Relegation on the last day of the season is a bitter end to a season that started well for Fortuna Dusseldorf. Promoted in the relegation playoff against Hertha Berlin despite crowd trouble which meant the return leg did not even finish they even went six games without defeat at the beginning of the season, the first five games they even did not concede a single goal. But they then suffered some injuries to key players in the defence leading to some heavy defeats against Bayern Munchen and Wolfsburg. Even at the Christmas break the newly promoted team still seemed to have a good chance of survival when them sitting fairly safely in lower mid-table. After the Christmas break the cracks in the team began to show, Andrey Voronin was suspended after disobeying club orders and the winter signings failed to make any real impact but they managed victories over Stuttgart and Furth to keep them on course for survival. However the Furth win was their last of the season and what followed was a shocking series of games where they suffered nine defeats in twelve matches. Their season came down to a dramatic final day where they would at least get a relegation playoff place as long as Hoffenheim did not win at Dortmund or they won themselves. They lost heavily to Hannover while Hoffenheim pulled off a surprise win in Dortmund to relegate Norbert Meier’s side who will have to plan for life in the second division and will probably also lose their charismatic coach.
