„I love this competition“

I love this competition and have had so many great experiences with it—though, admittedly, a few painful ones too. But fundamentally, it’s just a cool competition. Especially the way it works: there’s no „what comes next.“ After Sunday, it’s clear whether you’re playing in the second round or not. There’s no need for guesswork or interpretation. There are special matchups—and I count ours among them now. Playing against a team you don’t face every week or every year is something special, and that’s exactly what makes this competition so incredibly appealing.

It is clear to us that we are facing an opponent who had a very strong season in the Regionalliga and whom we have scouted extensively. They play with a relatively clear philosophy but are certainly willing to adapt it depending on the opponent. While they generally play with a back four, they have also operated with a back three—for instance, in their away match at Babelsberg. Their squad includes players with 3. Liga experience as well as individuals who were considered top-tier talents during their youth careers. They are a team with clear ambitions; from the outside, it certainly looks like they aim to eventually move up from the Regionalliga to the 3. Liga.

I think they strike a good balance between possession-based play and playing through the lines. In league play, they generally tend to employ a high press. It remains to be seen whether they will do the same against us. Naturally, the formation they choose isn’t entirely clear in an opening round of the cup, so we have prepared for both scenarios. I am looking forward to the stadium atmosphere and the cup journey—one that I hope begins on Sunday and continues well beyond that.

It was a solid week of training. The upside is that, thanks to those two matches, we know exactly what we need to work on. I think that is more than obvious. Looking at the 2. Bundesliga, we conceded the fewest chances of any team in both games, but at the same time, we also created the fewest chances of all 18 teams. Naturally, that starts with our high press; we need to force more turnovers to generate scoring opportunities. Above all, however, it stems from the fact that our play in the final third isn’t yet incisive enough. It shows that certain aspects aren’t quite as synchronised as I’d like them to be. But we have to be patient.

We’ve put a lot of work into that again this week. To put it simply: we need to play with more incisiveness. I do see signs of progress, though, and things are already working better in training than they did in our recent matches. But the matches are the real test. And in Dresden, we weren’t able to carve out a single clear-cut chance over the full 90 minutes. So, it’s pretty clear what we need to work on.

We are well aware of the circumstances we come from and the factors that drive results. Last year, we vastly outperformed expectations given the realities of our club’s situation. A fifth-place finish is not the norm for Darmstadt, and that achievement is certainly recognised internally. At the same time, certain dynamics arise in football that must be addressed.

We know that we will need patience again this year to initiate and drive forward our development. Yet, we cannot escape the pressures inherent in professional football. We want to win matches, and we need to win matches; that is our top priority. I would therefore describe our situation as healthy.