What is the mood within the team? How does Torsten Lieberknecht view his upcoming opponent? And which staff is available to him for the away game at Werder Bremen (February 24th/3:30pm) The head coach of SV Darmstadt 98 provided the appropriate answers to these and other questions at the press conference on Thursday (February 22). Here are the most important statements.
Apart from Clemens Riedel and Fraser Hornby, all players are in training. Mathias Honsak and Braydon Manu also returned to team training this week. Gerrit Holtmann has also trained completely and is an option. However, Braydon is not yet an option for Saturday after his long injury.
We especially looked at the second half, where it ended 2-2. The game against Werder Bremen in the first half of the season was characterised by the fact that we got into the game well and were very effective in the first few minutes. That helped us get to our goals. Nevertheless, there was also the second half, which was interesting to analyse because Bremen will certainly want to get a different result.
Werder Bremen’s victory in Munich was a complete blow-out and gave them a lot of strength. They also gained a lot of self-confidence with their subsequent performances. Otherwise they have clear processes in their game. Still, we feel like there are things we can use to help us achieve our long awaited three points.
I was fortunate to play with Andi. I am still influenced by him. About how he, as an absolute world star, dealt with us young players. He was always there to help me and the other boys from my youth with advice and support. He also protected us when it was necessary. I enjoyed the fact that he always reached out to me as a young player and gave me help. It’s very sad that Andi is no longer there.
You never get the feeling that the bottom of the table is training here during the week. It’s incredible. The team is constantly realigning itself and reorienting itself. They train with a lot of meticulousness and energy. We have good morale, the boys are completely intact and support each other. There is a good atmosphere, but not laissez-faire, but a good atmosphere with full focus. I also don’t have the feeling that we’re playing like the bottom team. We received a lot of support from those around us for our game against Stuttgart. But just this reception doesn’t satisfy us because we didn’t score any points. That’s why we’re staying tuned. Bremen is the next chance. We have to make sure we somehow get this win – maybe even after a bad game we still win 1-0. That would really help the team. Three points would also give us another massive push. I wish that for them and for all of us.
The Bundesliga finalised the match schedules for matchdays three through six on Wednesday (July 15th): Darmstadt's home game against Hannover 96 on matchday three will take place on Sunday. This will be followed by their away game against 1. FC Kaiserslautern on Saturday at 1pm. The home game against Arminia Bielefeld on Friday evening and the away game in Wolfsburg, also on Friday evening, have also been confirmed.
The Lilies can welcome another new arrival at the Böllenfalltor: Florian Kleinhansl will now wear the SV 98 jersey. The 25-year-old joins on a free transfer following the expiration of his contract with 1. FC Kaiserslautern on June 30th.
Third test, third clear victory. SV 98 won the match against FC 08 Homburg 5-1 (3-0).
SV Darmstadt 98 and the fusion energy company Focused Energy are entering into an official partnership. The aim of the collaboration is to more closely link top-level football and high technology from the Darmstadt region and to jointly generate momentum for innovation and future societal issues.
Killian Corredor will be playing in his home country again in the future. SV 98 has reached an agreement with FC Nantes on the transfer of the Frenchman.
On Tuesday (July 14, 6pm), SV Darmstadt 98 hosts Regionalliga side FC Homburg and asks fans to take note of the following information.
A home game against KSV! SV Darmstadt 98 hosts Holstein Kiel for the opening matchday of the 2. Bundesliga season this Saturday (August 8 at 1pm). Here’s how you can be there: the member pre-sale for the new season's first home game begins this coming Wednesday (July 15) at 12pm —available online and at the ticket shop at the Merck-Stadion, as usual. You can find all further details in this announcement.
For every home goal scored by the "Lilies," SV Darmstadt 98 fans were doubly rewarded during the recent 2025/26 second-division season. Beyond the joy and excitement, supporters received 98 litres of Krombacher Pils for every goal Darmstadt scored at the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor.
In recent days, various media outlets have published reports and graphics regarding the distribution of TV revenue for the 2026/27 season. Some of these reports included not only specific figures but also a comparison to the previous season. This comparison indicates a supposed revenue increase of €1.4 million for SV 98 compared to the 2025/26 season.
SV Darmstadt 98 successfully completed their second pre-season friendly, defeating Verbandsliga side VfR Fehlheim 8-0 (4-0).
