With a furious comeback, second division football team Fortuna Düsseldorf won the first free game in the history of German professional football in front of 52,000 spectators and its fans enthusiastic.
If those responsible at Fortuna had discussed with marketing strategists in advance and thought about what good advertising for German football would look like in the first free game in history, then the result would probably be pretty close to what the Düsseldorf team offered on Saturday evening. Drama, lots of goals and a Happy end were the main ingredients.
0:3 deficit after 32 minutes
Everything started dramatically from the perspective of the hosts and theirs fans at. It wasn’t just because of the 3-0 deficit after just 32 minutes – it was also the way the goals came: the first from Richmond Tachie through a deflected shot, the second from an own goal from Jamil Siebert and the third from a follow-up shot by Marlon Ritter. The last FCK prank also had a dramatic aftermath because a plastic bottle flew onto the field and hit guest player Ragnar Ache in the head. That could still have consequences – but more on that later.
Since Ache was able to continue playing, the focus of the game remained on the spectacle. The Fortunes were by no means shocked by the deficit, but scored their first goal just four minutes after Ao Tanaka made it 3-0. The fact that it fell before the break kept the hope of a turnaround in the stands and on the pitch alive.
Iyoha starts the comeback with a hit on the crossbar
This hope seemed fortunaCoach To have fired up Daniel Thioune effectively during the half-time break and, according to striker Emmanuel Iyoha, even before that: “It sounds absurd, but the coach went through a similar scenario with us before the game. We knew what could happen if we fell behind.”
The Fortunes also seemed to know what to do if they fell behind. They came out of the locker room swinging, and after Iyoha hit the crossbar, Matthias Zimmermann and Felix Klaus had better luck. With their goals to make it 3-3, they paved the way for Tanaka, who scored his second goal in the 63rd minute Match winner advanced and Fortuna shot to fourth place in the table – just two points behind leaders St. Pauli.
If Fortuna’s free games always go like they did on Saturday against FCK, sponsors, fans and team should be equally right. Assuming, of course, it stays that way Happy end of the spectacle. There is still a little uncertainty in view of the bottle throwing that was already mentioned. The game was interrupted after the throw, but not stopped. The people of Lauter still want to watch the scene again in peace and could still protest against the rating of the game. According to the rules of the German Football League (DFL), this must happen within two days.
An “evening for them history books”
If you look at the purely sporting record of Lauterer coach Dirk Schuster, the outcome of the 4:3 spectacle is probably okay: “We didn’t lose the game by throwing a coke.” If this Happy end Whether it will last remains to be seen. Either way, the first free game in German professional football will not only be remembered by the fortune-tellers: “This is an evening for the history books. Praise to everyone for actually coming and filling up the place. And transferring a great feeling to the place. It’s a great evening today.”said FortuneKeeper and captain Florian Kastenmeier.
By the way, there will be more free games in Düsseldorf – against St. Pauli and Eintracht Braunschweig. The second division team is to receive around 40 million euros over five years in order to play three home games per season in which the audience is granted free entry. The aim is to get the sponsors for thispool to expand and offer more free spins.
