From the regional league to the 2nd Bundesliga - and that's exactly where SV 07 Elversberg is in its second season in a row. In recent years the SVE has developed rapidly. A success story that hardly anyone had on their radar. After two unfortunate seasons in which Horst Steffen's team narrowly missed promotion to the 3rd league as runners-up in the regional league, the breakthrough finally came in 2022. The promotion was celebrated wildly, but that wasn't enough: the Saarlanders marched straight through, won the championship in the 3rd league and were promoted to the 2nd Bundesliga. To crown this impressive development, the SVE secured relegation with eleventh place in their first second division season.
Things are looking promising for SV 07 Elversberg this season too. On the 13th matchday, the team managed to play their way up to third place in the table and was therefore within striking distance of the direct promotion places. Just three match days later, they even managed to climb to the top of the table. However, the Saarlanders ultimately had to give up the autumn championship to 1. FC Köln and slipped out of the top three. Before the duel with SV Darmstadt 98 (08.02./1pm), SV Elversberg is currently in ninth place – a more than stable midfield position for the Saarland team.
| Top Scorers |
Top-Vorlagengeber |
| Fisnik Asllani – 10 Goals | Fisnik Asllani – 5 Assists |
| Luca Schnellbacher – 6 Goals | Muhammed Damar – 4 Assists |
| Muhammed Damar – 5 Goals | Maurice Neubauer – 4 Assists |
| Lukas Petkov – 3 Goals | Elias Baum – 4 Assists |
| Robin Fellhauer – 2 Goals | Robin Fellhauer – 3 Assists |
From the regional league to the 2nd Bundesliga. And they formed a team that is currently competing for the top places. Horst Steffen has been on the sidelines of SV Elversberg for six years and has celebrated numerous successes with the club during this time. Review. It was clear from the first meeting between Steffen and the SVE that this collaboration would work. The first conversation took a long time. Very long. „My wife was hiking around the lake at that time and at some point thought I had forgotten her,“ the 55-year-old told kicker with a smile.
His playing philosophy is clear and offensive: always look for the direct route to the goal instead of “cutting off when we are outside or behind the chain”. This season, Steffen is primarily relying on the 4-2-3-1 and 4-2-2-2 systems and is a big supporter of the back four. Julian Nagelsmann was able to get him excited about a five-man chain system in the past, but after little successful experience with this basic order during his time in Chemnitz, he quickly returned to the four-man chain.
Basically, the experienced coach follows a clear line: he places his “best” players in their strongest positions and builds a powerful team around them with the other players. Steffen attaches particular importance to good cooperation within the team: “The word competition bothers me. The players shouldn’t fight against each other and be mad at the other when they play instead of you, but rather work for success.”
The SVE travels to SV Darmstadt 98 with an extremely strong attacking duo. The attackers Fisnik Asllani and Luca Schnellbacher have an impressive 23 scorer points (16 goals and 7 assists) this season, making them one of the most dangerous strike duos in the league. Only the duos from Schalke, Hamburg, Karlsruhe and Magdeburg have scored more goals. With a total of 35 goals this season, the Saarland club ranks in the upper midfield of the most dangerous teams.
34th matchday of the 2020/21 Bundesliga season. The big Allianz Arena – and in the middle of it all, a young man behind the sidelines who is just waiting to celebrate his professional debut under extraordinary circumstances: against the German record champions, but in front of empty stands. In the 87th minute the time had come: Lukas Petkov entered the field while still in the service of FC Augsburg. The home team won 5-2. But despite the defeat, this moment remains unforgettable for the offensive player. “The fact that it was at FC Bayern, with the best team in the world at the moment, is of course an optimum,” Petkov told kicker after the game.
His debut was followed by a loan to SC Verl in the 3rd league, later a return to FCA and another loan – this time to the 2nd Bundesliga to SpVgg Greuther Fürth. Before the current season, SV Elversberg finally struck and signed the talented 24-year-old. The right winger has scored three goals in 18 competitive games so far this season – two of them in the last three second division games. Is the boy building a run for himself?
Petkov has also already played at international level and has been in the Bulgarian national team squad since 2023 – sometimes together with Darmstadt’s left-back Fabian Nürnberger. So far he has played five international matches, including three friendly matches and two European Championship qualifiers.
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.
