Football Season Guide

Fortuna Düsseldorf had a very mixed campaign last season as they went from a top half finish at Christmas to eventually becoming relegation candidates. Friedhelm Funkel will be hoping for a lot more consistency in his second full season in charge and has made very few changes to his squad. Of the players who have signed for the club, three have joined permanently following successful loan spells last term. The incoming players are mainly in attack due to the club having the sixth worst goalscoring record in the last campaign as they relied far too heavily on Rouwen Hennings. Havard Nielsen has joined with plenty to prove after a frustrating year with SC Freiburg in the Bundesliga but he is far more proven in the second division. Davor Lovran and Maeky Ngombo will also hope to provide support for the two main strikers. The only significant loss from last season so far is centre-back Kevin Akpoguma, meaning plenty of hope will be placed on Andre Hoffmann staying fit for a whole campaign and on the squad's youthful back-up options. Funkel will be hoping that his squad will be more capable of dealing with what the league has to throw at them now the squad has been together for a full campaign. The retention of such talent as Ihlas Bebou and Kaan Ayhan will also go a long way to making the side competitive. After a few seasons of battling against relegation, Funkel will be happy if his men can begin to establish themselves as a side who can easily maintain their status in the league. Last year that meant playing a very defensive minded style of football. A year on though, perhaps Funkel will look to play a little more aggressively as their passivity may have cost them last season.