For many Fortuna fans from Düsseldorf, May 27, 2024 will certainly remain an unforgettable date for a long time. However, in connection with a negative experience. Because that evening, their favourite team's almost certain promotion to the Bundesliga was snatched out of their hands. Daniel Thioune's team won the relegation first leg in Bochum 3-0, but the Bochum team managed a sensational comeback in the second leg and Fortuna remained in the second division. And the new season now begins with the away game at the Böllenfalltor. The goal for the upcoming season? To be just a little bit more successful than last year. Because that would automatically mean promotion. We take a closer look at our opening opponent.
| Arrivals | Departures |
| Noah Mbamba (Defensive Midfield, Bayer Leverkusen) | Christos Tzolis (Club Brügge) |
| Tim Rossmann (Left Midfield, Karlsruher SC) | Yannik Engelhardt (Como) |
| Danny Schmidt (Attacking Midfield, Mainz 05 II) | Benjamin Böckle (Rapid Wien) |
| Florian Schock (Goalkeeper, VfB Stuttgart) | Karol Niemczycki (SV Darmstadt 98) |
| Dzenan Pejcinovic (Striker, VfL Wolfsburg) |
Humanity is most important to him. That was already the case when he was still standing on the lawn. And it still is today. “Mutual respect and mutual appreciation are always important,” emphasised Daniel Thioune in an interview with the online portal mopo.de. Common ground. That’s what the head coach of Fortuna Düsseldorf is all about. Work together. Working together to make dreams come true. That’s what he stands for. “I always want to achieve the maximum – wherever I am at the moment. So I also want to make my dreams come true with this club,” said the coach of Fortuna Düsseldorf in an interview with kicker.
And the coach is holding on to what is probably one of his biggest dreams: to get a taste of football in the Bundesliga and compete with the best teams in Germany. But this dream has (still) been denied him. In his previous coaching career, Thioune managed to make the jump from the third division to the second highest German league. With VfL Osnabrück he won the 3rd league championship in the 2018/19 season. He then took over Hamburger SV with the aim of getting promoted to the 1st Bundesliga – a goal that he narrowly missed with the Hanseatic League. At the end of the 2020/21 season, the team finished the season in fourth place.
However, Thioune never gave up his ambitions. Since he took over as coach at Fortuna Düsseldorf in March 2022, he has continued to pursue the goal of achieving the maximum. Under his leadership, the team showed significant improvement and ended the 2022/23 season in a solid place in the upper mid-table of the 2nd Bundesliga. As is well known, Thioune’s team missed out on promotion to the Bundesliga last season. Daniel Thioune and Fortuna are now starting the new season with fresh momentum and some new faces in the squad. They want to work together to make their dreams come true. And their head coach will set an inspiring role model.
The Rhinelanders are characterised by their attacking power – at least that was the case impressively last season. With 72 goals in the last season, the Düsseldorf team took top spot in the 2nd Bundesliga. Above all, Christos Tzolis was a guarantee for goals and scored 22 goals. However, the top scorer is no longer available to Fortuna and instead joined Club Bruges in the summer. The load must therefore be distributed across several shoulders. Düsseldorf has a few to choose from: Vincent Vermeij, for example, scored twelve goals last season, while Ao Tanaka (7), Felix Klaus (6) and Isak Johannesson (4) were particularly dangerous.
Isak Johannesson. The 21-year-old has been passionate about football since he was a child. Growing up with the ball at his feet, his role models were Argentine legend Lionel Messi and Icelandic midfielder Aron Elís Thrándarson. “Football is the best thing you can do,” said the Icelandic international, who initially moved to Fortuna on loan in 2022 and has been permanently employed by the 95ers since this summer. At the age of 17, Johannesson made his debut for Iceland’s national team and played 27 games in which he scored three goals.
The central midfielder was part of the FC Copenhagen squad for two years before moving to Fortuna, where he gained numerous experiences in the Danish league: two championship titles, as well as Danish Cup winners and participation in the Champions League with games against Manchester City, Borussia Dortmund and FC Seville on his CV. And yet Johannesson couldn’t really leave his mark in Copenhagen. He played 61 competitive games for the Danes, but was only on the field for 2,398 of a possible 5,490 minutes. In short: he rarely had the opportunity to show his skills in his favorite position.
The move to Fortuna, on the other hand, gave him a boost and more scope in his position to finally let his talent blossom. With success. Goals and assists piled up. Last season he made 36 competitive appearances, scoring seven goals and providing nine assists. Coach Daniel Thioune also noticed this positive development and described Isak Johannesson to the kicker sports magazine as “a little diamond”. And further praised: “It’s fun to work with him.”
On Tuesday evening (October 13th), the SilberLilien took part in SV Darmstadt 98’s Stolperstein tour for the first time. Along the approximately six-kilometre route, the participants made several stops to learn more about the fates of Jewish club members who were persecuted and driven out during the Holocaust.
From new grassroots sports offerings and a look back at the club's history to birthdays and the latest updates from the media briefing—there is plenty to report from SV Darmstadt 98 again this week. In "Lilien Across the Board," we round up the news, insights, and stories from life at the club.
Tickets for the home match against 1. FC Heidenheim on November 22nd are available for purchase now.
SV Darmstadt 98's U21 team proved their mettle at home against KSV Hessen Kassel II in the Hessenliga on Sunday (Oct. 11th). After a convincing 90-minute performance, the Young Lilies secured another three points, finishing with a decisive 4–0 victory that lifts them to sixth place in the standings.
The Lilies overturned an early deficit to celebrate a 3–1 home victory against Energie Cottbus—a win that boosts confidence and confirms the progress being made. Read our analysis to find out why there is still work to be done and what positives SV 98 takes away from the match.
This season, too, Lilien fans will be doubly rewarded for every home goal scored by SV Darmstadt 98. In addition to the joy and excitement of the goals, the team's supporters will receive 98 litres of Krombacher Pils for every home goal scored by Darmstadt at the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor.
After the international break, Darmstadt 98 returned to the Bölle with a home win! Against Energie Cottbus, SV Darmstadt 98 put on a spirited performance in front of their home crowd and rewarded themselves with three points after an intense match. We've compiled the post-match reactions for you here:
Despite falling behind, Darmstadt secured their second consecutive home win! Darmstadt defeated Energie Cottbus 3-1 (1-1). The home side equalised after conceding an early goal in the four-minute period through Weißhaupt before halftime. Vukotic headed his team into the lead in the second half, before Lührs sealed the victory with the third goal. This home win brings Darmstadt's season total to seven points.
Homegame at Böllenfalltor (10/10, 1pm): Florian Kohfeldt has made two changes to his starting XI compared to the away match in Wolfsburg three weeks ago. Richter and Mikelbrencis come into the starting lineup for Sickinger (calf issues) and Lannert (illness).
On Saturday afternoon (October 10th, 1pm), SV 98 hosts Energie Cottbus at the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor for Matchday 7. What do the two head coaches have to say ahead of kick-off? Who is officiating the match, and where can you follow the action live? As always, we have compiled all the key information regarding the game against Cottbus in our "Matchday Guide" feature.
Tickets for the league match in Nürnberg (Nov. 7th) and the cup match in Elversberg (Oct. 27th) are available for purchase now.
For the upcoming home match on Saturday (October 10th, 2026, at 1pm), SV 98 asks you to take note of the following information. Since the start of the season, we have been offering dedicated entrances for women at the west side of the stadium. Additionally, there is a "Bölle Bande" family entrance with easier access at the Karl-Hess-Platz entrance. Please also take note of the information provided by HEAG regarding the autumn break.