Fortuna Düsseldorf: 2019/20 season so far
After comfortably surviving their first season back in the big time in 2018/19, Fortuna Düsseldorf were looking to maintain their progress in the Bundesliga this season, but how has it gone?
bundesliga.com looks at how Fortuna have suffered some second season syndrome in 2019/20…
Who they signed: After losing the 10 Bundesliga goals of Benito Raman in a summer move to Schalke, plenty of new arrivals came through the door at the Merkur Spielarena before the start of the season. Düsseldorf largely made the most of the loan and free transfer market, bringing in a healthy blend of Bundesliga experience and youthful talent.
Five players joined on loan: Erik Thommy (VfB Stuttgart), Zack Steffen (Manchester City), Lewis Baker (Chelsea), Kasim Adams (Hoffenheim), Bernard Tekpetey (Schalke), while Nana Ampomah was signed from Belgium and both Florian Kastenmeier and Markus Suttner joined for free.
Steffen, Thommy and Adams have all become first-team starters, with the USMNT goalkeeper making the most saves in the Bundesliga through the first 10 matchdays of the season before his untimely knee injury. Those signings were added to in January with three new arrivals – Steven Skrzybski, Valon Berisha and Zanka all on loan - and the permanent signing of Dawid Kownacki having already been on loan at the club.
What they expected: Friedhelm Funkel and his side were delighted after finishing 10th on their return to the Bundesliga. But the successful return to the top flight didn't change the club's expectations going into their second campaign back in the big time, according to their head coach heading into 2019/20.
"We can have no other goal than staying up," Funkel said. "Anything else is dreamland."
And for a team that had not managed to survive more than one season in the Bundesliga in a row since the early 1990s, who could blame them from staying grounded.
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How it played out: They're far from down and out yet with nine games to play in 2019/20, but things certainly haven't gone as planned in Düsseldorf. Six defeats in the opening seven games of the campaign was far from planned. In fact, Fortuna won only four games before the winter break and headed into the new year in the relegation play-off spot, just three points ahead of Paderborn at the bottom of the pile.
With Funkel still in his role as coach, Fortuna tried to forget about their misfortunes in the first half of the campaign and kick off 2020 with bounce-back style, but it didn’t take long for change to be called for. After defeats at home to relegation rivals Werder Bremen and away to Bayer Leverkusen without scoring, Funkel was out and Uwe Rösler was in.
The former Bundesliga player was given his first job as a manager in the league, and the club's upswing in form in the games since then would suggest that the change has been successful so far. In his six games at the helm, Fortuna have suffered just a single defeat – to title-chasing Borussia Mönchengladbach – while drawing four times, and registering one win.
"We weren't rewarded with what we deserved," winger Thommy – who has scored three goals since Rösler's arrival – told bundesliga.com in a recent interview. "In most games we were equal to or better than the opponent. We haven't lost a game in the last three matches; we shouldn't forget that. However, we only managed one win. Five points in total. You can tell that the team wants it; that we're pushing hard."
As things stand, Fortuna remain in the relegation play-off spot, but have opened a four-point game between themselves and Bremen in 17th, while the same points separate them from Mainz, against whom they drew 1-1 in their final game before the league's postponement, in the first available safety spot in 15th.
With the likes of Bayern Munich (a), Borussia Dortmund (h), Schalke (h) and RB Leipzig (h) all to play before the end of the season, the going will be tough for Rösler and his side to secure automatic safety.
Key player: The likes of Thommy and Kenan Karaman – three goals in the last two games before the stop of play – have been in fantastic form for Fortuna since Rösler's arrival. Steffen would also almost certainly have been in the running for Goalkeeper of the Year had his lengthy knee injury not kept him out of goal through 2020 so far.
One man, though, has been Fortuna's leader through the toughest times and without him, hope of survival this season would be a lot slimmer. Rowen Hennings may not have scored yet in 2020, but his 11 goals in the first half of the season earned Fortuna eight points. Without him, Fortuna would be two points behind bottom side Paderborn.
Only Robert Lewandowski, Timo Werner, Jadon Sancho and Robin Quaison have scored more Bundesliga goals this season than Hennings.
Best game: While performances have no doubt been improved and more consistent so far under Rösler, Fortuna's best game of the season so far came under Funkel in the first half of the campaign. The win at Bremen on the opening weekend was impressive, but no performance was more inspiring that the 3-3 draw at Schalke on Matchday 11 which saw Düsseldorf come from behind three times to record their first points of the season after being in a losing position.
Watch: Hennings' hat-trick at Schalke
Daniel Caligiuri put the home side ahead with the only goal of the first half before Hennings equalised from the penalty spot just after the hour-mark. Fortuna fell behind again just five minutes later when Ozan Kabak headed home from a corner, but the visiting side simply never gave up at the Veltins-Arena, and Hennings added his second of the game after a scintillating counter-attack with 15 minutes to play.
For the third time in the game, Schalke went ahead again just four minutes later through a deflected Suat Serdar goal. But with time running out, the awe-inspiring figure of Hennings completed his first Bundesliga hat-trick with a ridiculous lob over Alexander Nübel after latching onto former Schalke defender Kann Ayhan's outstanding chipped ball over the top. It was the sort of performance that, when kept in memory, can inspire Fortuna to survive the second half of this season.
Biggest surprise: While Hennings' scoring run to end 2019 was a shock, Fortuna's star man hasn't been able to continue his goalscoring fortunes so far in 2020. Meanwhile, other players have come to the fore and made themselves known to Rösler in his and the club's time of need. Thommy is one of those. The 25-year-old winger scored twice in the Hinrunde, but has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of Rösler's arrival, with three goals in as many games from Matchday 22-24 showcasing just that.
Thommy has started and finished four of the six games Rösler has been in charge of in the league so far, having clearly already gained the trust of his new coach. The Stuttgart-loanee is sure to be vital for Fortuna in the business end of this season, which could end up with him facing his parent club in a relegation play-off tie. Now wouldn’t that be something.
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