Safe for the game: With Rasim Sarcevic

While the home game days at the Merck Stadium at Böllenfalltor are usually more relaxed for him with short trips from the day hotel to the stadium, away trips are much more complex and exciting. As soon as the team bus is parked in front of the office, Sarcevic helps the staff load the most important items. Since he joined SV Darmstadt 98 in 2019, nothing has ever been forgotten, he tells us proudly. “I can see straight away if something is missing,” assures the driver of the 480 hp coach.

The professionals train on this day at 1pm. Afterwards, players, the coaching and functional team get into the prepared bus – warm greetings included before boarding. Everyone is happy to see Rasim. They now have a three-hour drive to Franconia ahead of them.

Travel into the past. Rasim Sarcevic looks back on 20 years of experience as a bus driver. In his native Slovenia, he began working as a bus driver immediately after passing his driving test. He drove buses on Slovenian roads for eight years before moving to Germany. In Riedstadt, near Darmstadt, he started at the “Omnibusbetrieb MÜLLER Riedstadt” before finding his place behind the wheel of the blue-colored Lilien team bus in 2019. While normal bus trips are now routine for Sarcevic, he enjoys the special attention that a team bus brings with it. “With a normal bus you are inconspicuous, but with the Lily bus people often say hello or take photos,” he says. But not every encounter on the route is positive: “There are also opposing fans who deliberately drive in front of me and try to slow down the bus. You always have to be careful.”

However, obstacles on the journey rarely upset Sarcevic. Together with team manager Matthias Neumann, he plans the matchday routes – with the aim of always being at the stadium around 90 minutes before kick-off. If there are traffic jams, he tries to find alternatives. If that doesn’t work, he takes it calmly: “Then that’s just the way it is. There’s nothing you can do about that.“ Stadium entrances also have their pitfalls – he’s experienced everything from parked entrances to opposing fans blocking the path.

At the first away game of the year in Düsseldorf, extreme caution was required in the narrow catacombs of the Merkur Spiel-Arena. Sarcevic had to make sure that the exterior mirrors remained intact. Something the 52-year-old mastered with flying colours thanks to years of driving experience. While the narrow access in Düsseldorf required his full concentration, things look completely different in some other stadiums. He has fond memories of a visit to a stadium: the Allianz Arena in Munich. “It was incredible to drive into this stadium – little police, no disturbing spectators despite so many people and a large entrance. “That was something special,” said the Lilien bus driver.

A wild mess? Or just complete peace? We want to know from Rasim Sercevic how such trips with a football team work. Before most away games, the Lilies travel by bus the day before – including before the duel in Nuremberg. The trips to the venue are lively, he reports. Lots of conversations, card games, lots of jokes. But a day later, on the way to the stadium on match day, the team bus became quiet. Matchday mode. The players are focused and all have their own routines. Most people listen to music through their own headphones. It only gets louder on the way back – especially after important victories.

For Sarcevic, the trip from the Böllenfalltor to the Ratskeller on the Darmstadt market square after promotion to the Bundesliga in the last home game against Magdeburg on May 19, 2023 will not be forgotten. Sarcevic grins. And with a smile on his face he considers whether he can even tell the story. On this day a good year and a half ago there was already a state of emergency in Darmstadt. “You can,” we assure him. The 52-year-old laughs: “There were a hundred people on the bus.” The Lilien’s MAN team bus only has 32 seats…

“Players, coaches, staff and office staff – everyone went along for the ride. It was so crowded that I could only see through a tiny crack in the front window,” he remembers. But Sarcevic also mastered this trip. While the team bus was quickly converted into a party bus, he remained focused, cool and calm as the bus driver. And brought the celebrating crowd safely to their destination. Sarcevic: „For me it was one of the most beautiful trips of my career.“