SV Darmstadt 98

Darmstadt 98

Full name	Sportverein Darmstadt 1898 e.V.
Nickname(s)	Die Lilien (The Lilies)
Founded	22 May 1898
Ground	Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor
Ground Capacity	17,000
Chairman	Klaus Rüdiger Fritsch
Manager	Dirk Schuster
League	Bundesliga
2014–15	2. Bundesliga, 2nd (promoted)
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours

SV Darmstadt 98 is a German football club based in Darmstadt, Hesse. The club was founded on 22 May 1898 as FC Olympia Darmstadt. Early in 1919 the association was briefly known as Rasen-Sportverein Olympia before merging with Darmstädter Sport Club 1905 on 11 November that year to become Sportverein Darmstadt 98. Merger partner SC was the product of a 1905 union between Viktoria 1900 Darmstadt and Germania 1903 Darmstadt. The footballers are today part of a sports club which also offers its approximately 5,500 members athletics, basketball, cheerleading, hiking, judo, and table tennis.

The football department will be competing in the Bundesliga for the 2015–16 season again after a 33-year run in lower leagues. Dirk Schuster has been the manager of the club since 28 December 2012.

History

Early History

Cigarette card with the crest of the club from 1930

Olympia played as a lower table side in the Westkreisliga between 1909 and 1913. In the late 20s and early 30s the club played as SV Darmstadt in the Kreisliga Odenwald and Bezirksliga Main-Hessen, Gruppe Hesse, but struggled to stay in top flight competition. In 1933, German football was reorganized under the Third Reich into sixteen premier divisions known as Gauligen. Darmstadt was not able to break into upper league play until 1941 when they joined the Gauliga Hessen-Nassau, Gruppe 2. Their stay was short-lived and they were relegated after their second season of play at that level. By 1944–45 the division had collapsed in the face of the advance of Allied armies into Germany.

Darmstadt enjoyed a long run as a second division team through the 50s and then again from the time of the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963 on into the 70s. However, they were never better than a lower to mid-table side until they finally managed a breakthrough in 1973 with a Regionalliga Süd championship and participation in the promotion rounds for the Bundesliga where they finished a distant second to Rot-Weiß Essen.

From the Bundesliga to insolvency

A side with limited resources, Darmstadt eventually managed two seasons in the Bundesliga (1978–79 and 1981–82). They narrowly missed a third turn in the top league in 1988 when they lost in a lengthy relegation-promotion playoff to SV Waldhof Mannheim in extra time of the third match between the two clubs. In the following years Darmstadt 98 escaped relegation to the Amateur Oberliga Hessen (III) in 1991 when Essen was refused a 2. Bundesliga licence for financial reasons. However, by 1997, SV had themselves become victims of financial mismanagement, slipping to the third and fourth divisions.

The team's most recent successes include wins in the Hessen Pokal (Hessen Cup) in 1999, 2001, 2006, 2007 and 2008 as well as three consecutive Possmann-Hessen Cup wins from 2000 to 2002. In the German Cup Darmstadt advanced as far as the third round in 1989 and 2001, and to the quarterfinals in 1986. In 2004 the club claimed the Oberliga Hessen (IV) championship under manager and ex-player Bruno Labaddia and were promoted to the Regionalliga Süd (III).

Financial problems limited their options and they were relegated to the Oberliga Hessen (IV) at the end of the 2006–07 season. The club's stated aim was to reach the new 3. Liga within five years. However, on 6 March 2008 Darmstadt entered insolvency proceedings with debts of around €1.1 million making the future of the club uncertain. After the 2007–08 Oberliga Hessen-Championship, Darmstadt played in the Regionalliga Süd. Darmstadt took various measures to avert bankcruptcy, for example a friendly benefit match against Bayern Munich, donations etc., in addition the former management of the club (e.g. former president, former tax advisor) made vital financial contributions which secured the club's future.

Rise to the Bundesliga

After winning the 2010–11 Regionalliga Süd in dramatic fashion, Darmstadt were promoted to the 3. Liga. In the 2012–13 season the club was initially relegated but their fiercest rivals Kickers Offenbach were refused a 3. Liga licence due to going into administration and were relegated to the Regionalliga instead. SV Darmstadt 98 took Offenbach's place.

In 2013–14 having finished third in league and thus gaining entry into the promotion-relegation play offs, Darmstadt defeated Arminia Bielefeld in the second leg through away goals after losing 1–3 in the first leg at home to secure promotion to 2. Bundesliga for the first time in 21 years in dramatic circumstances.

In the following 2. Bundesliga season Darmstadt surprised everyone by securing the 2nd spot in the league and securing promotion to the Bundesliga again after 33 years in their final league game against St. Pauli by winning 1–0 at home through a 70th minute free-kick by Tobias Kempe.

Honours

The club's honours:

League

• Regionalliga Süd (II)
  • Champions: 1973
• 2nd Bundesliga Süd (II)
  • Champions: 1978, 1981
• 2. Bundesliga (II)
  • Runners-up: 2015
• Regionalliga Süd (IV)
  • Champions: 2011
• Hessenliga
  • Champions: 1950, 1962, 1964, 1971, 1999, 2004, 2008

Cup

• Hesse Cup
  • Winners: 1966^†, 1999, 2001, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2013
  • Runners-up: 1971, 2009, 2014

• ^† Won by reserve team.

Recent seasons

The recent season-by-season performance of the club:

Season	Division	Tier	Position
1999–2000	Regionalliga Süd	III	9th
2000–01	Regionalliga Süd		5th
2001–02	Regionalliga Süd		14th
2002–03	Regionalliga Süd		17th ↓
2003–04	Oberliga Hessen	IV	1st ↑
2004–05	Regionalliga Süd	III	5th
2005–06	Regionalliga Süd		5th
2006–07	Regionalliga Süd		16th ↓
2007–08	Oberliga Hessen	IV	1st ↑
2008–09	Regionalliga Süd		15th
2009–10	Regionalliga Süd		15th
2010–11	Regionalliga Süd		1st ↑
2011–12	3. Liga	III	14th
2012–13	3. Liga		18th
2013–14	3. Liga		3rd ↑
2014–15	2. Bundesliga	II	2nd ↑
2015–16	Bundesliga	I

• With the introduction of the Regionalligas in 1994 and the 3. Liga in 2008 as the new third tier, below the 2. Bundesliga, all leagues below dropped one tier.

Current squad

As of 29 September 2015

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Patrick Platins 3 DF Michael Stegmayer 4 DF Aytaç Sulu (captain) 5 DF Benjamin Gorka 6 MF Mario Vrančić 7 FW Marco Sailer 8 MF Jérôme Gondorf 9 FW Dominik Stroh-Engel 10 FW Jan Rosenthal 11 MF Tobias Kempe 13 DF György Garics 14 FW Sandro Wagner 15 DF Júnior Díaz 17 DF Sandro Sirigu 18 MF Peter Niemeyer

No. Position Player 20 MF Marcel Heller 23 MF Florian Jungwirth 25 MF Yannick Stark 27 MF Milan Ivana 31 GK Christian Mathenia 32 DF Fabian Holland 33 DF Luca Caldirola (on loan from Werder Bremen) 34 DF Konstantin Rausch 35 MF Slobodan Rajkovic 36 DF Jan Finger 37 MF Ali Kazimi 38 MF Nick Volk 39 DF Noel Wembacher 40 GK Łukasz Załuska

Current technical staff

As of August 2015.

Position	Name
Manager	Dirk Schuster
Assistant manager	Sascha Franz
Goalkeeping coach	Dimo Wache
Fitness coach	Frank Steinmetz
Head physiotherapist	Dirk Schmitt
Club doctors	Dr. med. Michael Weingart
	Dr. med. Ingo Schwinnen
	Dr. med. Klaus Pöttgen
Team officials	Helmut "Bubu" Koch
	Utz Pfeiffer
Academy director	Björn Kopper
Academy Chief Coach	Petr Ruman
Academy Coordinator	Tim Kuhl
Under-19s coaches	Richard Hasa
	Jonas Keblowsky
Under-17s coach	Steffen Kaschel
Under-16s coach	Jens Krinke

Former managers

The managers of the club:

Start	End	Manager
1971	1976	Udo Klug †
1978	1979	Lothar Buchmann
1979	1979	Klaus Schlappner
1979	1980	Jörg Berger
1981	1982	Werner Olk
1982	1983	Manfred Krafft
1983	1984	Timo Zahnleiter
1984	1984	Lothar Kleim
1985	1986	Udo Klug †
1986	1987	Eckhard Krautzun
1987	1988	Klaus Schlappner
1988	1988	Werner Olk
1989	1989	Eckhard Krautzun
1989	1990	Dieter Renner †
1990	1990	Uwe Klimaschefski
1990	1991	Jürgen Sparwasser
1994	1996	Gerhard Kleppinger
1996	1996	Max Reichenberger
1996	1998	Lothar Buchmann
1999	2000	Eckhard Krautzun
2000	2002	Michael Feichtenbeiner
2002	2003	Hans-Werner Moser
2003	2006	Bruno Labbadia
2006	2006	Gino Lettieri
2006	2009	Gerhard Kleppinger
2009	2010	Živojin Juškić
24 March 2010	2 September 2012	Kosta Runjaic
5 September 2012	17 December 2012	Jürgen Seeberger

External links

• The Abseits Guide to German Soccer
• SV Darmstadt 98 at Weltfussball.de (German)
• Das deutsche Fußball-Archiv (German) historical German domestic league tables
• DARMSTADT PROMOTED TO THE BUNDESLIGA AFTER FAIRYTALE YEAR