The Sparkassen Verbandsliga Rheinland has a new king: Fortuna Cologne. The fact that a team that “played together five times in six months” defied established giants borders on a minor fairy tale.
Captain Pascal Altpass didn’t want to hear anything about a bittersweet note in his interview with eSport after winning the final: “It’s a sweeter note. Because we managed to beat teams that play together continuously.”
He had just won the 2025 season with Fortuna Cologne in the final of the Sparkassen Verbandsliga Rheinland against favorites and defending champions Alemannia Aachen. In a Pro Clubs team that probably only got back together for this tournament. After they had actually withdrawn from regular ProLeague competition in 2024 and disbanded. A “revival,” as Altpass had christened it.
Fortuna turns Cologne duel against Fühlingen-Chorweiler around
In the first semifinal of the Final4, Fortuna faced SV Fühlingen-Chorweiler in the Cologne duel. Despite high-quality chances on both sides, it was a set piece goal that decided the first game in favor of SVF. However, the tournament format saved Fortuna for the time being: the semifinals were still played in a best-of-two format, while the third-place play-off and final were later played as single matches.
Fortuna took advantage of this opportunity in the second leg – in the third minute from a corner and shortly afterwards on the counterattack. A chip ball from captain Altpass set up the second goal – a trademark of the team. But Fortuna also distinguished itself with its hard-working defensive play: Fühlingen-Chorweiler was unable to create a single clear-cut chance after that. SVF was consequently narrowly defeated in the first semifinal.
Aachen’s defensive bulwark frustrates Rellinghausen
On the other side of the tournament tree, there was a repeat of the 2024 season final: Alemannia Aachen against ESC Rellinghausen. In the first game, the black and yellow defending champions took an early lead after winning the ball high up the pitch and then controlled the game. For the longest time, Rellinghausen’s keeper Jeffrey Goldsmith was able to prevent a bigger deficit. But after a dream move down the wing, even he had no chance in the end – 2-0 final score for Aachen.
So Rellinghausen was under pressure in the second leg: they had to make up three goals after conceding another early goal, and last season’s runners-up played with corresponding intensity. In the 32nd minute, an ESC player broke through the Aachen defense, which had been almost flawless up to that point, and scored the equalizer.
This was followed by a period of enormous pressure: every attempt by the defending champions to clear the ball was immediately thwarted – and yet Rellinghausen repeatedly failed to find the final pass. A counterattack in injury time finally decided the game in Aachen’s favor, allowing them to continue their mission to defend their title.
Fühlingen climbs onto the podium with a thrilling comeback
In the match for third place, it was Rellinghausen who got off to the better start. Goalkeeper Jan Reif kept SV Fühlingen-Chorweiler in the game for a long time – but he still had to pick the ball out of his net twice in the first half: first after a corner, then after a strong solo run by Maurice Kumar, who left three defenders in his wake in a tight space.
“We were annoyed for a moment, then we all looked at each other and pushed ourselves again,” said Fühlingen captain Dominik Voigt after the game in an interview with eSport: “Everyone works for everyone else in our team.” This enabled them to catch up in the first half and equalize shortly after the break. And then the big nerves set in: no one wanted to make the decisive mistake, and both sides were visibly tense.
Until the 85th minute, when relief came. To the cheers of their friends from Aachen, Fühlingen combined to take the lead; shortly afterwards, they added another goal to make it 4-2. SVF won the bronze medal for the second time in a row. But the team is not satisfied with that for the future, as captain Voigt made clear: “All good things come in threes—but we don’t want to come third three times.”
Final: Altpass over the chain – Fortuna on cloud nine
Even before the tournament, Altpass had emphasized that determination would decide whether his Fortuna team had a chance of winning the Sparkassen Verbandsliga Rheinland title. They seemed to have had a perfect day. “When we went into the final and scored the first goal very quickly, I knew we were going to win. I knew we would score another and they would score one too – but 2-1 means victory,” explained the captain – and that’s exactly how it turned out. Altpass played a key role in both goals – with a chip ball behind the defense. Each time, he had loudly pushed the team on, showing more emotion than any other player in the tournament. The expected goal was conceded, but Fortuna played for time according to all the rules: set pieces, passing combinations, long balls. A brief period of pressure from Aachen came too late, and Cologne were crowned the new champions of the Sparkassen Verbandsliga Rheinland.
After the final whistle, the captain explained to eSport what the future holds for the temporarily reunited Fortuna team: “It will probably stay as it is – we won’t continue playing together. Although one or two people have already approached me today and asked about a collaboration. So we’ll see.”
And he still has a glimmer of hope for his beloved Cologne club. “We’ll see. Now that they at Fortuna see that we’ve won here, maybe something will come of it,” said the former soccer player.