Fortuna Düsseldorf wants to return to the Bundesliga with a young and still quite unknown coach. After speculation about World Cup record goal scorer Miroslav Klose, Fortuna announced on Thursday that Christian Preusser of the second team of SC Freiburg will be the new head coach. The 37-year-old will succeed Uwe Rösler, whose contract was not extended.
“A new way” goes the Fortuna with the election, said board member Klaus Allofs according to a message on Thursday. “In Freiburg he has proven over a long period of time that he can shape young players and develop a team.” These are precisely the attributes that have been sought.
With the U23 of SC Freiburg, Preusser is currently in the Regionalliga Südwest facing promotion to the 3rd division. He has been looking after the team for five years. The native of Berlin previously worked for the then third division club FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt. The new coach, who signed a two-year contract, will only be officially presented at the start of preparation for the new season.
“I couldn’t imagine a better club for my next step and I’m looking forward to working with the team in the future,” the coach was quoted as saying in the Fortuna statement. The talks with Allofs and sports director Uwe Klein were very constructive and trusting.
Klein explained that Preusser “stands for continuity”. With his concept he was “completely convincing”. The young coach brings everything “to be successful in Düsseldorf in the next few years”. The return to the Bundesliga will probably not be an easy undertaking in the coming year, because Fortuna has many prominent competitors in the second division. In addition to the relegated FC Schalke 04 and Werder Bremen, Hamburger SV, Karlsruher SC, FC St. Pauli, Hannover 96 and 1. FC Nürnberg play there. The big rival on the Rhine, 1. FC Cologne, could also join.
After finishing fifth at the end of the season, Fortuna announced on Whit Monday that the 52-year-old Rösler’s contract, which expired on June 30, would not be extended. This means that the Thuringian’s term of office with the Rhinelanders ends after almost 16 months.
The name Klose had already been traded before. The 2014 world champion and world championship record scorer has left as assistant coach at Bayern Munich. Klose and Allofs know each other from common times at SV Werder Bremen.
Unlike Klose, the new man in Düsseldorf is likely to have been known mainly to industry insiders so far. But the 37-year-old already had to do with big names: In 2013 he completed an internship at BVB, which was then trained by Jürgen Klopp. Preusser later once told the “Bild” newspaper about the famous coach: “I wouldn’t say right now that he is my role model because I don’t have a coach role model.” He appreciates all coaches. “But the way you play is what you want to do as a coach.”
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