Unless you are a Bayern Munich fan you don’t expect your football life to be one long victory parade. You know that only one team can win the league, that teams can go up as well as down and that there will always be more losers than winners. What really, really hurts is hope that is then dashed.
- You hope that a 89th minute equaliser means that a dreadful run of results is about to end – but then they lose again the next week.
- You hope that a couple of scrappy wins mean a place in the play-offs is still a possibility – but then two defeats on the bounce put it just beyond reach.
- You hope that if the results go your way, and if your boys can beat the team that hasn’t won away all season and hasn’t scored a goal since Easter, you might just avoid the drop – and of course none of that happens and you end up deeper in the mire.
Record breakers
So spare a thought for the poor fans of MSV Duisburg. Founder members of the Bundesliga when it was formed in 1963, the Zebras (they play in black and white stripes) were a force to be reckoned with well into the 1980s. Since then their fans have endured misery piled on misery. Disappointing performances on the the pitch and constant financial worries are not unusual for football clubs, but Duisburg fans must have a record for having hopes raised and then cruelly dashed.
Exhilarating and successful promotion campaigns have been followed by demoralising and unsuccessful fights against relegation. Cup final appearances in 1975, 1998 and 2011 all ended in defeats. In 2013 a late run of good results and an 11th place finish appeared to have saved the Zebras from yet another relegation. But mistakes in financial documents submitted to the league meant that the club was denied a licence and relegated to the third division. Hope returned the next season in the form of an immediate fightback to the the second tier. This was then slowly eroded as the 2015/16 season got underway by what seemed like a never-ending run of poor performances.
Relegation looms again
When Duisburg lost 2:1 at home to Heidenheim on 1 April, relegation seemed certain. With 6 games to go they were bottom of the table, with a meagre 19 points. They had only won three times all season. They still had to play FC Nürnberg, SC Freiburg and RB Leipzig – the three teams most likely to win promotion to the Bundesliga.
Hope returns – but only for a while
But in the space of two weeks total despair turned to slight hope. They beat Nürnberg 1:2, and the next week won 2:1 at home to 1860 München. Although still bottom of the league, safety was now within reach. A happy end to the season was possible.
So guess what happened next? Of course – a heavy 3:0 away defeat to SC Freiburg.
An inspiring fightback
But the torment went on. Next up were local rivals Fortuna Düsseldorf – also fighting relegation. Always a hotly contested derby game, this one was even more heated than usual – and Duisburg won 2:1.
So thousands of poor Duisburg fans travelled to the next game, against SV Sandhausen, with hope renewed. And of course, by half time their team was trailing 1:0 and second goal in the 75th minute appeared to have put the match and hope of staying up well beyond the Zebras. But then two goals in a stirring final ten minutes meant Duisburg went home with one point and hopes still just alive. One more win would see them finish the season third from bottom – high enough to avoid automatic relegation and to earn a playoff against whoever finished third in the division below. Unfortunately, the last game of the season was against RB Leipzig, who had already secured promotion to the Bundesliga and had only lost 5 games all season.
Defiant to the end
28,209 desperate fans turned up to cheer on their team. The Duisburg players put up a spirited and defiant performance, determined to do their very best. But with 15 minutes to go neither side had scored. Everyone knew that a draw would not be enough and the Duisburg fans must have begun to fear the worst. But then, in the 75th minute, Giorgi Chanturia made a brilliant run, surging through the Leipzig defence to put the ball past the keeper and spark wild scenes of celebration. Staunch defending for the last few minutes kept the score at 1:0. This victory meant that automatic relegation was avoided. Their fate was now in their own hands. Victory over two relegation/promotion playoff games against Würzburger Kickers would secure their place in the second division.
Disaster once again
The first game was on Friday 20 May. 3000 Duisburg fans – hope now burning – made the journey south for the first leg. Thousands more watched the game on live TV. After 10 minutes KIngsley Onuegbu’s very high foot caught Würzburg’s Peter Kurzweg on the head. The home team scored the ensuing penalty. Duisburg’s misery was deepened further when captain and central defender Bajic was given his 10th yellow card of the season and meant he would miss the home leg of the tie. A second goal in the 80th minute put the game beyond Duisburg’s reach. Hope was not completely extinguished, but to cling on to 2 division status they would need to score three goals in the home game.
On 24 May MSV Duisburg began this final battle well. Cheered on by a capacity home crowd the players seemed determined to get an early goal. And in the 33rd minute an own goal by Würzburg’s Schoppenhauer gave the Zebras the lead and sparked delighted celebrations around the ground. Sadly, this joy was to last a mere four minutes before Soriano found himself in the penalty area, one-on-one with the keeper. And of course he scored. Duisburg never really recovered from this devastating blow, Try as they might, they could not break through the Würzburg lines. Duisburg’s misery was then compounded by the sending off of Obinna for dissent and a second goal for Würzburg in the 92nd minute. MSV Duisburg were back in the 3rd division
As their dejected fans made their way home they must surely have asked themselves whether it would have been better to have lost to Nürnberg and 1860 München and to have known their fate back in April. But they will be back next season. And a few decent wins early on will raise hopes of yet another fightback …..
