What's the personnel situation like at Darmstadt? How is the team dealing with their current sporting situation? And what are Fortuna Düsseldorf's strengths? Florian Kohfeldt answered these and other questions at the press conference before the 23rd matchday of the second division. We've summarised the most important statements from the Darmstadt head coach for you.
Personnel update: Bartosz Bialek and Matthias Bader remain sidelined. Fraser Hornby and Isac Lidberg are both fully available again.
We have a wealth of options in terms of personnel – not just in attack, but also in the holding midfield position and in central defence. Niklas Schmidt impressively demonstrated in Braunschweig what a quality player he can be for us. We’re not currently discussing central defence that much, but my appreciation for Vuko remains undiminished. Overall, our personnel situation is a luxury, but also a very positive one for us. And that speaks well of our squad planning in the summer and the improvements made by Paul Fernie in the winter.
It’s incredibly important for us as a coaching team to have rational parameters for our personnel decisions. These are based on the players‘ abilities and form, but it’s also about what we need against the specific opponent. For example, Fynn Lakenmacher started against Kaiserslautern because we needed a target man. In Braunschweig, our plan was to find more depth behind the defence with Killian Corredor. Furthermore, it’s the responsibility of the entire team to ensure that decisions for or against a player don’t negatively impact team cohesion.
We’re facing a very strong defensive team that has become much more stable in the second half of last season. They went into the season aiming for promotion and have a lot of individual quality in their squad – many top players like Itten, Muslija, Appelkamp, Tanaka, plus a number of good centre-backs. Their footballing approach isn’t entirely clear, but they’re developing into a pressing team. Against Münster, they played very aggressively, man-to-man, while in Karlsruhe they used significantly more zonal and midfield pressing. We’ll prepare our team for both. Offensively, they rely primarily on their crosses, and with Itten, they have both the target man and one of the best box players in the league in the middle.
As in every second division match, we’re facing a tough opponent. For us, it’s crucial to create fast-paced attacking moves. That’s not so easy against Düsseldorf. Defensively, we need to protect our wings well to prevent crosses. At the same time, we need to have good man-marking in the box.
The team’s greatest strength is that we focus on the next event week after week. After the game in Braunschweig, our immediate focus was on Düsseldorf. After the game against Düsseldorf, it will immediately be on Dresden again. We’ve agreed on clear values for how we want to interact with each other during the week. The players also made a clear commitment before the season to how we want to work together. We’re concentrating on how we want to work. Creating this culture takes time. Now it’s about maintaining this culture. But that’s not difficult at the moment because the team is fully committed to it.
We addressed the issue of throw-ins clearly. In Braunschweig, the goals we conceded and the scoring opportunities we missed didn’t arise because the opponent outplayed us or because we lost one-on-one duels. They resulted from our failure to execute the basics well. That was the most frustrating thing in Braunschweig. On the one hand, I have to give the team immense praise for how they dealt with everything surrounding and during the game and ultimately came home with a point. That was fantastic. Nevertheless, we simply can’t concede goals like that.
On Sunday, the Lilies face a challenge in Baden: for the 8th matchday, SV Darmstadt 98 travel to take on Karlsruher SC. At the pre-match press conference, our head coach discussed the squad situation, the qualities of the opposition, and the team's motivation to get back to winning ways on the road.
On Sunday (October 18th), SV Darmstadt 98 will visit Karlsruher SC. KSC has a history that extends well beyond the confines of German football: the club from Baden once caused a stir on the European stage, writing a chapter that is still remembered today. But how did KSC manage to step into the international spotlight, and what made this success so special?
The next away match is coming up: this Sunday (October 18th, 1:30pm), the Lilien will visit Karlsruher SC for the 8th matchday of the 2. Bundesliga. As always, you can find all the essential information regarding travel and your visit to the stadium in the fan guidelines.
SV Darmstadt 98 invites all its members to come to the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor on November 1st, 2026, starting at 11:30am. Together, we aim to once again create the largest team photo in our club’s history—with the professional players in the front and the entire Lilies family behind them.
On Sunday (Oct 18th), SV Darmstadt 98 will visit Karlsruher SC. The side from Baden differs from the Lilies in several key respects. Furthermore, the match will see SV 98 cross paths with a former player once again. Find out here about other connections between the two clubs, as well as some particularly interesting statistics ahead of the encounter.
On Tuesday evening (October 13th), the SilberLilien took part in SV Darmstadt 98’s Stolperstein tour for the first time. Along the approximately six-kilometre route, the participants made several stops to learn more about the fates of Jewish club members who were persecuted and driven out during the Holocaust.
From new grassroots sports offerings and a look back at the club's history to birthdays and the latest updates from the media briefing—there is plenty to report from SV Darmstadt 98 again this week. In "Lilien Across the Board," we round up the news, insights, and stories from life at the club.
Tickets for the home match against 1. FC Heidenheim on November 22nd are available for purchase now.
SV Darmstadt 98's U21 team proved their mettle at home against KSV Hessen Kassel II in the Hessenliga on Sunday (Oct. 11th). After a convincing 90-minute performance, the Young Lilies secured another three points, finishing with a decisive 4–0 victory that lifts them to sixth place in the standings.
The Lilies overturned an early deficit to celebrate a 3–1 home victory against Energie Cottbus—a win that boosts confidence and confirms the progress being made. Read our analysis to find out why there is still work to be done and what positives SV 98 takes away from the match.
This season, too, Lilien fans will be doubly rewarded for every home goal scored by SV Darmstadt 98. In addition to the joy and excitement of the goals, the team's supporters will receive 98 litres of Krombacher Pils for every home goal scored by Darmstadt at the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor.
After the international break, Darmstadt 98 returned to the Bölle with a home win! Against Energie Cottbus, SV Darmstadt 98 put on a spirited performance in front of their home crowd and rewarded themselves with three points after an intense match. We've compiled the post-match reactions for you here: