The magical night of Rotterdam. 1974. European Cup Winners' Cup. And the blue and white football club from the then German Democratic Republic right in the middle. At the De Kuip stadium, 1. FC Magdeburg met AC Milan and secured triumph in the European Cup thanks to a 2-0 win. As high as the FCM flew back then, it sank again in the decades that followed. There was a lot of talk about the “sleeping giant” in the city on the Elbe. A football club that was trapped in the lower leagues of the Republic for a long time and was sometimes on the brink. But a “sleeping giant” that has been brought back to life.
The 2014/15 season represented a decisive turning point in the development of 1. FC Magdeburg. As first in the Regionalliga Nord-Ost, the Blue-Whites had to fight for promotion to the 3rd league and thus a return to professional football battle. In the first and second leg, the FCM prevailed against Kickers Offenbach and ultimately celebrated their long-awaited promotion to the third highest German league in the stadium on Bieberer Berg.
This was followed by a total of three seasons in League 3, a one-year trip to the 2nd Bundesliga and another three seasons in the 3rd League. Since 2022, the Magdeburgers have now been an integral part of the German lower house of football and are currently in their third second division year in a row. And very successfully. After the 6th matchday, the team from Saxony-Anhalt is in third place. The duel in the Merck Stadium at Böllenfalltor next Saturday (September 28th) will be a tough one – for both teams. Because with SV 98, FCM will face a team against whom they have always lost in their previous six games. The seventh meeting is now imminent…
| Top Signings | Departures |
| Marcus Mathisen (Defender, SV Wehen Wiesbaden) | Daniel Elfadli (Hamburger SV) |
| Martijn Kaars (Attacker, Helmond Sport) | Amara Conde (SC Heerenveen) |
| Lubambo Musonda (Defender, AC Horsens) | Luca Schuler (Hertha SC) |
| Robert Leipertz (Attacker, SC Paderborn 07) | Leon Bell Bell (Eintracht Braunschweig) |
| Aleksa Marusic (Attacker, Voska Sport) | Ahmet Arslan (Rot-Weiss Essen) |
More than 50 of your own books? Yes, you read that right. The man can not only coach, but also write texts: “Perfect shooting techniques” as well as “Dribbling and feinting” or “Tackling training” are just some of his football-specific skills. Christian Titz can call himself an author. He also has a degree in business administration and sports management and once founded his own football school. And he’s still a coach. If you look for an adjective to describe the Mannheim native, you quickly end up with the word “versatile”. Titz has been the head coach of 1. FC Magdeburg since February 2021.
The now 53-year-old had to end his own professional career early. But because his passion for the coaching profession always burned within him, his path was clearly mapped out. At the age of 15, he once coached the players of a D-youth team, and at 29 he took over the A-juniors of Alemannia Aachen. After a number of other positions, he ended up at Hamburger SV in 2017, where he first worked with the youth team and then trained the second team and later even became the head coach of the professionals. But Titz’s real breakthrough came on the Elbe, but upstream. Not in Hamburg, but in Magdeburg. He led the blue-whites from the 3rd league to the 2nd Bundesliga with his ball possession style of play, which is characterised by courage and offensive football. “When we started here, we were in a relegation zone in the third division,” Titz once explained in an interview with the Tagesspiegel. The FCM is currently in third place in the German lower house of football.
There are at least two decisive characteristics that characterise 1. FC Magdeburg this season: unpredictability and away strength. Christian Titz’s team is currently marching through the league undefeated. The Blue-Whites have so far excelled, especially on their travel: FCM won all three away games of the current season – most recently the one in Cologne (2-1), before that the games in Nürnberg (4-0) and Braunschweig (3-1). In addition, you never know who will be on Magdeburg’s top scorer list. Their 13 goals this season were scored by nine different players. No other team in the league has so many different goal scorers in its ranks.
„I can score goals, that’s my quality.“ One man, one word. And Martijn Kaars didn’t promise too much when he said this sentence in an interview with MDR in the summer. In his first six league games, the new signing from 1. FC Magdeburg has already scored three times and prepared two more goals. The Dutchman came to the Elbe city with the recommendation of 35 goals and seven assists in 75 second division games for his old Dutch employer Helmond Sport. The 25-year-old understands the art of scoring goals like hardly anyone else in the FCM squad.
The native Dutch comes from a small town northeast of Amsterdam: Monnickendam. As a child, he was first influenced by the club in his hometown, then he went to FC Volendam and later he continued his football training with the Dutch record champions Ajax Amsterdam. And success was not long in coming. Ambition, will and determination characterise him. Kaars made his professional debut for the FC Volendam first team at the age of 18. This is where his successful path as a goalscorer began: Since the 2018/19 season, with the exception of the 2021/22 season, he has always scored more than ten goals this season in the league. This much goal threat also made the Blue and Whites from Magdeburg sit up and take notice. They described him as a “dream player” in the Elbe city. A striker that the Lilies will have to pay particular attention to on Saturday.
After 13 unbeaten second-division matches, SV Darmstadt 98 suffered their first defeat this Friday evening. Three unfortunate minutes just before halftime, during which Patric Pfeiffer was sent off and Vincent Vermeij scored twice, paved the way for Dresden's victory. After the match, the focus was primarily on the differing assessments of two very similar incidents by the refereeing team – incidents which both coaches subsequently evaluated identically.
For the first time since October, Darmstadt 98 finished a league match without any points: SV 98 lost 3-1 (2-0) to SG Dynamo Dresden. After a controversial red card against Patric Pfeiffer (42nd minute), the home side scored two goals in first-half stoppage time to secure the victory.
Under the floodlights at the Rudolf-Harbig-Stadium. On Friday evening (February 27th/6:30pm), Darmstadt 98 will play away against Dynamo Dresden. Florian Kohfeldt has made three changes to his starting eleven. Raoul Petretta makes his first start, replacing Fabian Holland. Luca Marseiler starts in place of the suspended Marco Richter, and Hiroki Akiyama replaces Fraser Hornby, who is sidelined with a thigh injury. Fabian Nürnberger, Matthias Bader, and Bartosz Bialek remain unavailable due to injury.
A floodlit match at the Rudolf-Haribig-Stadion is always something special. Darmstadt 98 are aiming to take three points back to southern Hesse this Friday evening (February 27th). Kick-off is at 6:30pm. All the important information about the 24th matchday of the 2. Bundesliga is clearly summarised for you in our "Matchday Guide".
Darmstadt 98 aim to extend their unbeaten run to 14 games in Friday evening's match against Dynamo Dresden. While Darmstadt's potent attack has resulted in a respectable goal tally, they are wary at the Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion. The Saxons have been on an upward trend since the winter break and will have a vociferous home crowd behind them. We've compiled all the facts and figures surrounding this clash in this report. Here you'll find the key facts for tomorrow's match.
Darmstadt and Dresden are 598 kilometres apart. On Friday evening (February 27th, 6:30pm), SV Darmstadt 98 will travel to the Saxon capital for the 24th matchday of the 2nd Bundesliga. The next away game will take place under the floodlights at the historic Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion. You can find all relevant fan information here.
Before SV Darmstadt 98 plays under floodlights in Dresden on Friday evening (27.02/18.30), Florian Kohfeldt spoke at the press conference about the strengths of Dynamo Dresden and the special atmosphere in the Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion.
Raoul Petretta joined SV Darmstadt 98 in the winter and already feels very much at home. He talks about his arrival and his goals. Besides their sporting focus, the Lilies are also committed to sustainability: On March 15, 2026, over 3,500 trees will be planted as part of the fifth "In the Sign of the Lily" tree-planting campaign. In our "Lilies Across the Board" section, we provide you with the most important news from SV Darmstadt 98 every week.
Numerous Dynamo Dresden fans flock to the stadium on home match days. But one day, they came for a single reason: What should their stadium be called in the future? Tens of thousands of supporters gathered in front of the Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion, ready to cast their votes. In cooperation with regional partners, Dynamo Dresden's management took the unusual step of letting the club's supporters decide for themselves.
WirLilien – Together for nature conservation! Together with our partner Krombacher, we will once again plant more than 3,500 trees on Sunday (March 15th) – under the banner of the Lily. You can still register for the event at short notice.
On Friday (February 27th, 7:30pm), SV Darmstadt 98's U21 team begins the second phase of their Hessenliga season. With 23 points after 20 matchdays, the Lilies are currently in 14th place. Following intensive weeks of winter training, the team aims to start the upcoming challenges with renewed energy and secure crucial points.
A fast-paced, thrilling exchange between SV Darmstadt 98 and Fortuna Düsseldorf reached its ecstatic climax in the 88th minute. Thanks to Matej Maglica's header, Darmstadt secured a 2-1 victory in a wild battle that resembled a 12-round boxing match, with both sides neglecting their defences and constantly searching for the next hook or punch. A day later, sv98.de looks back on what was probably the most exciting home game of the season so far for the South Hessian side.