Football Season Guide

Fortuna Düsseldorf narrowly avoided relegation last season as they finished just three points above the bottom three. The appointment of Friedhelm Funkel with eight games to go ended up saving the club but the experienced coach has plenty of work to do with his new team to secure their position in the league. Some key members of the side that just about secured their safety in the league last year have left over the summer, especially in attacking positions. Mathis Bolly, Nikola Djurdjic and Charalampos Mavrias have all moved on but the biggest losses will be Joel Pohjanpalo and Kerem Demirbay who will ply their trade in the Bundesliga this term. They have not really been replaced by recognised strikers as Maecky Ngombo from Roda JC and youngster Marlon Ritter from near neighbours Borussia Mönchengladbach are the only two new strikers added to the squad for this season. The lack of recognised strikers is mirrored in midfield and defence where there is a mixture of very young players and a few experienced heads. Funkel will have to manage his resources carefully but his many years of experience in the top three German leagues will surely come in very useful in this respect. Perhaps the most talented of their new signings this year is attacking midfielder Ozkan Yildirim who will become the main playmaker for the team this year. If he gels into the team well then he could become a very wise signing indeed as he has the ability to unlock the even the best defence in the second division. Overall though the club remain one of the favourites to go down as they have not replaced the quality they lost over the summer while the squad from last in itself was only good enough to just about survive in the league.