After a changeable season with interim worries about relegation, a change of coach followed by an impressive final sprint, Fortuna wants to take the momentum with them and, ideally, play for promotion.
That’s how last season went
Fortuna has been second-rate again for two years. After the goal of “direct promotion” was clearly missed in the end in the first year, the Rhinelanders started a new attempt last season with the new coach Christian Preusser. But already after the first half of the season it became apparent that promotion would not happen this season either. Fortuna had won only five of 17 games and finished a disappointing twelfth place with 20 points.
This was followed by four defeats in a row, with which Fortuna slipped down to the relegation place and the Prussians lost their job at the beginning of February. Düsseldorf signed Daniel Thioune as a replacement and scored a direct hit. Under Thioune, Düsseldorf remained unbeaten in the first twelve games (six wins, six draws) and soon got rid of all worries about relegation. In the “Thioune table” of the last 13 games of the season, only Schalke 04 and Werder Bremen, who were promoted later, were better.
On the last day of the game, Fortuna suffered their first defeat of the Thioune era with a 2-0 defeat at FC St. Pauli, but they ended the season in tenth place in the safe midfield, far away from promotion and relegation ranks.
Who is coming, who is going
After the end of the season was conciliatory, those responsible decided not to change things up in the summer and tried to keep the promising team under Thioune together. Central defender Jordy de Wijs (27) and midfielder Ao Tanaka (23) have been signed on loan from Queens Park Rangers and Kawasaki Frontale respectively.
Jordy de Wijs (from left) and Ao Tanaka
In particular, the long-term commitment of de Wijs (contract until 2026), who was more than convincing as a robust central defender in his ten games, can be seen as a success. A newcomer is the Austrian youth international and left-back Benjamin Böckle (20), who has moved to Düsseldorf from FC Liefering on a free transfer. Loan players Dawid Kownacki (Lech Posen) and Nana Ampomah (Royal Antwerp) also returned.
Florian Hartherz (Maccabi Netanya), Kai Eisele (Karlsruher SC), Lex-Tyger Lobinger (1. FC Kaiserslautern), Nikell Touglo (Viktoria Berlin), Thomas Pledl, Edgar Prib (both still without a club) and those on loan have left the club Robert Bozenik (Feyenoord Rotterdam) and Leonardo Koutris (Olympiacos Piraeus). Veteran Adam Bodzek will play for Fortuna’s U23s in the future. With Daniel Bunk, Niko Vukancic, Tim Corsten, Tom Geerkens and Elione Fernandes, five homegrown players were used in training and in the friendlies and can raise hopes of playing with the pros.
There is still a question mark over the whereabouts of Khaled Narey. After a strong season, the top scorer from Düsseldorf last season (eight goals, 15 assists) has been linked to some Bundesliga clubs and the Greek first division club PAOK Saloniki. However, the 27-year-old is currently preparing for the new second division season and has also played in previous test matches.
The trainer
Fortuna Dusseldorf coach Daniel Thioune
Daniel Thioune is the great hope of Fortuna. With an average of 1.85 points per game, the 47-year-old has an excellent record, even though he has only played 13 games under his leadership. During this phase, the team improved in almost every respect. 22 goals from twelve different goal scorers with only twelve goals conceded testified to a balanced team performance and a newly found team chemistry, which Thioune now wants to take with him into the new season.
Thioune was very satisfied with the training camp in the Mühlviertler Hochland (Austria). “We worked a lot and gave the players a few cognitive tasks with our game idea,” summed up the Fortuna coach. “I’m happy with how the team took it all.”
expectations for the season
Fortuna Düsseldorf’s Kristoffer Peterson in a friendly against SV Straelen
“In contrast to the last few years, we have kept the core of the team together and are not starting from scratch,” explained sports director Klaus Allofs. “That’s why we feel well positioned.” After the successful final phase of the past season, they want to maintain “this positive mood”. Aside from a 2-1 defeat by Olympiacos Piraeus, the second division side managed to win their four other pre-season friendly matches, albeit with some difficulty.
However, Fortuna has not yet communicated a clear goal for the season. In the medium term, the club from the state capital is aiming for promotion to the Bundesliga. And if the team could build on the good final phase of the past season and the “Thioune table” is also a factor in the coming season, then Düsseldorf will play for promotion.
