Our head coach's most important statements summarised for you: Florian Kohfeldt was available to speak to the journalists present on Thursday (November 28th) before SV Darmstadt 98's home game against Preußen Münster (November 30th/8.30pm). The Lilien coach talked about the upcoming opponent, of course, but also about a special Saturday night game and his own perception of his team.
Personal update: Fabian Holland, Paul Will, Matthias Bader and Christoph Zimmermann are out. The question is Klaus Gjasula, who is still lacking in training.
With Paul Will, Matthias Bader and Christoph Zimmermann we can’t yet seriously talk about comeback times. All three work hard. But you are still far from ready to be able to think about training on the pitch again. Fabian Holland trained with the team in a semi-integrative manner for the first time on Tuesday. That means he was a neutral player. He’s on schedule. And we hope that we can gradually increase the workload. Hopefully he can take part in team training a lot more in the new year. Klaus Gjasula was out for almost five weeks due to various things such as illness and personal reasons. We have to make sure that we get him back under the strain well and that he gets into his rhythm.
I see the team as focused and still very willing to learn – with a lot of energy and a good mood. When the work is done, there’s some fun. That’s okay too. But as soon as it starts working, the team is very concentrated and focused. This not only includes work on the training field, but also topics such as activation, regeneration, video training or individual training. The boys remain very hungry, the boys radiate hunger. This should continue like this.
We are the favourites – especially in the home game. But this is also explained by the history of the two clubs. Preußen has made outstanding developments under Sascha Hildmann. They made a stable move from the regional league to the second division. Münster also has a squad that has great strengths and special types of players in some areas. Nevertheless, we, Darmstadt 98, are a seasoned professional club that has been playing stably between the 1st and 2nd leagues for a decade. As a result, the distribution of roles is such that we go into the game as favourites, especially in the home game. That doesn’t mean anything in football. But I still really like being the favourite. The point is that you have a lot in your own hands.
The most important thing is that we are highly concentrated on Saturday. Our main focus has to be that we are extremely clear and we play football extremely clearly. The team and I have great respect for Münster. They have played against top teams in the last few weeks, narrowly losing against Köln, drawing 1-1 in Karlsruhe and beating Düsseldorf. We want to dominate the game on Saturday and win. For this we will need a lot of clarity.
Münster is a team that wants to set a footballing tone and plays a lot through the center and uses its sixes. In this position you have players like Jorrit Hendrix, who has played at a very high level in the Champions League. Preußen also varies between standing deep and throwing everything in and phases with high pressing. Therefore, we need clarity in every single action of every player. This also applies to every duel and every safety. If we let up on these key points and are not clear, we will not find any space forward – Münster defends far too well for that – and then they will find actions where they can become extremely dangerous to score. We absolutely have to prevent that. Münster is a big task that we have to be totally ready for.
It’s a floodlight show atthe Bölle. That’s something you should be up for in and of itself. I notice this in the city too. I’ve now arrived a bit and am no longer just at the training ground, but also do other things in Darmstadt (smiles). Everyone in town is looking forward to this evening and to watching this game in the stadium or in the pub in the city. It’s also a great feeling for us when the stadium goes along. The bond between the team and fans is totally there. And on Saturday evening, at 8.30pm, it can shine again particularly under the floodlights. But it is also a special game for Münster. Preußen will also do everything to win the game. Hence the request to our fans, if there are periods of 15 or 20 minutes that are not so spectacular: These are precisely the moments in which we have to pull it together.
We should keep at it when it comes to scoring goals, which has often worked recently. The development of the defense is also trending very positively. However, we still concede too many goals. But the Hannover game was a big step forward. Our processes are becoming clearer in all positions and as a result the susceptibility to errors is reduced. However, we are not at the end of our development.
Saturday evening at the Böllenfalltor, the seventh edition! This time, SV Darmstadt 98 hosts SV Elversberg at the Merck Stadium. Both teams are strong offensively and convincing defensively. But where do the differences lie? And in which statistics do both the team from southern Hesse and the Saarlanders lead the pack? We've compiled all the facts and figures for this match right here for you.
The news that Fabian Holland will no longer play for Darmstadt at the end of this season affected everyone at the club. We take a look at it. Also exciting this week: The U17s host Eintracht Frankfurt's youth team in Pfungstadt today, Wednesday (April 22nd/5pm) for the Hessian derby in the Hesse Cup; the Darmstadt first team will wear members' jerseys against SV Elversberg next Saturday (April 25th/8:30pm); and the Darmstadt VIP box has been temporarily converted into a yoga camp. "Darmstadt Across the Board" on Wednesday is available here.
The end of an era. Fabian Holland's twelfth season in the Lilies' jersey will be his last with SV 98. The 35-year-old's contract, which expires at the end of the season, will not be renewed. The club informed Holland of this decision in a confidential meeting. Both club and player agree to focus entirely on achieving the best possible end to the season until the final match and that any plans for a farewell celebration will depend on how the rest of the season unfolds.
Extremely bitter. The SV Darmstadt 98 U21 team unfortunately came away empty-handed last Saturday (April 18th) visiting KSV Baunatal: The young Lilies conceded the decisive goal late in stoppage time, resulting in a 1-0 final score. Darmstadt had managed to hold their own against the fourth-placed team in the Hessenliga for almost the entire match. "A very bitter defeat after a really good performance," explained U21 coach Sebastian Schmitt to sv98.de.
Attention is already turning to the away match against SC Preußen Münster. On matchday 33, SV Darmstadt 98 will visit the Preußenstadion on Sunday (May 10th, 1:30pm). Advance ticket sales for club members begin next Wednesday (April 22nd) at 12:00pm. All ticket information can be found in this announcement.
Our premium partner ENTEGA is once again providing unique stadium experiences this season. For every home game, you can win two VIP fan seats in the main stand and also gain access to the ENTEGA VIP lounge. The application deadline for the match against Elversberg is Thursday (April 23rd) at 12 noon.
Returning to southern Hesse empty-handed, SV Darmstadt 98 suffered a 3-2 away defeat against Greuther Fürth. Particularly bitter: the Lilies twice took the lead in Franconia but ultimately succumbed. How do the two head coaches assess the 90 minutes? What do captain Marcel Schuhen and Kai Klefisch have to say about the loss? We've compiled all the post-match reactions for you.
No points in Franconia. After conceding two late goals, Darmstadt 98 lost 3-2 (1-1) to SpVgg Greuther Fürth.
Away game in Franconia. On matchday 30 (April 19th/1:30pm), Darmstadt 98 will visit SpVgg Greuther Fürth. Florian Kohfeldt has made three changes to his starting eleven compared to last week. Isac Lidberg and Kai Klefisch return to the team after serving their suspensions, and Marco Richter also moves into the starting lineup. Matthias Bader will miss the match with a minor shoulder problem.
Darmstadt 98 travel to Greuther Fürth for Matchday 30. On Sunday (April 19th, 1:30pm), Greuther Fürth will host SV Darmstadt 98 at the Sportpark Ronhof. You can find the opinions of both coaches, the refereeing team, and the TV broadcast details for Sunday midday here. As usual, we've summarised all the important information about the match against Greuther Fürth in our "Matchday Guide" overview.
How does Florian Kohfeldt view his team's away record ahead of Sunday's match against SpVgg Greuther Fürth? How does he assess the Cloverleaf's defence, and what is the mood within the team? The Darmstadt head coach answered these and other questions at the press conference on Friday before the game in Fürth (April 19th, 1:30pm). We have summarised the most important statements from our head coach's press conference for you.
