Hello and welcome in to another update from the Rhine where Frank looks to build on last season’s 14th placed finish in the Bundesliga. With the club bleeding money at the moment, the scouting team had a great time identifying cheap transfer targets, so we’ll take a look at how they turned out. We also have the low down (and I mean low!) on how thing’s played out for the team over the course of the season, so let’s jump into it…

Season Summary

Team: Fortuna Düsseldorf
Division: Bundesliga
Season: 2029/30
Players in: Rodolfo Gomez, Independiente Medellín (€1.6M); Elvis Mosquera, Independiente Medellín (€2.2M); Isak Hansen-Aarøen, FC St. Pauli (€3.9M); Matteo Meeus, Beerschot VA (€2.8M)
Players out: Robert Andrich, Union Berlin (€600K)

As mentioned in the introduction, there was very little by way of transfer budget from the Board this season, and so reinforcements would have to come in the form of young, unproven players that could make the step up in the Bundesliga. First to sign were two extremely low cost Colombian players from Independiente Medellín, who joined for a combined total of €3.8M and would offer an alternative option up top in Rodolfo Gomez, while Elvis Mosquera would be a great backup in central midfield Mosquera was loaned back to Medellín until the end of their season in November so he could continue his development.

Elsewhere, Norwegian prospect, Isak Hansen-Aarøen, joins as an alternative option at CM-A from FC St. Pauli, while Matteo Meeus joins from Beerschot VA as a replacement for the outgoing Andrich to cover at DC or DM.

Beyond players coming in, Frank was able to keep hold of the rest of the squad during the Summer window, although there will be plenty of activity later in the update once the Winter window opens.

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To the season proper then and as is tradition, the opening game was in the DFB Pokal where Dusseldorf thumped their opponents, Germania Egestorf, a resounding 9-1 in the first round. The league season would kick off with next a local derby, taking on FC Koln at home and securing a pleasing 1-0 win in the process. This was followed by three defeats and two more wins to round out September and take the side up to 8th place from their opening six games.

A draw away at RB Leipzig was an impressive result in the next fixture, but in truth would prove to be the start of a downward spiral, with the team going on a run of seven straight defeats in the league, with form only to be briefly halted for a 0-0 draw and penalty win in the second round of the DFB Pokal against second division outfit, Arminia Bielefeld. Having made a reasonable start to the campaign, Dusseldorf now found themselves in 17th place and bang in trouble in mid-December.

The press were having a field day at Frank’s expense, accusing him of being unwilling to experiment with his tactics, and criticising one or two player performances in the process. The issue seemed to be the Board’s blind determination to demand defensively solid, direct, counter attacking football - a playing style that frank and his team seemed unable to deliver.

As Dusseldorf lined up for the next fixture, there was an air of “do or die” around the squad. Darmstadt 98 were the opponents, and having had a crisis of confidence in mid week, Frank had all but ditched his usual tactic and had opted for something more in line with his own philosophy. The most significant change was the absence of a DM, and instead, a second striker lined up alongside Daryl Dike - was this the moment for Rodolfo Gomez to shine?

In short, yes it was. A goal from the youngster and a second from Lazetic were enough to secure a 2-0 victory and stop the slide in league performance. Two draws followed next, to finish up the first half of the season and see the Fortunen recover to 15th place, a spot above the relegation places.

Unlike previous January transfer windows, this one would prove to be a blockbuster. Continuing in the same vein as the tactical reshuffle of a few weeks ago, Frank sought to move on some disgruntled or underperforming players to free up some much need cash on the wage bill. The Board, in their infinite wisdom, had decided to move the goal posts somewhat, and reduced the wage budget (which Frank had already maxed out) by €300K a week! Omar Rekik was the club’s top earner on €75K a week, but the prospect of selling the club’s best 5 0r 6 players seemed too extreme.

Nonetheless, it was an opportunity to ditch some of the older players and promote a few of the kids from the reserve team. Ever reliant Kevin Mbabu had become upset at a lack of playing time, and so left for Mexico in a €215K transfer. Joshua Zirkzee followed a week later having never really performed at the club. He went to Korea’s K League for €3.4M, all of which was absorbed into the wage budget to help bridge the gaping hole that now appeared.

Club captain, Marvin Friedrich, went to AEK in search of a new challenge while Fredrik Jensen departed for Luzern after several months on the transfer list. Four first team players gone, €3.6M in transfer fees and around €160K off the wage bill was still not enough, but had at least gone some way to raking in some cash. Luckily for Frank, the story wasn’t over yet.

Arsenal had come sniffing around Advanced Playmaker, Burak Ince, and submitted an incredible €37M transfer bid to prise him away to London. Burak was easily one of the first names on the team sheet, however his performances were more often than not a long way shy of his potential. With the financial constraints still overshadowing the club, Frank reluctantly accepted the bid and he left on Transfer Deadline Day. No players were brought in but financial security had been restored and Frank had faith in his youngsters to step up and deliver.

That faith was well placed it seemed as the side continued their good form from before the break, and put a run of four straight wins together to take them up to 9th place int he league. The next game was a Third Round DFB Pokal tie against Kaiserlautern, and was expertly navigated to set up Frank’s first Quarter Final against Hertha Berlin following a 2-0 win.

Back to the league, and Dusseldorf were about to face their biggest challenge yet with Stuttgart, Wolfsburg, Bayern and Dortmund their opponents for the next four games. Suffice to say, it was a tough run with points being picked up at Stuttgart and no where else. Unfortunately the dip in form coincided with the end of the cup run as Hertha Berlin secured a 3-2 victory in a thriller of a game.

With the cup run over, attention turned back to the league where Dusseldorf were focussed on a mid-table finish. Currently in 12th place, they travelled to nearby Bayer Leverkusen and were impressive as they ran out 2-1 winners. Revenge was struck in the next game as Hertha Berlin were punished for their cup win with a 4-1 defeat to round out the March fixtures.

A draw to Mainz 05 and then two more wins against Hamburg and Werder saw the team solidify their place in 11th, and despite three straight defeats in the remaining games of the season, they were able to maintain their position and ended with Frank’s best league finish and points tally.

Long-time servants of the club Dike and Lazetic really impressed with their stats, and with the likes of Gomez and Hansen-Aarøen now settled at the club, there’s optimism for next season and how far this team can go.

Results Overview

DFB-Pokal

Prediction: Second Round

Actual: Quarter Final

Summary: Frank’s first really decent run in the cup, and ended by Hertha Berlin who on another day could have been beaten (just as they were in the league a few weeks later). Lot’s to build on provided we get a good draw next term.

Best moment: Reaching the Quarter Finals was massive but the emphatic 9-1 win on the opening day of the season was an absolute delight and a huge confidence boost.

Low moment: Although Hertha Berlin are a good side, I think losing to them was a real disappointment and could have been avoided with a bit more tactical prowess. They went on to win the cup beating Augsburg and Mainz 05 along the way.

Bundesliga

Prediction: 13th

Actual: 11th

Summary: A great season all things considered. A downturn in form led to a tactical overhaul and a decent finish in the end. Plenty of positives to take from some of the younger players’ performances too.

Best moment: The 2-0 win at Darmstadt 98 was the start of our recovery and it was a relief to see us string together some really good performances, and secure some wins.

Low moment: Losing our last three games was particularly disappointing. Although we didn’t lose our spot in the league, these were definitely three winnable games and would have seen us climb another place up the table and closer to the teams in the top half.

Facts and Figures

The sale of Burak Ince for such a high sum has definitely helped to steady the ship from a financial perspective. The club’s improved performance in the DFB Pokal and a higher league position also led to an additional 13M in prize money being received, and so while there are still some significant financial constraints in place, we’re definitely on the right track to improving our financial position and simultaneously establishing the club as a long-term participant of the Bundesliga.

In terms of our performance on the pitch, improvements were made to our shots taken, expected goals and actual goals scored, while our expected goals conceded did worsen slightly, presumably as a result of us looking to score more ourselves and leaving our defence a little more vulnerable. Our cross completion also improved, while the number of dribbles we made declined, which makes sense as we were attempting to play in a more direct manner.

Defensively, there were improvements across several key areas too. We committed less fouls, and made more blocks and interceptions compared to last season, and this is reflected in the results we got on the pitch, bagging three more wins compared to last season.

Around the Grounds

In this section we share some of the other stories from elsewhere in the FM universe that have caught the eye this week…

“Original Pirate Material” - Faceless - FM Grasshopper returns with an update from Brazil and an overview of the 2025 State Championship, along with some insight into how he’ll be managing his side going forward.

Guns Go Bang - Portland Timbers - FM Eadster shares how things ended in his United States adventure from Ruslan Chepiga’s perspective

RCDM: ¡Hala Madrid! - FM Adventure reports on RCD Mallorca’s climb into European football contention as they qualify for next season’s Europa Conference League.

Tactically Inept - GansterKeith submits his mid- season review as he attempts to rebuild Palermo in Serie C and restore them to former glory.

Les Artistes Du Foot: Fin de la Saison 3 - TommysBoyonFM rounds up his third season with Le Havre as they perform well in the league and deliver an enthralling cup run too.

Fogão – Episode 3 – Darkest Before Dawn - Rocksend FM shares the latest from Botafogo, along with a few insights into how he deconstructs his sides performance on the pitch to work out where improvements are needed.

Kendal Athletic - One Kick Is All It Takes - KovieFM shares an update from Kendal Athletic as they look to push for promotion into the English Championship.

Do you have a blog that’s missing from the above list? Please send me the link on Twitter so I can have a read.

Thanks for reading this update, I really hope you enjoyed it. You’ll find more updates from me, as well as blogs from some other fantastic writers at CoffeehouseFM so make sure you check them out. Feel free to leave a comment below, or you can message me @fm_athlete if you feel like getting in touch.

Thanks for coming. I've been FM Athlete. You've been ‘counting the beans’. See you next time.