Four potential opponents remain. - Preparing for Relegation: Fortuna's Strategies
Fortuna Düsseldorf now know they'll have to fight for promotion in the relegation play-off after missing out on direct promotion by a whisker. They had an impressive 13-game unbeaten run in the second division, but it wasn't enough.
Currently, Union Berlin stand at 16th position (30 points) and need a win to avoid relegation, with a draw also being enough if either Mainz (at Wolfsburg, 15th/32 points) or Bochum (at Bremen, 14th/33 points) manage to get three points. Cologne can save themselves at 17th place (at Heidenheim, 27 points) if they win and hope for a Union loss.
Fortuna's coach, Thioune, won't be watching any of these games though. Instead, he'll be leading his team in training from 4pm, focusing on their own game against Magdeburg (Sunday, 3.30pm/Sky) which holds no sporting significance. He emphasizes that focusing on another team wouldn't help.
"None of them!" says Thioune about the other games. "We're training at that time!"
Fortuna's captain, Andre Hoffmann, revealed that he and his teammates often watch the other Bundesliga games after training. "When we come into the dressing room from the training ground, the Bundesliga games are still on. Of course we immediately switch on the TV. We're that honest." Hoffmann also noted how unusual it was for four teams to still be in contention for relegation.
When asked who he'd prefer to face, Hoffmann simply said, "Every game would be explosive." Two games do stand out though: "Cologne because of the neighborhood. It's like Union, because we were relegated there in 2020."
Fortuna will approach the play-off with confidence no matter who they face.
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Source: symclub.org
