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.
Attention Lilien fans: During SV Darmstadt 98’s training camp in Bad Wörishofen (Allgäu region)—taking place from July 19th to July 26th, 2026—there will once again be an opportunity to meet the team, chat with the players, and, of course, get autographs and photos. The fan meet-up is scheduled for Saturday, July 25th, following the friendly match against SG Sonnenhof Großaspach. Kick-off for the match is at 12pm.
SV 98 remains active in the transfer market. The "Lilies" have signed Christopher Lannert from Arminia Bielefeld.
Friendly matches, fundraising campaigns, and plenty of photos—that’s what the week looked like for SV 98 and the club’s community. Between their 5–1 victory over FC Homburg and the upcoming friendly in Walldorf this Friday (July 17), the „Lilies“ showed their best side for the cameras. In addition, the SV 98 legends team will face an Odenwald select squad on Sunday (July 19th). You can also win great prizes in competitions taking place in Erbach and at the pop-up store in downtown Darmstadt. Lilies Across the Board brings you all the latest news from life at SV 98.
The Bundesliga finalised the match schedules for matchdays three through six on Wednesday (July 15th): Darmstadt's home game against Hannover 96 on matchday three will take place on Sunday. This will be followed by their away game against 1. FC Kaiserslautern on Saturday at 1pm. The home game against Arminia Bielefeld on Friday evening and the away game in Wolfsburg, also on Friday evening, have also been confirmed.
The Lilies can welcome another new arrival at the Böllenfalltor: Florian Kleinhansl will now wear the SV 98 jersey. The 25-year-old joins on a free transfer following the expiration of his contract with 1. FC Kaiserslautern on June 30th.
Third test, third clear victory. SV 98 won the match against FC 08 Homburg 5-1 (3-0).
SV Darmstadt 98 and the fusion energy company Focused Energy are entering into an official partnership. The aim of the collaboration is to more closely link top-level football and high technology from the Darmstadt region and to jointly generate momentum for innovation and future societal issues.
Killian Corredor will be playing in his home country again in the future. SV 98 has reached an agreement with FC Nantes on the transfer of the Frenchman.
On Tuesday (July 14, 6pm), SV Darmstadt 98 hosts Regionalliga side FC Homburg and asks fans to take note of the following information.
A home game against KSV! SV Darmstadt 98 hosts Holstein Kiel for the opening matchday of the 2. Bundesliga season this Saturday (August 8 at 1pm). Here’s how you can be there: the member pre-sale for the new season's first home game begins this coming Wednesday (July 15) at 12pm —available online and at the ticket shop at the Merck-Stadion, as usual. You can find all further details in this announcement.
For every home goal scored by the "Lilies," SV Darmstadt 98 fans were doubly rewarded during the recent 2025/26 second-division season. Beyond the joy and excitement, supporters received 98 litres of Krombacher Pils for every goal Darmstadt scored at the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor.
In recent days, various media outlets have published reports and graphics regarding the distribution of TV revenue for the 2026/27 season. Some of these reports included not only specific figures but also a comparison to the previous season. This comparison indicates a supposed revenue increase of €1.4 million for SV 98 compared to the 2025/26 season.