Aleksandar Ristić: “King Aleks”. No coach enjoys cult status in Düsseldorf quite like Aleks Ristić. His press conferences and his one-liners – “Ich mechte einen Tee trinken” / “Die kennen sagen, was die wollen” – are as unforgettable as the cough sweets he handed to assistant referees and his “Pattex” coach’s chair.
He led Fortuna into the Bundesliga in 1989 and 1995, into the second division in 1994, and to the DFB-Pokal semi-finals in 1996. Only his third spell in Düsseldorf ended in failure. After six months, it was over in late 2000 in the Regionalliga Nord for the Bosnian-born coach, for whom Fortuna fans even sang the Toten Hosen anthem “Hier kommt Alex”.