football success

1. FC Köln had probably its most successful early season in 1978, when it won the German "double", finishing on top of the Bundesliga and winning the FDB-Pokal cup competition. It wasn't the first time they'd been Bundesliga champions, as they'd won the competition in its very first year in 1964. This earned them a place in the European competition, where they played in one of the strangest quarterfinals in European football history against Liverpool FC. Having played to a draw in all three games of the tie, and with the penalty shoot-out not yet a part of the game, the result was decided by a coin toss – and even then, the coin had to be tossed a second time when it landed vertically in the grass. As any 1. FC Köln fan would be able to tell you, Liverpool won the toss. The Cologne team did make the European final in 1986, however they lost to Real Madrid CF. Fans are nonetheless extremely proud of their team's heritage, so get some 1. FC Köln tickets on StubHub and you can experience it first-hand.