analyse
For the 13th time in the 16th edition of the relegation play-offs, the Bundesliga team has managed to avoid relegation. The asymmetrical power of this format was evident more than ever in VfL Bochum’s triumph over Fortuna Düsseldorf.
The game had already been over for well over an hour when the two coaches Heiko Butscher and Daniel Thioune entered the press conference room in the Düsseldorf Arena. At first glance, it was not clear which of them had just experienced a huge triumph. They fell into each other’s arms and, after a few intimate moments, sat motionless on their seats. The feeling of emptiness was written all over their faces.
Butscher and his VfL Bochum had achieved a miracle, making up for the 0-3 first leg defeat and then securing survival in the penalty shootout. And he won with a lot of empathy for a second division team that, as so often before, was unable to reward itself for a successful season in the relegation play-offs. Although it was never as brutal as in this case.
Relegation to Bundesliga Arrow right
Butscher: “It’s actually unfair that it ends like this”
“It was an unbelievable game, we were doing really badly four days ago. Now I’m sitting here, we somehow managed it – I’m obviously really happy and proud of the team. I don’t really want to say anything more because there’s still such an emptiness,” said Butscher. “I have the utmost respect for Fortuna Düsseldorf, who played a great season. It’s actually unfair that it ended like this. But that’s what sport allows, that’s football, it’s sometimes cruel.”
For the 16th time since the league was reinstated, the third-placed team in the second division had to go through the relegation play-offs to gain promotion – and for the 13th time, they failed. Never before had a penalty shootout decided whether the second division team would be rewarded for the good past few months or the first division team would have a happy ending despite a weak season.
Clearly over the limit: Takashi Uchino (l.) lost his nerve in the penalty shootout.
Thioune tries to stay strong in his grief
“I saw a lot of tearful faces, it really hurts. The boys deserve more than to have to continue playing in the second division next season,” said Thioune. His eloquence and open manner also made him a favorite in Düsseldorf, but after the final whistle he too collapsed. Glassy eyes, slow speech, body tension lost, pure disappointment.
“As a human being, it’s difficult to accept. My weakness is that I’m not very stable. Many players cry in the dressing room, they could be my sons. I have to wipe away their tears, even if I want to cry myself,” Thioune said a few minutes before the press conference on “Sky”. Before that, he had spent several minutes consoling Takashi Uchino, who had missed the last penalty.
Fortuna had warned – and was confirmed
The disaster for Düsseldorf was great luck for Bochum. After the 0:3 defeat in the first leg, nobody believed in a miracle anymore, the course of the game was too clear. But with the first goal from the outstanding Philip Hofmann, belief was there. “It’s amazing that we turned it around today. I’m incredibly proud, we believed in it,” said captain Antony Losilla.
But it would be wrong to conclude that Düsseldorf was too gullible. Before the match, players, coaches and officials had repeatedly made it clear that the outcome of the relegation match was far from decided. For manager Klaus Allofs, the size of the result was a major factor in making the evening in Düsseldorf a memorable one – with the dramatically bad ending for his team.
“We were close to taking this big step into the Bundesliga. I knew beforehand that it was far from over when you play against a Bundesliga team that beat Bayern Munich not so long ago,” said Allofs. “We didn’t cope well with the 3-0 lead. On the other hand, Bochum was the only team they could really save their skin and had to offer their fans something, so they played it all or nothing. That made them very strong.”
High balls a simple but efficient tool
But the truth is that Düsseldorf did everything in its power to enable Bochum to make this turnaround. Butscher’s team again tried almost exclusively with long balls. But because Fortuna chose this method, which was quite untypical for the team, and thus always lost the ball after a very short time, VfL had countless opportunities to play long shots.
The 1-0 was the result of a free kick cross, the 2-0 result of a high ball, the penalty was the result of a cross. With so many high passes flying into the Düsseldorf penalty area, it was inevitable that at some point even this simple means would have a big impact.
Much unclear in Bochum, aggressiveness in Düsseldorf
What remains are two clear facts: Bochum will remain in the first division, Düsseldorf in the second division. Apart from that, there is a lot of uncertainty. VfL will be settling accounts in the next few days, and despite the happy ending, there will probably be drastic personnel decisions. At Fortuna, the missed promotion will have a huge impact on squad planning, and star players like Ao Tanaka and Christos Tzolis are unlikely to stay. The “Fortuna for All” project would also have benefited enormously.
Bochum celebrates a success that is perhaps not entirely fair, but is possible thanks to the construct of relegation. Düsseldorf, on the other hand, falls from its high (previously unbeaten in 15 league games) to the depths of tears. However, those responsible have already drawn strength from the strong season to look forward positively. “I’m already looking forward to attacking again next season,” said Allofs.
