For a while now, coach Daniel Thioune has been letting his, as he calls them, “young guns” go together. Four professionals who were far from born when the western of the same name was released because they all come from this millennium. But they are all Fortuna gunslingers, if you will.
In “Young Guns” a lot revolves around the character Billy the Kid, in Fortuna these four kids are the focus: Christos Tzolis (21 years old), Yannik Engelhardt (22), Shinta Appelkamp (22) and Isak Johannesson (20) . A Greek-Lower Saxony-German-Japanese-Icelandic connection, which represents the hope that the state capital could be the Bundesliga location again in the coming season.
Fortuna is already the second division leader after five match days (14 points) and before the top game at Hamburger SV this Friday (6.30 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the 2nd Bundesliga and on Sky). The last time they were in such a good position was over five years ago, when the Rhinelanders were promoted for the last time and played a two-year first-class appearance (2018 to 2020).
Step back, two forward
Of the “Young Guns”, Tzolis in particular has proven to be trigger-happy so far – five goals in five games. The Greek, on loan from Norwich City, is also the most attacking of the quartet. Tzolis was once one of the most hyped talents on the continent before his career stalled. The chief dynamic in the Fortuna offensive, like Johannesson, who recently gained experience in the Champions League in Copenhagen, has “already seen the wide world of football,” as sports director Christian Weber told the FAZ. “By choosing us, they took one step back in order to now take two steps forward.”
Engelhardt came from the third division in the summer from the second representative of SC Freiburg and plays surprisingly maturely in the six position. Appelkamp has often talked about being able to shed the burden of expectations of a highly gifted homegrown crop – his new attempt has been promising so far.
“They will also stumble a bit, they are still young players. But they have incredible potential and are far from finished. “I have a lot of imagination with the guys in the constellation,” says Thioune, assessing the situation. How Fortuna is currently inspiring its long-suffering but at the same time demanding audience to dream.
The announcement of the “Fortuna for All” project also met with great international response. Now the first home game is approaching, where all spectators come to the arena on the banks of the Rhine free of charge. The Saturday evening game against 1. FC Kaiserslautern on October 21st, for which the club has already received well over 50,000 “registrations”, will be the first test. There should be at least two more free games this season – against St. Pauli in January and against Braunschweig in April – before “Fortuna for All” goes into series.
“A real unique selling point that everyone in the club is really keen on and that shows Fortuna in a positive light,” says Weber. CEO Alexander Jobst was recently honored in the “Most Effective Branding” category at the “World Football Summit” in Seville. It would of course be profitable for the Düsseldorf brand core if the first team soon played in the Bundesliga – with home and away fans who would be offered first division football for free.
Klaus Allofs also fueled this hope this week. The sports director, a native of the Gerresheim district, said at an event organized by the men’s home club “Düsseldorfer Jonges” in the old town: “There is every reason to be optimistic.” He believes that the team “will be at the top for a long time.” Especially since the weakness of the heavyweights Hertha BSC and Schalke suggests an open promotion race.
Allofs on HSV: “Not invulnerable”
Allofs also had room for a tip against HSV, who were once again struggling before the duel after two defeats against newly promoted teams: “At the beginning we actually thought that it was about who would come second and third behind HSV,” he said 66 year old. “But the last few weeks have shown that he is not so invulnerable after all.” This will also have been noticed by Thioune, who was once released in Hamburg in May when his eternal goal of promotion was in danger. “Emotionally,” asserts the 49-year-old soccer teacher, “it doesn’t affect me at all. I rationally want to win a football game because we are in good shape.”
Thioune has developed a good standing since he took over in February 2022 in times of (relegation) distress, confidently managed to stay in the league and lifted the traditional club to fourth place last season. Especially since the arena on the banks of the Rhine is a more consistent source of points for the red and whites in this and last round. Of the last 21 home games, Fortuna won 13 and only lost three.
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“We have a healthy mix in the squad. A seasoned axis of players who, like coach Thioune, have been at the club for a long time and a breath of fresh air through new additions,” says Weber. Early contract extensions such as the recent ones for the strong goalkeeper Florian Kastenmeier and the blossoming Felix Klaus indicate that the players also see good prospects.
The small squad (only 20 field players) and the associated dangers are viewed by the public as a “malus,” says Weber. “But I think that this could be one aspect of why things are going so well.” Currently, almost everyone finds their place and gets plenty of playing time. From the old stars to the “young guns”.
