A flash in the pan in the 2nd Bundesliga? Are you kidding me? Are you serious when you say that. SV Elversberg is currently in its second year in the second division. And apparently feels right at home in the German lower house of football. With fewer than 15,000 inhabitants, the smallest location in the top two German leagues in the municipality of Spiesen-Elversberg has come to stay. In the 2022/23 season, the SVE was promoted to the 2nd league for the first time in the club's history. Even back then, President Dominik Holzer said: “We don’t just see this as a pure adventure, but will use our resources to try to stay and establish ourselves there.”
In their first second division season, Elversberg finished in a solid eleventh place in the table. With 43 points collected, the Saarlanders had a total of twelve points ahead of a direct relegation zone after 34 match days – strong numbers for an absolute newcomer to the league. And this season? The SVE started the season with two draws – first a 0-0 at 1. FC Magdeburg, then a 2-2 against Bundesliga relegated 1. FC Köln. This means that the Elversberg team started the season better than in their first year in the second division, when they only had one point after four match days. Meanwhile, the team from Saarland showed no weakness in the DFB Cup and moved into the second round of the cup with a confident 7-0 win against upper division team VfV 06 Hildesheim. The first defeat of the season followed on the third matchday. The SVE lost 2-3 away to Karlsruher SC.
We’ll take a closer look at SV Darmstadt 98’s upcoming opponent before the duel on Saturday (August 31st). SV Elversberg in the opponent check.
| Top Signings | Departures |
| Elias Baum (Defender, Eintracht Frankfurt) | Jannik Rochelt (Hannover 96) |
| Fisnik Asllani (Attacker, TSG Hoffenheim) | Thore Jacobsen (1860 München) |
| Lukas Petkov (Offensive Midfield, FC Augsburg) | Dominik Martinovic (Slaven Belupo) |
| Maximilian Rohr (Defender, SC Paderborn) | Kevin Conrad (Retired) |
| Tom Zimmerschmied (Left Winger, Dynamo Dresden) | Marcel Correira (Released) |
Horst Steffen is an experienced football coach who has experienced a number of ups and downs in his coaching career. Before he started working at SV Elversberg in October 2018, his previous jobs didn’t exactly go according to plan. He was relieved of his duties at both Preußen Münster and Chemnitzer FC due to a lack of success after 28 and 23 games respectively. But on the SVE sidelines, things are going well for Steffen. The 55-year-old has been in the saddle there for 223 competitive games. „In my first season in Elversberg in the regional league there were a few defeats at the beginning that weren’t great,“ Steffen once recalled in a kicker interview: „But from the winter break onwards I had the feeling that it was okay.“
And it fits. With SV Elversberg, Steffen was only promoted to the 3rd league in 2022 and in the summer of 2023 to the 2nd Bundesliga as third division champions. But that’s not enough. The second division newcomer managed to stay in the league immediately under the direction of his head coach. Father of success? Horst Steffen. The native of North Rhine-Westphalia is the son of Bernhard Steffen, who once played successfully for Fortuna Düsseldorf. As a defensive midfielder, Horst Steffen played over 200 Bundesliga games for Uerdingen, Duisburg and Mönchengladbach. In 2003 he ended his active career to move to the coaching bench. From then on, Steffen worked at MSV Duisburg II as well as in the Zebras youth team and Borussia Mönchengladbach’s youth team. Before his positions in Chemnitz and Münster, he was also head coach at the Stuttgarter Kickers.
That has been SV Elversberg’s running strength to date. The men from Saarland covered a distance of 356.2 kilometers on the first matchdays – that’s an average of 118.7 kilometers per game. Only 1. FC Köln exceeds the Elversberg values – 360.7km in total and 120.24km on average per game. The many sprints by the Saarlanders during the 90 minutes are also noticeable. The SVE sprinted a total of 672 times – only FC Schalke 04 (677) five times more.
…Robin Fellhauer. The defensive midfielder, who was once trained at 1. FC Saarbrücken and SC Freiburg, has had an impressive journey with SV Elversberg: from the Regionalliga Südwest through Liga 3. to staying in 2. Bundesliga. The current Saarland captain has been wearing the SVE jersey since 2019. Before Fellhauer took to the pitch in the URSAPHARM Arena at Kaiserlinde, he played for five years in both the youth and second teams of SC Freiburg. In any case, the Fellhauer family is welcome at the club from Breisgau: twin sister Kim, who ended her career in February of this year, played for the SCF women’s team for ten years.
The 26-year-old Fellhauer has now become a long-running favorite for the SVE. In total, he played 154 competitive games in the Elversberger jersey and enjoyed his most successful seasons with the team. The Mannheim native is now much more than just a clearer in the defensive midfield. In addition to eleven goals, there are also 35 assists in his Elversberg resume. A captain who leads the way on the pitch with passion and commitment. By the way: In the first four competitive games of the current season he scored one goal in the DFB Cup and prepared two goals in the league.
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.
