Düsseldorf, Germany. “Please get to your seats as early as possible,” read the instructions on the leaflets distributed by the Fortuna Düsseldorf ultras ahead of kick-off against Schalke 04 on Saturday.
“Hold the material provided above your heads when instructed to and keep it there until kick-off,” the text continued, adding: “And please leave your smartphones in your pockets! We will provide pictures later.”
It was to be the biggest choreography that the Ultras Düsseldorf had ever produced. Following a circus theme under the motto “The Greatest Show on Earth,” red-and-white flags with letters spelling out the words “Fortuna Düsseldorf” were hung from the tier around one whole half of the stadium.
Fans in the lower tier waved a combination of flags and balloons in the same colours while those in the upper tier held aloft sheets of red and white paper to create a striped pattern stretching around the whole end.
Behind the goal, the ultras hoisted up a huge image depicting a stage full of circus-style motifs and messages such as “the heart of the city” and “the city belongs to us.” Even the capo – the ultra with the megaphone – was dressed as a ringleader, complete with top hat and stick.
“We’ve always been a circus club,” one ultra explained to The Sportsman on the concourse at half-time, collecting donations for the display which he revealed cost approximately €17,000. “It’s constant drama here, and now we’re back in the Bundesliga! The circus is back in town!”
Back in the Bundesliga
Fortuna are back in the Bundesliga for the first time since 2013, but it’s been a mixed start to life in the top flight. Their only win so far, a 2-1 win over Champions League Hoffenheim, came sandwiched between impressive performances which earned points away at Red Bull and VfB Stuttgart, but that run was followed by a 2-1 defeat at home to Bayer Leverkusen and a 3-0 thumping away at fellow newcomers Nuremberg.
“We thought we were better prepared this season, but we’ve actually started worse than we did the last time we were here,” says Paul, a Scottish Fortuna season ticket holder who travels to about 20 games per season from the UK. “We’re overwhelming favourites to go down. It’s going to be tricky.”
At 64, Fortuna manager Friedhelm Funkel is the oldest boss in a league of young, modern coaches. Werder Bremen’s Florian Kohfeldt (36), Schalke’s Domenico Tedesco (33) and Hoffenheim’s Julian Nagelsmann (31) are young enough to be his sons.
“He doesn’t always play the best football but if you step back and look at the big picture, he’s definitely the right man for the job,” believes Paul. Despite the tough start and despite never having won a game against Schalke in charge of any team in 19 attempts, Funkel remains a popular figure among the supporters – well, among those that turn up anyway.
#f95s04 #bundesliga
Lack of support
In comparison to some of their Rhineland rivals, Fortuna Düsseldorf have something of a fan problem. On the opening day of the season for the club’s first Bundesliga home game in five years against Augsburg, over ten thousand home end tickets remained unsold. Saturday’s visit of Schalke was the first sell-out of the season – helped by the presence of over nine thousand away supporters who packed out the vacant blocks next to the official away end.
“We’ve always had a very short-term crowd,” explains Dirk, a local hardcore supporter. “They need an event to be entertained and we only usually sell out against Bayern or Dortmund.”
“I don’t think the city appreciates the club as much as it should,” adds Paul, pointing out the historical problem that many Düsseldorfers of a certain generation grew up supporting the great Borussia Mönchengladbach side of the 1970s.
“Düsseldorf also has quite a hip, yuppy reputation with people who maybe don’t want to get involved with such a low-culture activity as football!”
FT: Fortuna 0-2 Schalke #f95s04
‘Just like against Leverkusen …’
With the impressive choreography completed, attention turned to events on the pitch against a Schalke side who have endured an even worse start to the season – and Fortuna should have taken the lead in the fourth minute when Benito Raman somehow shot wide when one-on-one with the goalkeeper.
Early in the second half, the Royal Blues taught them a lesson in taking chances, scoring twice in the opening seven minutes in front of their huge travelling support and setting them on their way to a 2-0 win.
“Just like against Leverkusen,” repeated several of voices surrounding The Sportsman with varying degrees of frustration. Just ten days earlier, at the same end, Bayer Leverkusen’s Kevin Volland had scored twice in the first 15 minutes of the second half as Fortuna went on to lose 2-1.
With a tough trip to in-form Eintracht Frankfurt coming up after the international break, life won’t get any easier for Fortuna. They might not be the greatest show on earth on the pitch, but the circus is certainly back in town.
