Opposition Check: 1. FC Kaiserslautern

Major successes were no longer a given for the Red Devils. After relegation from the Bundesliga in 2011, they spent six years in the second division before the bitter move to the third division in 2018. Four years later, they returned to the 2. Bundesliga – under none other than Dirk Schuster, who once led the Lilies from the third division all the way to the Bundesliga.

Today, FCK is seventh in the 2. Bundesliga – just two points behind the relegation zone. In the fight for promotion to the Bundesliga, anything remains possible. Another successful chapter in the history books of 1. FC Kaiserslautern doesn’t seem out of the question. Before SV Darmstadt 98 travels to the Fritz-Walter-Stadion on Mother’s Day (May 11th at 1:30pm), we take a closer look at their upcoming opponent.

Torsten Lieberknecht and 1. FC Kaiserslautern – this is more than just a connection through a few stops in his CV. As a native of the Palatinate, his connection to the region and FCK was practically instilled in him from birth. Even during his time as coach at SV Darmstadt 98, he never made a secret of his close ties to the Red Devils. „The Palatinate needs 1. FC Kaiserslautern, you can just tell. My heart definitely beats for the region and FCK,“ Lieberknecht said in 2022 at the press conference before his then-Lillies‘ match at the Betzenberg.

That season – 2022/23 – he led SV 98 back to the Bundesliga – a milestone that crowned his overall successful time in Darmstadt. But now he’s back where it all began: In 1992, Lieberknecht won the German U19 championship as a player with FCK, made his professional debut for the Red Devils, and later even scored his only Bundesliga goal for Lautern. After a total of 15 professional games, however, his time was over – he moved to rivals Waldhof Mannheim, later moving on to Mainz 05 and 1. FC Saarbrücken and then to Eintracht Braunschweig.

It was there, in Braunschweig, that his coaching career began, a long and formative period. He was promoted to the Bundesliga with the Lower Saxony Lions in 2013. In 2018, his path finally led him to MSV Duisburg. In 2021, Lieberknecht landed at the Lilies and achieved the unforgettable promotion with the Darmstadt team at the Bölle in just his second season.

Now Torsten Lieberknecht is back at his hometown club, the club that made him a star. With just two points behind the relegation zone, the Palatinate native could now achieve great things as a coach at Betze.

The Fritz Walter Stadium is the showpiece of the Palatinate club – and a real fortress: 1. FC Kaiserslautern has earned 29 of their 50 points at home on the Betzenberg. This means that the Red Devils currently occupy second place in the home table of the 2. Bundesliga. Individually, FCK is also well positioned – both at the front and at the back. Ragnar Ache is particularly dangerous in attack: with 100 shots on goal, the striker leads the league in the statistics for attempts at goal. He is followed by Fisnik Asllani (94 shots) and Marvin Wanitzek (86). Ache has scored 17 goals so far – only Hamburg’s Davie Selke has found the net more often with 21 goals. But it’s not just the attack that impresses: Lautern also has a strong line-up between the posts. Julian Krahl has already saved 119 shots – the second-best figure in the league. Only Düsseldorf’s Florian Kastenmeier has made more saves with 127.

Imagine a world where pirates, marines, revolutionaries, and many other groups fight for power, influence, and treasure. In the middle of it all is „Luffy,“ the main character of the highly popular anime „One Piece,“ who has the unusual dream of becoming King of the Pirates. Ragnar Ache, a striker for 1. FC Kaiserslautern, is a huge anime fan himself and cites „One Piece“ as one of his favourite anime. Ache also pursues a dream, albeit one that seems somewhat more normal than „Luffy’s.“

Besides anime, a few words of Japanese and even Japanese lessons have long been part of his daily routine. The trip to the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo with the German national team was not only a sporting highlight for Ache – it was almost like a small taste of a dream, as he recently revealed on the Sky program „My Story“: „I would love to live in Japan one day.“

Looking back. His football journey began at the age of eleven in the Netherlands, where he stayed for over a decade, made friends, and found his way into professional football. His move back to Germany to join Eintracht Frankfurt was a childhood dream for him as a Frankfurt native. But his time at SGE was full of ups and downs: Injuries held him back, and he rarely found his rhythm. And in the end, he still had a major title on his resume: Europa League winner in 2022, including a substitution in the semifinals at Barcelona’s legendary Camp Nou.

With his move to 1. FC Kaiserslautern in the summer of 2023, Ache finally found what he had previously lacked: self-confidence and playing time. The fans welcomed him with open arms, and the striker repaid him – and with plenty of goals: Ache has become an integral part of the Red Devils‘ game this season, with 17 goals so far. He had already delivered in the previous season, scoring 16 goals in 26 second-division matches. New coach Torsten Lieberknecht also raves about his striker: „He’s truly an incredible youngster. FCK can count themselves truly lucky, not only because of the goals he scores, but also because of the guy Ragnar Ache.“

His long-term sporting goal is the Premier League, Ache told Sky. Just like the ending of the anime „One Piece,“ his sporting future is still unknown. However, if he continues as he has this season, who knows, maybe his dream of playing on the island could one day become a reality…