After finishing the previous campaign in the top half of the table Duisburg started the season full of confidence and with serious ambitions, but very quickly things changed. Just 2 points collected from the opening 8 games saw coach Gruev sacked in early October and Lieberknecht was appointed as his replacement.
With 3 wins and 2 draws in his first 6 games in charge the new boss looked as if he had brought the change that would transform the season, but 7 defeats in his next 8 games saw Duisburg stuck in the bottom 3 since January and never exiting the relegation zone after that.
Injuries and many goals conceded inside the final 10 minutes of matches played their part in the poor campaign, but the truth was that Duisburg were the weakest hosts in the division and with just 3 home wins all campaign they simply didn’t stand a chance of survival.
Not many players deserve mentioning for the team that finished last, but captain Wolze remained solid contributor at both ends of the pitch throughout the entire season and more needed to play at his level for the Zebras to survive.
Now hard rebuilding process expected, with major change of personnel and maybe manager likely to occur this summer.
