There’s actually no better way to promote yourself. Under the motto “Fortuna for all”, thanks to sponsors, 52,000 fans had free entry to the Düsseldorf stadium on Saturday evening (October 21, 2023). And they saw a spectacle. The Fortunes turned a 0-3 deficit against 1. FC Kaiserslautern into a 4-3 victory. Only the throwing of a bottle dampened the mood.
“We are overwhelmed, it was pure joy. It couldn’t have been nicer. It was advertising for football, advertising for Fortuna, advertising for Düsseldorf,” said Fortuna’s CEO Alexander Jobst. Goalscorer Andreas Zimmermann was also blown away: “Thanks to everyone. That was unbelievable. Games like this don’t happen often. This will go down in the history books here in Düsseldorf.”
After a good half hour, it already looked like the preliminary decision would be in favor of the Palatinate team in the duel of pursuit in the 2nd Bundesliga. Within just eleven minutes, Richmond Tachie (21st), Jamil Siebert with an own goal (30th) and Marlon Ritter (32nd) had given Lauter a three-goal lead.
To the live ticker: Düsseldorf – Kaiserslautern Arrow right 10th matchday Arrow right
Is Kaiserslautern protesting?
However, immediately after Ritter’s goal, FCK striker Ragnar Ache was hit by a plastic bottle that had been thrown from the stands. The people of Palatinate now want to evaluate the images of the scene and then coordinate how to proceed. Ache was initially able to continue playing, but he sprained before half-time and had to be substituted with suspected serious ligament injuries.
FCK coach Dirk Schuster said about the incident: “The fact is that we lost 3-4 on the pitch. Everything else has to be clarified by other people.” Fortuna players and those responsible condemned the incident. “First of all, it’s important that nothing more has happened to him,” said Düsseldorf’s sports director Klaus Allofs, “so we’ll probably have to think about a penalty.” Fortuna’s defender Emmanuel Iyoha said: “Something like that doesn’t work. There will certainly be consequences.”
Connection before the break
In the crazy sporting seven-goal spectacle, Ao Tanaka reduced the score to 1:3 (36th) in the first half. After the break, Daniel Thioune’s team launched a breathtaking attack.
The reward came quickly: Zimmermann scored in the 49th minute to make it 2-3, eight minutes later Felix Klaus equalized.
Tanaka with the double pack
Kaiserslautern literally collapsed under the pressure of the hosts, was unable to relieve the pressure – and Düsseldorf remained in control. In the 63rd minute, Tanaka scored the 4-3 lead, the spectators went crazy, and Thioune also cheered exuberantly this time.
Only then did Kaiserslautern put pressure on again, but were unable to pose any major problems for Florian Kastenmeier in the Fortuna goal.
With these three points, Düsseldorf has now caught up with third-placed Hannover 96; only the two Hamburg clubs FC St. Pauli and HSV are two points better. Despite their first defeat after seven games, Kaiserslautern is still in the lurking position and is only one point behind Düsseldorf in fifth place.
Free games thanks to sponsors
The crazy game was the first of three Fortuna free spins this season – a project that attracted worldwide attention. Apart from VIP guests, all 52,000 spectators had free entry, including around 5,000 FCK supporters. According to the club, there were 120,000 inquiries, so the tickets were raffled off.
Next year there will be free games against FC St. Pauli in January and Eintracht Braunschweig in April. This is made possible by two sponsors who support Fortuna financially and organizationally so that they can currently offer three games per season with free entry. The club should collect 40 million euros for five years. This sponsorship model is to be gradually expanded in order to be able to offer even more free spins per season in the future.
Fortuna in Braunschweig, Lautern welcomes HSV
The Düsseldorf team will be guests at Eintracht Braunschweig next matchday (Friday, October 27th, 2023 at 6:30 p.m.). Kaiserslautern hosts Hamburger SV in the Saturday evening game (8:30 p.m.).
