Tobias Kempe twisted his ankle during training on Friday (May 16). It's currently unclear whether he'll be able to play in Sunday's home game against Jahn Regensburg (May 18, 3:30pm). Florian Kohfeldt explained this at the press conference before the final matchday. The SV Darmstadt 98 head coach also spoke about the achievements of Darmstadt's No. 11, the upcoming opponent, the season drawing to a close, and also gave an outlook on the upcoming season. We've compiled the most important information for you.
Personnel update: Fabian Holland, Matthias Bader, Paul Will, Christoph Zimmermann, as well as Othmane El Idrissi, Alexander Brunst, Guille Bueno, Meldin Dreskovic, and Jean-Paul Boetius are unavailable. Matej Maglica is suspended due to a yellow card. Tobias Kempe, who sustained an injury in training on Friday, is still undecided as of Friday afternoon.
Tobi would have deserved to be in the starting lineup on Sunday and lead the team out as captain in his final game. That’s what we all want. I would have wanted it too. The tragedy of football, however, is that Tobi twisted his ankle in training today. As of now, we can’t say whether he’ll be able to play on Sunday. This is very upsetting for me. We’ll have to wait and see what tomorrow, Saturday, brings.
I’ve known Tobi for 15 years. Back then at Werder, I was still a player myself – and I often had to clear the ball out of the goal against that cheeky guy (grins). I’ve followed his career over the years. Tobi created difference-making moments with incredible consistency. He was with the Lilies for a decade and managed to decide games out of nothing. Some players go through a phase of one or two years where they can do something like that. Tobi, on the other hand, managed it for ten years. In those ten years, he’s been one of the best set-piece takers in the 2nd division. And he can be incredibly proud of his career and the path he’s taken. He’s also an outstanding character. I have the utmost respect for him.
Tobi was a daily advisor to many players this season. He was also an advisor and inspiration to me. Especially in the first half of the season, he was also an important part of the team’s sporting career. I remember the game in Karlsruhe and the cup match in Dresden, in which he provided assists and goals. In this turbulent season, Tobi was also a calming influence. Overall, he was a very important factor.
Sunday is a very important occasion for us. We want to give Tobi the best possible farewell. We are highly motivated to secure this home win, hopefully with him, but above all for him. Overall, the club still has something at stake: We want to maintain our position in the table; that would be very important for us. Of course, we are not at all happy with the results in the second half of the season. Our home game run since Schalke has been positive, and we absolutely want to end the season with a positive result. The way the team performed this week in training and in the last game in Kaiserslautern makes me optimistic that we will do everything we can to win Sunday’s game. I, too, absolutely want to win. After all, a win means you go into the summer break differently. We absolutely want to avoid ending the season with three defeats. That’s why we are very combative.
They played a good home game against KSC. They play with a back three and press very hard man-to-man. They also try to bridge the midfield with lots of crosses. They have the players for that. It’s very difficult to win back the ball against teams that put a lot of players on the back line. The first leg was by far the worst game of the season under my leadership. I watched it again this week. We weren’t able to find solutions against them there. Their style of play hasn’t changed dramatically compared to the first half of the season.
I believe we need to take a very differentiated view of the current season. After the Elversberg game in the first half of the season, there were newspaper headlines like „Now it’s just a matter of survival“ or „A second relegation in a row is looming.“ As the sporting management, we were tasked with developing a game plan and getting through the season on a stable basis, which would also develop players. Player development wasn’t just about sporting issues, but also about the team structure and leadership responsibility. To go through the tasks and goals step by step: We developed a game plan, but it reached its limits in certain games. We need to evolve and find other solutions. Nevertheless, the Lilies stand for a certain style of football, and we want to further consolidate that. Many players have developed athletically. Have we also managed to develop a structure within the team? Not really. With the exception of Marcel Schuhen, Aleksandar Vukotic, and Clemens Riedel, none of the players who were supposed to form a core team were consistently available. So we need to significantly increase player availability in order to be able to train the axis.
I have enormous confidence in Paul Fernie. He has put together the squad extremely well. The injury woes this season – we were without twelve players in Kaiserslautern as well – have prevented the depth of the team from being utilised. If we draw the right conclusions and manage to find the right profiles in one place or another, then I am very optimistic that we can be more successful in terms of results in our second year. I see many indicators that we can have a significantly more successful season next year. This is not a declaration of war, nor is it a formulation of goals for the season. This is a realistic assessment.
We, as a team and coaching staff, know that it hasn’t been the greatest season for a Lilien fan. Nevertheless, I noticed throughout the season that the city recognised how hard the team worked and played with passion – even if it wasn’t always successful. I would be delighted if we could all come together again on Sunday to create that Bölle atmosphere. Not just for Tobi, but for all of us. One crucial factor we have here at Darmstadt 98: the close bond between the team and the fans. Thank you very much for that.
Autographs, photos, and personal encounters with the Lilies: You'll have the opportunity to do so on Thursday (May 7th) from 5pm to 6pm. As part of an autograph session presented by Merck, Patric Pfeiffer, Kai Klefisch, and Fynn Lakenmacher will be at the Merck Stadium at Böllenfalltor. You'll also receive a ten percent discount in the fan shop during this time.
Darmstadt's 2-1 defeat at Karlsruher SC also ended any remaining theoretical hopes the South Hessian club had of finishing the season in the top three. The loss at the Wildpark stadium served somewhat as a symbol for the past few weeks, during which SV 98 had only managed one point from five matches since the international break in March. Following the game on Sunday afternoon, the Darmstadt players addressed the assembled media representatives with mixed feelings.
Three points! SV Darmstadt 98's U21 team secured a victory in the Lotto Hessenliga on Saturday afternoon (May 2nd). In their match against Hünfelder SV, the young Lilies overcame an early deficit to clinch a convincing 3-1 win. This result puts the U21 team currently outside the relegation zone. "Our trend is clearly upward," said a delighted U21 coach Sebastian Schmitt.
The successful collaboration between the Hessian Disabled and Rehabilitation Sports Association (HBRS) and SV Darmstadt 98 will continue long-term: Both partners have extended their existing agreement to promote inclusive sports indefinitely. This sends a clear signal for the sustainable development of inclusion and disability sports in Hesse.
A bitter end in Karlsruhe: After 90 entertaining minutes in which both teams sought salvation in attack, Darmstadt suffered a narrow defeat. The final score was 2-1 after a late goal from the home side, following Isac Lidberg's earlier equaliser. After the match, the players were particularly frustrated with the missed opportunities in the first half.
The away form continues to be poor: SV 98 suffered a 2-1 (0-0) defeat against Karlsruher SC. Lidberg scored the equaliser for the team from southern Hesse in the 70th minute.
Darmstadt 98 visit Karlsruher SC on matchday 32 (May 3rd, 1:30 PM). Florian Kohfeldt has made five changes to his starting lineup. Killian Corredor replaces the injured Fraser Hornby, Aleksandar Vukotic comes in for the suspended Patric Pfeiffer, and Fabian Holland starts in place of Matej Maglica, who is sidelined with an ankle injury. Merveille Papela and Niklas Schmidt also join the team, replacing Sergio Lopez and Yosuke Furukawa. In addition to Hornby, Pfeiffer, and Maglica, Darmstadt will also be without the injured Matthias Bader, Fabian Nürnberger, and Luca Marseiler.
Finally, the weekend is here, finally Sunday! On Sunday afternoon (May 3rd, 1:30pm), SV Darmstadt 98 will face Karlsruher SC away. What do the two coaches have to say about the match, who will be refereeing, and where can you watch it if you're not at the stadium? All the important information about the Lilies' 32nd matchday is compiled for you here in "Matchday Guide".
Continuity in sporting management: SV Darmstadt 98 has extended Paul Fernie's contract early and for the long term. As part of the contract extension, the current sporting director will move into the club's management board and will now serve as managing director of sport.
Our head coach spoke at the press conference before the away game against Karlsruher SC (May 3rd/1:30pm) about the mental freshness of his team, the course of action for the remaining games and his coaching colleague, whose commitment to KSC will end after six years this season.
Left hook, 'One hundred and eightyyyyyyy', and hand over the baton. Doesn't sound like football – and that's true. KSC is often associated with professional football, but with the sheer number of titles the club has won, it's worth looking beyond the pitch. Titles from Baden-Württemberg to Rome.
In a rescheduled Lotto Hessenliga match, SV Darmstadt 98's U21 team hosted SV Hummetroth at their youth academy on Wednesday evening (April 29th) but unfortunately came away empty-handed. Despite a spirited performance and playing with one man less, the score after 90 minutes was 3-1 in favour of Hummetroth.