# 2011–12 Fortuna Düsseldorf season

The 2011–12 season was the 117th season in the history of Fortuna Düsseldorf. The season started on 18 July against VfL Bochum.

## Review and events
### Overview of season

Fortuna Düsseldorf became the most successful Herbstmeister ("Autumn champion") in 2. Bundesliga history after earning 41 points from 17 matches. The 41 points accumulated is the most in history since the three-point system was introduced in 1995. Düsseldorf lost their first six matches in 2010–11 season. since then, they've earned 94 points which is most out of all professional football clubs in Germany.

### Hertha BSC vs. Fortuna Düsseldorf
#### The matches

Fortuna Düsseldorf won a spot in the promotion/relegation playoff against the Bundesliga's Hertha BSC.

##### First leg

Entering the playoff, Fortuna Düsseldorf had not played in the top flight for 15 seasons. They won the first leg against Hertha BSC 1–2 in Berlin's Olympic Stadium with goals from Thomas Bröker and an own goal from Hertha's Adrián Ramos.

##### Second leg

In the return leg in Düsseldorf, both teams drew 2–2; Fortuna Düsseldorf won on aggregate 4–3. However, the match's second half was marred by trouble, first after Hertha supports threw flares onto the pitch after Fortuna scored its second goal of the night to go up 2–1. The other problem was when several Fortuna supporters ran onto the field with around one minute remaining in the match. It took 21 minutes to restore order and stoppage time ended up being 28 minutes by the time the final whistle blew. With Fortuna winning the two-legged affair, they secured a return to the Bundesliga after 15 seasons.

#### The appeal

Hertha BSC appealed the result of the match. The German Football Association (DFB) met on 18 May 2012 to discuss the incidents of the second leg. Campino, singer for Die Toten Hosen, called Hertha BSC's protest "indecent". The hearing at the DFB lasted for six hours. The panel's decision will not be known until a further meeting on Monday. It is expected to make a decision at 15.00 CET. The German Football Association stated that any possible disciplinary action against either club or any of the players will be taken at a later date. The players being investigated are Levan Kobiashvili, Christian Lell, Thomas Kraft and Andre Mijatović. Second leg referee Wolfgang Stark was a key witness at the first hearing. Fortuna canceled a planned trip to Mallorca due to the hearing on 21 May 2012.
Sports law expert Michael Lehner said that Hertha can hope for replay after the second leg of the promotion/relegation playoff. Lehner went on to state, "Is not the game has been properly placed on the principle of equal opportunity at the end there was a break in terms of game development," and, "The team of Hertha BSC through the fault of third parties a real opportunity has been deprived of the game even. get why there should be a replay from a legal point of view."
The sports court of the DFB ultimately rejected Hertha's appeal, with Hertha ordered to pay the cost of the proceedings. Hertha then appealed the decision of the DFB's sports court. The sports DFB court president Hans Eberhard Lorenz stated, "The appeal was unsuccessful, because no ground of opposition was to prove the referee has traded at any time conform to the rules, and the alleged Hertha BSC-sided weakness due to the interruption could not be proven..." He also stated that, "There was no Berlin players injured or assaulted or were needed to be replaced. Had this been the case, the objection would have been done." The Federal Court of the German Football Association confirmed the Sports Court decision. Hertha can appeal the decision to the Sports Court for Arbitration. After the final verdict, Hertha players went on vacation, while Fortuna players were not immediately released for vacation.
The disciplinary panel of the DFB decided that Fortuna must play their first home match of next season behind closed doors as a result of their fans running onto the field during the second leg of the promotion/relegation playoff. The club was also sanctioned with a six-figure fine.

#### Other incidents

Another incident, as reported by Die Welt the next day, was that Hertha players attacked second leg referee Wolfgang Stark. Stark pressed charges against an unknown player for assaulting him off the field. Hertha apologized for the conduct of some of the club's players. The decision on the misconduct of Kobiashvili, Lell, Kraft and Mijatović are due later this week. The four players are accused of verbally and physically harassing the referee. Fortuna's Andreas Lambertz is also being investigated. He celebrated with a torch in his hand after the match.

## Match results
### Legend

Win  Draw  Loss

### 2. Bundesliga
#### Regular season

| Match | Date | Time | Venue | Opponent | Result | Scorers | Attendance | League Position |
| 1 | 18 July 2011 | 20:15 | Home | VfL Bochum | 2–0 | Rösler 66', Bröker 88' | 33,150 | 2 |
| 2 | 24 July 2011 | 15:30 | Away | SC Paderborn | 1–1 | Langeneke 42' (pen.) | 11,014 | 3 |
| 3 | 5 August 2011 | 18:00 | Home | FC Ingolstadt | 4–1 | Rösler 43', Bröker 50', 72', Fink 54' | 21,240 | 1 |
| 4 | 15 August 2011 | 20:15 | Away | Eintracht Frankfurt | 1–1 | Beister 54' | 42,000 | 6 |
| 5 | 19 August 2011 | 18:00 | Home | 1860 Munich | 3–1 | Rösler 43' (pen.), Lambertz 46', Beister 67' | 28,300 | 5 |
| 6 | 27 August 2011 | 13:00 | Away | Alemannia Aachen | 0–0 | — | 23,864 | 7 |
| 7 | 10 September 2011 | 13:00 | Home | Karlsruher SC | 4–2 | Langeneke 12' (pen.), Rösler 20', Bröker 67', 75' | 27,230 | 3 |
| 8 | 16 September 2011 | 18:00 | Away | Erzgebirge Aue | 4–2 | Langeneke 14' (pen.), Rösler 22', Lukimya 84', Juanan 89' | 10,100 | 3 |
| 9 | 24 September 2011 | 13:00 | Home | Energie Cottbus | 4–2 | Beister 4', 26', Rösler 17', Grimaldi 90'+3' | 25,450 | 2 |
| 10 | 3 October 2011 | 20:15 | Away | Eintracht Braunschweig | 1–1 | Langeneke 85' (pen.) | 23,050 | 3 |
| 11 | 17 October 2011 | 20:15 | Away | FC St. Pauli | 3–1 | Lambertz 45+1', 57', Beister 75' | 24,487 | 3 |
| 12 | 21 October 2011 | 18:00 | Home | Hansa Rostock | 2–0 | Langeneke 27' (pen.), Rösler 54' | 23,550 | 3 |
| 13 | 30 October 2011 | 13:30 | Away | FSV Frankfurt | 5–2 | Rösler 16', 55' (pen.), Dum 66', Beister 82', 85' | 7,719 | 1 |
| 14 | 4 November 2011 | 18:00 | Home | Dynamo Dresden | 2–1 | Beister 20', Jovanović 90'+2' | 32,300 | 1 |
| 15 | 19 November 2011 | 13:30 | Away | Union Berlin | 0–0 | — | 18,432 | 2 |
| 16 | 28 November 2011 | 20:15 | Home | Greuther Fürth | 2–1 | Fink 18', Langeneke 39' (pen.) | 33,017 | 1 |
| 17 | 5 December 2011 | 20:15 | Away | MSV Duisburg | 2–0 | Langeneke 57' (pen.), Rösler 59' | 23,117 | 1 |
| 18 | 10 December 2011 | 13:00 | Away | VfL Bochum | 1–1 | Rösler 74' | 17,500 | 1 |
| 19 | 16 December 2011 | 18:00 | Home | SC Paderborn | 2–3 | Juanan 56', Jovanović 75' | 25,240 | 1 |
| 20 | 4 February 2012 | 13:00 | Away | FC Ingolstadt | 1–1 | Langeneke 30' (pen.) | 6,585 | 1 |
| 21 | 13 February 2012 | 20:15 | Home | Eintracht Frankfurt | 1–1 | Langeneke 90+1' (pen.) | 41,213 | 1 |
| 22 | 19 February 2012 | 13:30 | Away | 1860 Munich | 1–2 | Beister 44' | 21,400 | 4 |
| 23 | 27 February 2012 | 20:15 | Home | Alemannia Aachen | 0–0 | — | 28,712 | 5 |
| 24 | 3 March 2012 | 13:00 | Away | Karlsruher SC | 5–0 | Fink 10', Beister 16', Ilsø 49', Rösler 53', Lambertz 76' | 16,419 | 4 |
| 25 | 10 March 2012 | 13:00 | Home | Erzgebirge Aue | 3–1 | Beister 22', Ilsø 65', Bröker 72' | 30,237 | 3 |
| 26 | 19 March 2012 | 20:15 | Away | Energie Cottbus | 1–1 | Matuszczyk 81' | 7,819 | 3 |
| 27 | 24 March 2012 | 13:00 | Home | Eintracht Braunschweig | 1–1 | Bröker 47' | 35,427 | 3 |
| 28 | 2 April 2012 | 20:15 | Home | FC St. Pauli | 0–0 | — | 47,484 | 3 |
| 29 | 5 April 2012 | 18:00 | Away | Hansa Rostock | 1–2 | Jovanović 85' | 14,500 | 3 |
| 30 | 10 April 2012 | 17:30 | Home | FSV Frankfurt | 1–0 | Jovanović 55' | 25,107 | 3 |
| 31 | 16 April 2012 | 20:15 | Away | Dynamo Dresden | 1–2 | Bröker 44' | 26,367 | 4 |
| 32 | 22 April 2012 | 13:30 | Home | Union Berlin | 2–1 | Ilsø 15', Rösler 22' (pen.) | 33,637 | 3 |
| 33 | 29 April 2012 | 13:00 | Away | Greuther Fürth | 1–1 | Ilsø 60' | 15,500 | 3 |
| 34 | 6 May 2012 | 13:30 | Home | MSV Duisburg | 2–2 | Fink 18', Lukimya 21' | 51,000 | 3 |
* 1.^ Match times before 30 October and after 24 March are played in Central European Summer Time. Match times from 30 October to 24 March are played in Central European Time.
* 2.^ Fortuna Düsseldorf goals listed first.

#### Promotion playoff

As third-place team, Fortuna Düsseldorf faces the 16th-placed 2011–12 Bundesliga side in a two-legged play-off. Hertha BSC finished in 16th place. The winner on aggregate score after both matches will earn a spot in the 2012–13 Bundesliga.
Dates and times of these matches were determined by the Deutsche Fußball-Liga as following:

### DFB-Pokal
## Player information
### Roster and statistics

As of 17 December 2011
Squad Season 2011–12 Sources: :
| Player | Player | Player | Player | Player | 2. Bundesliga | 2. Bundesliga | DFB-Pokal | DFB-Pokal | Promotion playoff | Promotion playoff | Totals | Totals |
| Player | Nat. | Birthday | at Fortuna since | Previous club | Matches | Goals | Matches | Goal | Matches | Goals | Matches | Goals |
| Goalkeepers |||||||||||
| Michael Ratajczak | | 16 April 1982 | 2007 | Rot-Weiss Essen | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | | | 19 | 0 |
| Robert Almer | | 20 March 1984 | 2011 | Austria Wien | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | 3 | 0 |
| Markus Krauss | | 16 September 1987 | 2011 | VfB Stuttgart | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders |||||||||||
| Jeron Hazaimeh | | 13 February 1992 | 2002 | SV Wersten | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | 0 | 0 |
| Juanan | | 27 April 1987 | 2011 | Real Madrid Castilla | 11 | 2 | 1 | 0 | | | 12 | 2 |
| Jens Langeneke | | 29 March 1977 | 2006 | Rot Weiss Ahlen | 19 | 7 | 1 | 0 | | | 20 | 7 |
| Tobias Levels | | 22 November 1986 | 2011 | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | | | 13 | 0 |
| Assani Lukimya | | 25 January 1986 | 2010 | Carl Zeiss Jena | 19 | 1 | 2 | 0 | | | 21 | 1 |
| Kai Schwertfeger | | 8 September 1988 | 1997 | Mettmanner SC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | 0 | 0 |
| Johannes van den Bergh | | 21 November 1986 | 2009 | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 19 | 0 | 2 | 0 | | | 21 | 0 |
| Christian Weber | | 15 September 1983 | 2009 | Larissa | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | | | 10 | 0 |
| Midfielders |||||||||||
| Maximilian Beister | | 6 September 1990 | 2010 | Hamburger SV | 19 | 8 | 2 | 0 | | | 21 | 8 |
| Adam Bodzek | | 7 September 1985 | 2011 | MSV Duisburg | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | | | 20 | 0 |
| Sascha Dum | | 3 July 1986 | 2010 | Energie Cottbus | 14 | 1 | 2 | 0 | | | 16 | 1 |
| Tugrul Erat | | 17 June 1992 | 2009 | Union Nettetal | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | 12 | 0 |
| Oliver Fink | | 6 June 1982 | 2009 | SpVgg Unterhaching | 17 | 2 | 2 | 1 | | | 19 | 3 |
| Andreas Lambertz | | 15 October 1984 | 2002 | VfR Neuss | 17 | 3 | 2 | 0 | | | 19 | 3 |
| Jules Schwadorf | | 19 October 1992 | 2011 | Bayer Leverkusen | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | 0 | 0 |
| Forwards |||||||||||
| Villyan Bijev | | 3 January 1993 | 2011 | Liverpool | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | 0 | 0 |
| Thomas Bröker | | 22 January 1985 | 2010 | Rot Weiss Ahlen | 17 | 5 | 2 | 1 | | | 19 | 6 |
| Timo Furuholm | | 11 October 1987 | 2012 | Inter Turku | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | 2 | 0 |
| Adriano Grimaldi | | 5 April 1991 | 2011 | Mainz 05 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | | | 9 | 1 |
| Ken Ilsø | | 2 December 1986 | 2011 | Midtjylland | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | 13 | 0 |
| Ranisav Jovanović | | 5 November 1980 | 2008 | Mainz 05 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | | | 6 | 2 |
| Robbie Kruse | | 5 October 1988 | 2011 | Melbourne Victory | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | | | 12 | 0 |
| Sascha Rösler | | 28 October 1977 | 2010 | 1860 Munich | 18 | 11 | 2 | 3 | | | 20 | 14 |

## Sources
### Match reports

* ↑ "Röslers Traumtor schockt den VfL". Kicker (in German). 18 July 2011. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
* ↑ "Taylor sticht als Joker und rettet den Punkt". Kicker (in German). 24 July 2011. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
* ↑ "Bröker eröffnet die verrückten vier Minuten". Kicker (in German). 5 August 2011. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
* ↑ "Beister sorgt für die Punkteteilung". Kicker (in German). 15 August 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
* ↑ "Beister setzt noch einen drauf" (in German). Kicker. 18 August 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
* ↑ "Beister und Bröker scheitern am Pfosten" (in German). Kicker. 27 August 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
* ↑ "Langeneke eröffnet den Torreigen". Kicker (in German). 10 September 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
* ↑ "Das Erzgebirge im Wechselbad der Gefühle – Lukimya und Juanan sorgen für den Sieg". Kicker (in German). 16 September 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
* ↑ "Energies Standardstärke bringt Fortuna ins Schwitzen". Kicker (in German). 24 September 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
* ↑ "Langeneke verlängert die Serie". Kicker (in German). 3 October 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
* ↑ "Lambertz ballert, Beister tanzt am Millerntor". Kicker (in German). 17 October 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
* ↑ "Langeneke & Rösler ballern Fortuna an die Spitze". Kicker (in German). 21 October 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
* ↑ "FSV Frankfurt – Fortuna Düsseldorf -Analyse". Kicker (in German). 30 October 2011. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
* ↑ "Joker Jovanovic schlägt in letzter Minute ein". Kicker (in German). 4 November 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
* ↑ "Keine Tore "an der Alten Försterei"". Kicker (in German). 19 November 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
* ↑ "Fink und Langeneke ballern Fortuna an die Spitze". Kicker (in German). 28 November 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
* ↑ "Herbstmeisterschaft dank Langeneke und Rösler". Kicker (in German). 5 December 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2011.
* ↑ "Rösler sei Dank – die Serie hält". Kicker (in German). 10 December 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
* ↑ "Mohr beendet Fortunas Fabelserie". Kicker (in German). 16 December 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
* ↑ "Gunesch lässt den Dreier liegen". kicker (in German). 4 February 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
* ↑ "Langeneke behält im Choas die Nerven". kicker (in German). 13 February 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
* ↑ "Aygün veredelt Nicus gefühlvolle Freistoßflanke". kicker (in German). 19 February 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
* ↑ "Ilsö scheitert vorne und rettet hinten". kicker. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
* ↑ "Rösler macht doppelten Doppelschlag perfekt". kicker. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
* ↑ "Beister, Ilsö & Bröker erlösen die Fortuna". kicker. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
* ↑ "Matuschyk verhindert Pleite in Cottbus". kicker. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
* ↑ "Langeneke versagen die Nerven". kicker. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
* ↑ "Spannende Nullnummer lässt Aufstiegsrennen offen". kicker. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
* ↑ "Hahnel ist der große Rückhalt - Rostock jubelt". kicker. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
* ↑ "Jovanovic macht den "Big Point"". kicker. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
* ↑ "Poté macht die Fortuna unglücklich". kicker. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
* ↑ "Ilsö im macht es im Fallen, die Fortuna klettert". kicker. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
* ↑ "Ilsö bestraft Fürther Abschlussschwäche". kicker. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
* ↑ "Düsseldorf macht die Relegation gegen Hertha perfekt". kicker. Retrieved 5 March 2021.

### Other sources

* 1 2 "Düsseldorf ist Rekord-Herbstmeister!". Kicker (in German). 5 December 2011. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
* 1 2 3 Chase, Jefferson (6 December 2011). "Düsseldorf make second-division history, eye top flight". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
* 1 2 3 4 Penfold, Chuck (16 May 2012). "Düsseldorf take top flight spot, Berlin relegated". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
* 1 2 3 "Die Bundesliga ist für Fortuna zum Greifen nahe". Kicker (in German). 10 May 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
* 1 2 3 "Fortunas Wiedergeburt versinkt im Chaos". Kicker. 15 May 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
* ↑ Wallrodt, Lars (15 May 2012). "Idioten nutzen Fußball-Bühne für Machtspielchen". Die Welt (in German). Retrieved 15 May 2012.
* 1 2 "Fortuna Dusseldorf end Bundesliga exile". ESPN Soccernet. 15 May 2012. Archived from the original on 6 June 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
* 1 2 "Referee Stark von Hertha-Spielern attackiert". Die Welt (in German). 16 May 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
* 1 2 "Hertha BSC legt Protest gegen Skandalspiel ein". Die Welt (in German). 16 May 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
* 1 2 "Hertha legt Protest ein – Verhandlung am Freitag". kicker (in German). 16 May 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
* ↑ "Campino nennt möglichen Hertha-Protest "unanständig"" (in German). 16 May 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "DFB delays decision on Hertha relegation". Deutsche Welle. 18 May 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
* 1 2 "Hertha entschuldigt sich, Düsseldorf trainiert wieder". Die Welt (in German). 19 May 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
* 1 2 "Hertha BSC kann auf Spielwiederholung hoffen". Die Welt (in German). 16 May 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
* 1 2 3 "Hertha scheitert und zieht vors DFB-Bundesgericht". Die Welt (in German). 21 May 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Einspruch abgewiesen: Doch Hertha geht vors Bundesgericht". kicker (in German). 21 May 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
* 1 2 3 4 5 "DFB rejects Hertha replay request". Deutsche Welle. 21 May 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
* 1 2 "Hertha scheitert – Chaosspiel wird nicht wiederholt". Die Welt (in German). 25 May 2012. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
* ↑ "Herthaner im Urlaub, Fortunen noch nicht". kicker (in German). 26 May 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
* 1 2 "DFB fordert "Geisterspiel" für Fortuna Düsseldorf". Die Welt (in German). 12 June 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
* ↑ "Tabelle | 34. Spieltag | 2. Bundesliga 2011/12". kicker. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
* ↑ "Cologne relegated, reprieve for Hertha Berlin". Deutsche Welle. 7 May 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
* ↑ "DFL revises first-leg schedule for promotion/relegation play-offs". Deutsche Fußball Liga. Archived from the original on 7 May 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
* ↑ "2. Bundesliga – Fortuna Düsseldorf – Kader". Kicker. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
* ↑ "Hessen Kassel – Fortuna Düsseldorf". Kicker. 31 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
* ↑ "Fortuna Düsseldorf – 1860 München". Kicker. 25 October 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
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