SAMSTAG 15:30

Having nothing to do with fried chicken, Krefelder Fußbal Club Uerdingen 05 (also known as KFC Uerdingen 05) were formed in 1905 and played without distinction in the local amateur leagues, originally under the name of FC Uerdingen 05 and later as FC Bayern Uerdingen 05 when they became the sports club of chemical giant Bayer AG. 

By the early 1960s, they had begun to make progress and following a series of strong campaigns over the next few years incredibly won promotion to the Bundesliga in 1975. The stay was a brief one however as they were promptly relegated but after steadying themselves in Bundesliga.2, they were back in the top flight a few years later for another go. They lasted two years this time, but after another relegation they returned in 1983 to begin the club's most successful period. They won their first (and only) major honour in 1985 when they beat Bayern Munich 2-1 in the DFB-Pokal final and followed this up with their highest ever Bundesliga finish when they finished third in 1986. As a result of their cup win the previous season, the year also saw the club compete in the European Cup Winners Cup, and in a match that still makes Uerdingen supporters of a certain vintage go misty-eyed at the memory, overcame a 1-5 deficit to beat Dynamo Dresden in the quarter-finals with six second-half goals in the home leg.

The club then spent the next few years as an 'elevator crew', bouncing between the top divisions as they had done a decade before. However, once Bayer withdrew their funding in 1995, KFC Uerdingen 05 (as they became known at this point) suffered financial difficulties and gradually slipped down the league pyramid. The club were in the sixth tier of German football by 2009 and as things became ever more desperate a host of fundraising schemes were launched including an Ebay auction for the opportunity to manage the team for a game, and inviting 00s rockstar Pete Doherty (who apparently is a chilldhood Uerdingen fan) to a league match.

The club has since recovered some of it's football composure, and after a couple of promotions and a rather fortuitous league restructure they are now back in playing in the 3.Liga.