Sven Mislintat, sporting director at Fortuna Düsseldorf, had an urgent question to answer right from the start: Does coach Markus Anfang have to go?
Markus Anfang will remain coach of Fortuna Düsseldorf. The club officially confirmed this on Sunday morning, December 28. According to the announcement, the new sporting director Sven Mislintat made this decision after the 2-1 home win against SpVgg Fürth. He believes that Fortuna is on the right track to emerge from its crisis after its recent performances under Anfang. He announced this in a short statement about the club.
After the victory, Fortuna’s new sporting director Sven Mislintat had already said about the simmering coaching question: “It is only right that we analyze everything very carefully – and of course Markus has made a case for himself with this victory.”
In the last game of the first half of the season, Anfang secured only his second victory in his ninth league game. “That was a good performance,” said Mislintat. “This victory puts us back in business.” Düsseldorf, who started the season with the goal of promotion, are currently in acute danger of relegation, but the gap to mid-table is small. However, the big turnaround has not yet materialized.
Klaus Allofs, Director of Sport and Communication in Düsseldorf, explained at the time: “In Markus Anfang, we have chosen an excellent expert on the 2. Bundesliga who has already proven that he can successfully lead teams. We would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere thanks to Daniel Thioune for his work. He took over the club in February 2022 in a difficult situation and led it to the brink of promotion to the Bundesliga and to the semifinals of the DFB Cup in 2024. He also proved to be an excellent ambassador for the club. He will always be welcome at Fortuna.” Fortuna Düsseldorf is currently in sixteenth place. Anfang has only managed one win against Fürth and two draws from ten games. Fortuna Düsseldorf is therefore still in acute danger of relegation. It is now clear that Markus Anfang is to keep Düsseldorf in the second division as head coach.