Manuel Neuer, Mesut Özil, Julian Draxler, Leroy Sané – and many other well-known footballers. They all come from the famous club of FC Schalke 04. The club always succeeds in promoting young talents who make it to the top of professional football. Schalke have already celebrated four German championships and two cup victories with their U19s. Although there have been no major successes recently, two talents, Taylan Bulut and Max Grüger, have once again made it into the professional squad.
Looking into the present. The FC Schalke 04 professional team’s form curve is pointing upwards. In December, Schalke celebrated impressive victories against two of the league’s current top teams – against SC Paderborn (4-2) and SV Elversberg (4-1). In any case, head coach Kees van Wonderen’s team remained unbeaten in December and January. After the winter break there were two wins, one draw and two defeats. The Royal Blues are currently in eleventh place in the 2nd Bundesliga. We’ll take a closer look at the Lilies‘ upcoming opponent in our opponent check.
| Top Scorers |
Top Assists |
| Moussa Sylla – 13 Goals | Tobias Mohr – 6 Assists |
| Kenan Karaman – 11 Goals | Paul Seguin – 3 Assists |
| Tobias Mohr – 3 Goals | Derry Murkin – 3 Assists |
| Janik Bachmann – 3 Goals | Mehmet Aydin – 3 Assists |
| Ron Schallenberg – 2 Goals | Kenan Karaman – 2 Assists |
“I’m not Harry Potter,” said Kees van Wonderen when he was introduced on club TV. What did he mean by that? “We can’t do magic, we can’t make what we want to see in the end possible in a short time. But we are going into the process and want to take a step every day.“ Although the Dutchman started his term at the Royal Blues with two defeats, the process he described at the beginning has become more and more visible, especially in the last few months. FC Schalke 04 remained unbeaten in December and January, and the team recently celebrated a 2-1 win over Karlsruher SC.
The 56-year-old knows from his own experience as a player and coach how to stabilise a team and celebrate success. As an active professional, the former Feyenoord Rotterdam right-back won the Dutch championship, the Supercup and also the UEFA Cup.
Such great triumphs have not yet been achieved on the sidelines. However, in 2018 he coached the Dutch U17 national team to the European Championships as head coach and then became Ronald Koeman’s assistant with the senior national team. Things were also consistently positive for van Wonderen in club football. With the Go Ahead Eagles Deventer he achieved promotion to the Eredivisie before coaching SC Heerenveen from 2022 to 2024 and keeping the team consistently in mid-table. He expects his team at Schalke “to do everything they can to get better every day.”
Darmstadt seems to suit Schalke – unfortunately. The two teams have already met ten times in the Merck Stadium at the Böllenfalltor: the guests from Gelsenkirchen left the pitch as winners six times. The last duel in April 2022 will also have fond memories for the Royal Blues: Schalke secured the three points with a 5-2 win over SV Darmstadt 98. Marius Bülter shone with a hat-trick, while Simon Terodde for S04 and Phillip Tietz for SV 98 scored twice. Based on this record, Schalke should travel to Bölle on Sunday (23.02/1.30pm) with a lot of confidence.
The first time in the professional squad. The first time at VELTINS Arena. The first time FC Schalke 04. But only as a guest. In December 2013, the young Kenan Karaman was in the DFB Cup round of 16 for the first time in the professional squad of TSG Hoffenheim under coach Markus Gisdol. Even though he didn’t play a minute, just warming up on the Schalke Arena pitch must have impressed the German-Turkish football newcomer. At that time he left the stadium with a 3-1 win in his pocket.
Today – over a decade later – the VELTINS Arena is his sporting home. Karaman has been wearing the royal blue jersey since 2022 – and is leading the way this season. He has only missed one competitive game so far due to a yellow card suspension. And last season he impressed with 29 appearances and 13 goals. But that wasn’t enough for him: “I always want to be better and get better! This season I would like to lead the way again with goals and assists and give the team a good feeling,” said Schalke’s number 19 to the Bild newspaper.
And the 30-year-old has confirmed this statement so far. The attacker has already scored eleven goals and prepared two more in 21 second division games this season. The following applies to him: whether on the training pitch, in the dressing room or in the mixed zone. The 31-time Turkish international puts himself at the service of the team everywhere. Coach van Wonderen is also more than convinced by his captain: “Kenan is a real leader. He has the quality to decide games.”
The pairings for the first round of the DFB Cup have been drawn: SV Darmstadt 98 will face FC Carl Zeiss Jena away from home. The draw took place on Saturday evening (June 6th) at the German Football Museum in Dortmund. Under the supervision of DFB Vice President Peter Frymuth, Referee of the Year 2026, Deniz Aytekin, who acted as the draw's host live on ARD, drew the match between Darmstadt and Jena.
From the warm opening ceremony to the awards ceremony: The German Football ID Championship in Darmstadt offered exciting games, many wonderful encounters and a well-deserved German champion in the Hesse selection, which also included players from the SV 98 ID team.
The first dates for SV 98's preparations for the 2026/27 second division season have been set: On June 25th, the professional team will return to the Merck Stadium at Böllenfalltor to undergo various medical tests and performance diagnostics. The first team training session will take place on June 27th in the Odenwald region.
Who will SV Darmstadt 98 face in the first round of the DFB Cup? This question will be answered this coming Saturday (June 6th). The draw for the first round will be broadcast live on ARD's Sportschau. We'll be taking a look and providing you with all the information. We'll also be celebrating with the fan team's survival in the Kreisklasse B (eighth tier) and taking a look across the border to Texas in the USA. All this and more for you in "Lilies Across the Board" on Wednesday.
Fraser Hornby's time at Darmstadt 98 comes to an end after three years. The Scottish attacking midfielder is moving to VfL Wolfsburg. Both clubs have agreed to keep the transfer fee confidential.
An eight-goal thriller to close out the season. The SV Darmstadt 98 U21 team took to the pitch one last time this season on Saturday (May 30th) – away against FC Eddersheim. The young Lilies secured a 5-3 victory in Eddersheim, finishing the 2025/26 Hessenliga season in eleventh place. Even more remarkable, however, was the U21's run at the end of the season: the Blue and Whites won their last five matches, scoring an impressive 22 goals in the process.
Barcelona, Spain. A global city right on the Mediterranean. Over 1.7 million people live here. And one of them is Clemens Riedel. The 22-year-old former Darmstadt player moved from SV 98 to Espanyol Barcelona last summer – from youth academy to professional in the Spanish first division. We spoke with Riedel about his first year in Barcelona, the past season, and his still close ties to Darmstadt.
SV 98 can continue to rely on the services of Fabian Nürnberger. The Lilies have extended the expiring contract with the Bulgarian international.
Grayson Dettoni will continue to wear the SV 98 jersey. The Lilies have exercised their option to buy the defender, who was previously on loan from FC Bayern Munich.
The German Football Championship for People with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) kicks off on Sunday – and it's taking place in Darmstadt's Bürgerpark! Last week, the Darmstadt 98ers' home ground offered a different kind of sporting event: a karate demonstration. We also take a look at the opponents for the new season and celebrate two birthdays this week. You'll find all this and much more about Darmstadt 98 in our usual "Lilies Across the Board".
„I’m proud of you,“ were the words of U21 coach Sebastian Schmitt to the team after they secured their place in the Hessenliga. On Saturday (May 23rd), SV Darmstadt 98’s U21 team had the chance to stay in the league against Turabdin Babylon Pohlheim – and they seized it impressively! The young Lilies delivered a convincing 5-1 goal fest, but at the same time still needed help from other teams to guarantee their survival. However, because their direct rivals, CSC 03 Kassel, narrowly lost in Stadtallendorf, the U21 team was finally able to celebrate.
For the fourth time, the Haftpflichtkasse insurance company and SV Darmstadt 98 have jointly awarded four clubs with the Volunteer Award. The award ceremony, including the presentation of the checks, took place last Sunday (May 17th) before the home game against SC Paderborn at the Merck Stadium at Böllenfalltor. The Volunteer Award, established in 2023 by the Haftpflichtkasse and SV Darmstadt 98, aims to strengthen volunteer engagement and promote outstanding projects.