Ten! | A visit from America

Captain. Number one. Backbone. In Darmstadt’s home game against Holstein Kiel (2-0), Marcel Schuhen recorded his tenth clean sheet of this second-division season. This puts the Darmstadt goalkeeper on par with Tjark Ernst of Hertha BSC and Loris Karius of Schalke 04. All three keepers have ten clean sheets – the best record in the 2. Bundesliga. Ten clean sheets? A record surpassed only by Gregor Kobel in Germany’s top two professional leagues. The Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper has already amassed eleven clean sheets. But back to Marcel Schuhen: With nine matches remaining in the current season, Schuhen still has a chance to break his personal record of 15 clean sheets from the 2015/16 third-division season. Back then, he was still playing for Hansa Rostock.

Over 8,600 kilometres (as the crow flies) from San Antonio to Darmstadt. Landry Walker made the long journey to southern Hesse this week. The 16-year-old midfielder was trained at San Antonio FC, the partner club of SV Darmstadt 98. He is currently in Darmstadt and will be immersing himself in the world of the Lilies this week and next. The American will train with the SV 98 U19 and U21 teams and watch the youth teams play.

Furthermore, Walker spent some time in Darmstadt on the sunny Monday afternoon (March 9th) with Tom Eilers (Sporting Director) and Martin Kowalewski (Marketing & Sales Director) and then visited the Merck Stadium at Böllenfalltor on Tuesday (March 10th). „It’s wonderful here,“ raved the youth international, who has already played for the U15 and U17 US national teams. At the Böllenfalltor, he received a comprehensive stadium tour, including insights into the catacombs and VIP areas. „It’s all a bit new to me. But I can imagine how great the atmosphere here in the stadium must be,“ said Walker.

Matthias Neumann, Head of the Professional Players Department at SV 98, then showed him the club’s administrative building, where Florian Kohfeldt also greeted him. Afterwards, the young American soccer player stopped by the professional team’s training session, where there was still time for a brief chat with Grayson Dettoni, who was also born in the United States. Walker’s conclusion after so many impressions? „What a great day!“

This Sunday, it’s that time again: the fifth annual tree-planting event organized by SV Darmstadt 98 in partnership with Krombacher is taking place. We want to build on the success of previous events – 3,500 trees were planted by SV Darmstadt 98 fans „In the Sign of the Lily.“ Your special commitment will be accompanied on Sunday (March 15th) by familiar faces from SV Darmstadt 98. At 11:00am , we’ll depart together by bus from the Bölle stadium to the wooded area near Kleinwallstadt. You can still register at short notice and become part of the Krombacher tree-planting event.Click here for registration and information here.

On Saturday, March 14, 1898, 128 years ago, the football club BSC Young Boys was founded in the Swiss capital, Bern. We are proud to congratulate our friends on the club’s anniversary, which is this coming weekend. Currently coached by Gerardo Seoane, Young Boys are in sixth place in the league and would therefore qualify for the title playoffs. On Sunday (March 15), the Bernese team can give themselves a belated birthday present of three points against FC Lausanne-Sport. Best of luck in the final stretch of the season and happy 128th birthday from Darmstadt!

Not a good start to the new competitive season. The SV 98 fan team unfortunately suffered a 5-0 defeat against SKG Gräfenhausen on Sunday (March 8th). But they’re looking ahead. Seven teams are currently battling to avoid relegation from the Kreisliga B, all separated by just two points – and the SV 98 second team is right in the thick of it. That’s why they have several crucial six-point matches coming up. This weekend, SKG Roßdorf II will be visiting the Lilies. Their opponents currently occupy the bottom spot in the league. Kick-off is at 3pm on Sunday (March 15th) at Ostendstraße in Pfungstadt. Good luck, lads!

The U19 team advanced to the next round of the Hessen Cup for A-Juniors with a convincing 8-0 victory against SG Oberliederbach last Wednesday (March 4th). In the round of 16, they will face SG Bornheim/GW. While things didn’t go as smoothly in their DFB youth league match over the weekend as they had during the week, the young Lilies still managed to secure a point with a 1-1 draw against VfL Osnabrück. The SV 98 U19 team will resume their league campaign at home on Saturday (March 14th, 2 PM) against MSV Duisburg.

The U17 team also celebrated a victory in the Hesse Cup for B-Juniors. They won their match against SC Waldgirmes 3-2 and have thus also advanced to the round of 16. Their opponent will be determined on Wednesday evening (March 11th). They will either face JFV Alsfeld or a Hesse derby against Eintracht Frankfurt in the cup. The B-Juniors also displayed confidence in a friendly match against Rosenhöhe, winning 3-0. The SVD U17 team will be back in league action on Sunday (March 15th) against SpVgg Bayreuth. Kick-off is at 2pm. We wish all the SV 98 youth teams the best of luck!