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.
SV Darmstadt 98 invites all its members to come to the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor on November 1st, 2026, starting at 11:30am. Together, we aim to once again create the largest team photo in our club’s history—with the professional players in the front and the entire Lilies family behind them.
On Sunday (Oct 18th), SV Darmstadt 98 will visit Karlsruher SC. The side from Baden differs from the Lilies in several key respects. Furthermore, the match will see SV 98 cross paths with a former player once again. Find out here about other connections between the two clubs, as well as some particularly interesting statistics ahead of the encounter.
On Tuesday evening (October 13th), the SilberLilien took part in SV Darmstadt 98’s Stolperstein tour for the first time. Along the approximately six-kilometre route, the participants made several stops to learn more about the fates of Jewish club members who were persecuted and driven out during the Holocaust.
From new grassroots sports offerings and a look back at the club's history to birthdays and the latest updates from the media briefing—there is plenty to report from SV Darmstadt 98 again this week. In "Lilien Across the Board," we round up the news, insights, and stories from life at the club.
Tickets for the home match against 1. FC Heidenheim on November 22nd are available for purchase now.
SV Darmstadt 98's U21 team proved their mettle at home against KSV Hessen Kassel II in the Hessenliga on Sunday (Oct. 11th). After a convincing 90-minute performance, the Young Lilies secured another three points, finishing with a decisive 4–0 victory that lifts them to sixth place in the standings.
The Lilies overturned an early deficit to celebrate a 3–1 home victory against Energie Cottbus—a win that boosts confidence and confirms the progress being made. Read our analysis to find out why there is still work to be done and what positives SV 98 takes away from the match.
This season, too, Lilien fans will be doubly rewarded for every home goal scored by SV Darmstadt 98. In addition to the joy and excitement of the goals, the team's supporters will receive 98 litres of Krombacher Pils for every home goal scored by Darmstadt at the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor.
After the international break, Darmstadt 98 returned to the Bölle with a home win! Against Energie Cottbus, SV Darmstadt 98 put on a spirited performance in front of their home crowd and rewarded themselves with three points after an intense match. We've compiled the post-match reactions for you here:
Despite falling behind, Darmstadt secured their second consecutive home win! Darmstadt defeated Energie Cottbus 3-1 (1-1). The home side equalised after conceding an early goal in the four-minute period through Weißhaupt before halftime. Vukotic headed his team into the lead in the second half, before Lührs sealed the victory with the third goal. This home win brings Darmstadt's season total to seven points.
Homegame at Böllenfalltor (10/10, 1pm): Florian Kohfeldt has made two changes to his starting XI compared to the away match in Wolfsburg three weeks ago. Richter and Mikelbrencis come into the starting lineup for Sickinger (calf issues) and Lannert (illness).
On Saturday afternoon (October 10th, 1pm), SV 98 hosts Energie Cottbus at the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor for Matchday 7. What do the two head coaches have to say ahead of kick-off? Who is officiating the match, and where can you follow the action live? As always, we have compiled all the key information regarding the game against Cottbus in our "Matchday Guide" feature.