The goalkeeper Florian Kastenmeier cried, the coach Alexander Ende gave a kind of eulogy for the ‘proud club’ Fortuna Düsseldorf, and the local newspaper Rheinische Post commented: “This team has let down all of Düsseldorf.”
In the North Rhine-Westphalian state capital, something terrible happened on Sunday – at least for football fans: Fortuna Düsseldorf was relegated to the third division after a 0-3 loss to SpVgg Greuther Fürth. In the upcoming season, the opponents will no longer be Schalke 04, Hertha BSC, or 1. FC Kaiserslautern, but VfB Stuttgart II, TSG Hoffenheim II, and SV Meppen.
Planned differently, in its fifth consecutive season in the second division, Düsseldorf had actually wanted to be promoted to the Bundesliga. Like every year. Two years ago, they missed the jump up due to a single missed penalty kick in the relegation match against VfL Bochum. Now, this missed shot came back to haunt them after a two-year delay. Düsseldorf is now only third-rate.
The team seemed ready for promotion last summer, compiled by then-Sporting Director Klaus Allofs and trained by coach Daniel Thioune. However, as often happens in football, various factors intervened. Of the 34 season games, Fortuna only won eleven, scored the fewest goals in the league with 33, and never managed to function consistently as a team throughout the season.
However, the relegation may also be a result of panic-driven personnel decisions. In October, the club fired coach Thioune in 13th place. In April, they let go of coach Markus Anfang in 14th place. Now, coach Alexander Ende’s term has ended, the season is over, and Fortuna is in 17th place. In December and April, they were in this penultimate place for a single matchday. Now, it’s the third time – but now, it cannot be corrected. The season has concluded.
Many in Düsseldorf hold Klaus Allofs responsible for the decline, and his role in assembling the dysfunctional squad was significant. However, the Fortuna supervisory board includes many wise individuals with football expertise, including DFB Vice President Peter Frymuth, former goalkeeper Michael Rensing, and former women’s national team coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg. Yet, they were unable to prevent the downfall.
Newly appointed Sporting Director Sven Mislintat emphasized after the Sunday disaster that “The relegation is not the result of one game, probably not even one season – but of a longer development.” Mislintat, with past experiences at FC Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund, VfB Stuttgart, and Ajax Amsterdam, was once crucial for Fortuna as a freelancer. The club was then in a similarly bleak situation as now at the beginning of the millennium. From 2002 to 2004, Düsseldorf even played in the fourth league. Velbert, Osterfeld, and Ratingen were their opponents at the time. It took years and millions to rise from obscurity. In 2004, Düsseldorf climbed to the third league, in 2009 to the second, and in 2012 to the Bundesliga. Since then, Fortuna has played three seasons in the Bundesliga and eleven in the second division. Now, they are on the decline again.
Playing in the third division again next season is not just a problem for the pride and image of this regionally significant traditional club – it is primarily a financial issue. Reduced ticket sales, sponsorship income, and especially TV revenue weigh on the club’s finances as they strive to quickly leave the third division behind. Fortuna is expected to receive 1.8 million euros in TV money next season. In the second division, it was around 17 million. CEO Alexander Jobst speaks of a ‘huge drop’ between the second and third division. They must now ‘sweep up the pieces’ and ‘eventually’ bring Fortuna back to where they belong.
However, there is also the inherent risk of not climbing up from the third division, but rather falling down. There are several examples of this. In 2002, Fortuna itself experienced this. In 2024, neighbor MSV Duisburg descended to the fourth division for the first time in their history. Arminia Bielefeld also narrowly avoided relegation to the Regionalliga West in 2024.
Therefore, Fortuna must be cautious. Only a handful of players from the current squad have contracts for the third division. Sporting Director Mislintat and Coach Ende wish to stay. They must orchestrate a radical rebuild – with all the opportunities, but also all the risks.
