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.
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.