The first competitive game in 2025 is coming up! Before SV Darmstadt 98's away game at Fortuna Düsseldorf (January 17th/6:30pm), the press conference with Florian Kohfeldt took place on Wednesday (January 15th). In this, the Lilien's head coach answered questions about the upcoming opponent, the approach and focal points in the training camp and also discussed the goals for the second half of the season. We have summarised the most important statements for you.
Personnel Update: Paul Will, Matthias Bader, Christoph Zimmermann and Fabian Holland as well as Isac Lidberg are not there. However, things are looking positive for Isac. According to Kohfeldt, the Lilies are optimistic that he will be able to get back into team training “in the next 2-4 weeks”.
In terms of their self-image and their individual potential, Fortuna Düsseldorf is a team that wants to play for promotion. And they have the opportunity to do so. They brought in players who played at a Bundesliga level. They also have exciting boys from abroad in their squad and a good mix of experienced and young players. All of this combined with a coach who has gained experience in the 2nd league over many years. A lot of things fit together for them. They are strong in switching and in their compactness against the ball. They also defend the spaces extremely forward, which makes it difficult for the opponent to find playful solutions. Overall, they play very controlled and mature.
We showed that we are capable of finding our solutions against any team in the league. We have a lot planned. I therefore expect a very interesting game on Friday evening. In addition to our footballing skills, we need a good feel for the moments of the game. Balancing the risks against Fortuna Düsseldorf is a crucial factor in being successful against them. We have to pay a lot of attention.
There are different variants. Fynn Lakenmacher is in the middle of a positive development. He was able to make a huge impact as a substitute in the first half of the season. He would be the variant with a lot of physicality on the last line. We could also move Killian Corredor forward to play as a second striker and then bring in Luca Marseiler – or Merveille Papela, who trained extremely well in the training camp. He is one of our best pressing players. Oscar Vilhelmsson is also an option. He trained fully again on Tuesday. It was a great shame that after a good start to the training camp, he missed three days and also the test match due to illness. Given his player profile, he would be the most natural answer to the loss of Isac.
Aleksandar Vukotic, Clemens Riedel and Matej Maglica are three central defenders who can play at a high level in the league. We feel very comfortable with them in terms of quality. Nevertheless, Christoph Zimmermann is missing a fourth central defender. But when I get on the bus on Thursday and see Clemens, Vuko and Matej, I feel very relaxed and know that we are well staffed in this position.
From day one we want to go into every game to win. This is the attitude you should have as a coach and athlete. We want to develop stability. Stable development means that you have an answer to many facets of football. We managed to be successful against playing and active teams. However, we rarely managed to find answers to win these games against teams like Regensburg, Münster, Ulm or Braunschweig. We addressed these topics in the training camp. Overall, we want to get more than 24 points in the second half of the season. That is ambitious.
We have outstanding team chemistry – but that doesn’t just mean peace, joy and pancakes. Opinions are expressed and there is a good competitive mentality among each other. Tactically, set pieces were a big focus in the training camp. We want to become more dangerous in this area, there is still more possible. We continued to work on finding the trigger in the final third in order to become even more dangerous to score here with clearer patterns. Deep defence was also an issue and developing a feeling of security there. There were also individual discussions and analysis. We were able to work on all areas.
My goal is to develop young players, I think that’s what I’ve stood for in my career so far. But the young players have to have a basic level in order to be able to give them the next platform. This next platform would be to provide the gaming experience to the young players. So far in training they have not offered to give them several games in a row. That’s why we have to promote their further development in training – in the hope that they reach the necessary level. But it’s also about developing players overall. We see a lot of personal development in the pool of 20 to 30 year olds – the best examples include Kai Klefisch, Luca Marseiler, Killian Corredor, Sergio Lopez, Andreas Müller and Aleksandar Vukotic.
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:
Despite falling behind, Darmstadt secured their second consecutive home win! Darmstadt defeated Energie Cottbus 3-1 (1-1). The home side equalised after conceding an early goal in the four-minute period through Weißhaupt before halftime. Vukotic headed his team into the lead in the second half, before Lührs sealed the victory with the third goal. This home win brings Darmstadt's season total to seven points.
Homegame at Böllenfalltor (10/10, 1pm): Florian Kohfeldt has made two changes to his starting XI compared to the away match in Wolfsburg three weeks ago. Richter and Mikelbrencis come into the starting lineup for Sickinger (calf issues) and Lannert (illness).
On Saturday afternoon (October 10th, 1pm), SV 98 hosts Energie Cottbus at the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor for Matchday 7. What do the two head coaches have to say ahead of kick-off? Who is officiating the match, and where can you follow the action live? As always, we have compiled all the key information regarding the game against Cottbus in our "Matchday Guide" feature.