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.
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.
