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.
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.