The Avent Arena: The living room of every player, coach and fan of 1. FC Magdeburg. A blue and white fortress. The atmosphere there ensures that no visiting club feels comfortable in Magdeburg's home. Where. This season somehow already… What is impressive is that the team from the Elbe is undeniably having an outstanding season and, in fourth place, is clearly in the race for promotion. And yet, despite this loud, blue and white fortress, the Magdeburgers were only able to win one home game.
In the home table, 1. FC Magdeburg occupies the penultimate place. Because the team from Saxony-Anhalt confidently leads the away table, things are looking really good in the overall standings: with 38 points, the FCM is only one point behind the relegation playoff place. And suddenly Magdeburgers, who are weak in terms of results at home, can also win at home. The only home win so far came in the last home game against the top team in the league, 1. FC Köln, who were sent back to the Rhineland with a 3-0 win.
Now next Sunday (02.03/1.30pm) the Lilies will be playing in the Avnet Arena. We’ll take a closer look at SV 98’s next opponent. 1. FC Magdeburg in the opponent check.
| Top Scorers |
Top Assists |
| Martijn Kaars – 15 Goals | Martijn Kaars – 6 Assists |
| Mohammed El Hankouri – 6 Goals | Livan Burcu – 6 Assists |
| Philipp Hercher – 6 Goals | Mohammed El Hankouri – 4 Assists |
| Baris Atik – 4 Goals | Baris Atik – 3 Assists |
| Marcus Mathisen – 3 Goals | Xavier Amaechi – 3 Assists |
„There is no perfect game. If the perfect game existed, we would all have nothing left to correct.“
With these words, Magdeburg head coach Christian Titz responded in a kicker interview to the question of whether he was still looking for the perfect game. In his rather “imperfect” game, the trainer regularly relies on a high-quality goalkeeper who not only saves the ball, but also integrates himself strongly into the build-up of the game. Titz already trusted this type of goalkeeping at Hamburger SV – back then it was Julian Pollersbeck. Today, this role at FCM is fulfilled by captain and goalkeeper Dominik Reimann, whose positioning and playful qualities are intended to give Magdeburg’s game structure additional variability.
At the same time, the 53-year-old likes to let his team press high in order to put the opponent under pressure early on. Titz got inspiration for his bold game idea, among other things, during an internship with Johan Cruyff. The Mannheim native says of him: “Johan Cruyff was not only exceptional as a player, he changed football as coach of FC Barcelona.” A good stick word.
Because Titz also changed 1. FC Magdeburg. After his stints at HSV and Rot-Weiss Essen, the trained administrative assistant took over the East Club in 2021 – with immediate success. In his first season he celebrated promotion to the 2nd Bundesliga with the FCM and also secured the Saxony-Anhalt Cup. Since then, Magdeburg has been in Bundesliga 2 – and stands for attractive, courageous football. Fittingly, Titz happily agrees with his teacher Cruyff: “Football is a simple game. But just playing it is difficult.” The football book author, family man and business economist has many talents. But there’s one thing he still doesn’t like to this day: „Losing isn’t something I really enjoy doing.“
Score goals. Magdeburg can do that particularly well this season. With 48 goals, Christian Titz’s team is the second best team in the statistics. Only the league leaders Hamburger SV (51) scored more goals than FCM. This is also due to the good utilisation of chances, which is 11.3 percent and is therefore the third best league value. Only Nürnberg (11.6) and again HSV (11.9) are above this. In the last four games alone, the blue-whites scored an impressive twelve goals. However, they only won two games.
All-rounder. A term that has long been an integral part of the vocabulary of modern football. It applies to players who can be used flexibly in multiple positions. And hardly any other player embodies this versatility as much as Mohammed El Hankouri from 1. FC Magdeburg. Since his move in the summer of 2022, the 27-year-old has developed into a real all-purpose weapon for the blue and whites. Whether on the defensive or offensive wing, in the attacking midfield or even as a hanging point: El Hankouri has played almost everywhere. He was only not on the pitch for Magdeburg as a goalkeeper, central defender or classic six.
A look at the numbers shows how important he is for his team: 20 appearances, plus six goals and four assists in the current second division season speak for themselves. Recently, however, the winger has found himself more and more often in central midfield. Head coach Christian Titz explained this move after the 1-0 away win at Jahn Regensburg: “Mo is a player who is very interesting in the gaps.”
Review. Starting in the youth ranks at Feyenoord Rotterdam, where he worked his way up to the professionals and won the Dutch championship in 2016/17 and the Super Cup in 2019, he ended up on loan at Willem II. He only returned to Feyenoord for a short chapter, as he initially joined FC Groningen on loan and later permanently. In 2022 he finally moved to Germany to 1. FC Magdeburg. El Hankouri has also already gained experience on the international stage: The Moroccan, who was born in the Netherlands, played one game each for the Netherlands U20 team and the Morocco U20 team, most recently being called up for the Morocco U23 team in 2018.
A bitter end in Karlsruhe: After 90 entertaining minutes in which both teams sought salvation in attack, Darmstadt suffered a narrow defeat. The final score was 2-1 after a late goal from the home side, following Isac Lidberg's earlier equaliser. After the match, the players were particularly frustrated with the missed opportunities in the first half.
The away form continues to be poor: SV 98 suffered a 2-1 (0-0) defeat against Karlsruher SC. Lidberg scored the equaliser for the team from southern Hesse in the 70th minute.
Darmstadt 98 visit Karlsruher SC on matchday 32 (May 3rd, 1:30 PM). Florian Kohfeldt has made five changes to his starting lineup. Killian Corredor replaces the injured Fraser Hornby, Aleksandar Vukotic comes in for the suspended Patric Pfeiffer, and Fabian Holland starts in place of Matej Maglica, who is sidelined with an ankle injury. Merveille Papela and Niklas Schmidt also join the team, replacing Sergio Lopez and Yosuke Furukawa. In addition to Hornby, Pfeiffer, and Maglica, Darmstadt will also be without the injured Matthias Bader, Fabian Nürnberger, and Luca Marseiler.
Finally, the weekend is here, finally Sunday! On Sunday afternoon (May 3rd, 1:30pm), SV Darmstadt 98 will face Karlsruher SC away. What do the two coaches have to say about the match, who will be refereeing, and where can you watch it if you're not at the stadium? All the important information about the Lilies' 32nd matchday is compiled for you here in "Matchday Guide".
Continuity in sporting management: SV Darmstadt 98 has extended Paul Fernie's contract early and for the long term. As part of the contract extension, the current sporting director will move into the club's management board and will now serve as managing director of sport.
Our head coach spoke at the press conference before the away game against Karlsruher SC (May 3rd/1:30pm) about the mental freshness of his team, the course of action for the remaining games and his coaching colleague, whose commitment to KSC will end after six years this season.
Left hook, 'One hundred and eightyyyyyyy', and hand over the baton. Doesn't sound like football – and that's true. KSC is often associated with professional football, but with the sheer number of titles the club has won, it's worth looking beyond the pitch. Titles from Baden-Württemberg to Rome.
In a rescheduled Lotto Hessenliga match, SV Darmstadt 98's U21 team hosted SV Hummetroth at their youth academy on Wednesday evening (April 29th) but unfortunately came away empty-handed. Despite a spirited performance and playing with one man less, the score after 90 minutes was 3-1 in favour of Hummetroth.
Lilies at the Wildpark! SV Darmstadt 98 will be playing away against Karlsruher SC this coming Sunday (May 3rd/1:30pm) for the 32nd matchday of the 2. Bundesliga. Will Darmstadt's positive record from recent encounters continue? Will Florian Kohfeldt and Isac Lidberg extend their scoring streak against KSC? And will Fabian Schleusener finally stop scoring against SV 98? We've compiled all the facts and figures for you.
SV Darmstadt 98 will be playing away against Karlsruher SC on Sunday (May 3rd/1:30pm) at the Wildpark Stadium for the 32nd matchday. To ensure you are well prepared for your trip to KSC, here is a summary of all the important information for your visit to the stadium.
To ensure a smooth and convenient journey to Karlsruhe this weekend, SV 98 is offering a special train service that will transport Lilies fans directly from Darmstadt to Karlsruhe and back. Additionally, SV Darmstadt 98's U21 team will host SV Hummetroth at their home academy this Wednesday evening (April 29th). For more news and updates, check out our usual "Lilien Across the Board" – all the latest news about the club, gathered here for you.
