Sportverein Darmstadt 1898 e.V., commonly known as Darmstadt 98 (), is a German professional association 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 over 13,500 members basketball, hiking, futsal, judo, and table tennis.
The football department competed in the Bundesliga for the 2015–16 and 2016–17 seasons after a 33-year run in lower leagues. Darmstadt 98 were promoted again to the Bundesliga in 2023; however, they did not avoid relegation the following season.
History Early history 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 a breakthrough happened 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 play-off to Waldhof Mannheim in a penalty shoot-out 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 DFB-Pokal, Darmstadt advanced as far as the third round in 1989 and 2001, and to the quarter-finals in 1986. In 2004, the club won the Oberliga Hessen (IV) championship under manager and former player Bruno Labbadia, 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 bankruptcy, 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 2012, Dirk Schuster was appointed as head coach, and he signed Darmstadt's future captain, Aytaç Sulu. 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. Darmstadt 98 took Offenbach's place.Ruhl: "Ein bitterer Tag für den OFC" kicker.de, published: 3 June 2013. Retrieved 4 June 2013
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 secured the second-place position in the league and therefore promotion to the Bundesliga after a 33-year absence. In their final league match, against FC St. Pauli, the club won 1–0 at home through a 70th minute free-kick by Tobias Kempe. This was a second consecutive promotion for the team, led again by coach Schuster and captain Sulu.
Darmstadt reached the Round of 16 of the 2015–16 DFB Pokal. On 8 March 2016, long-term fan Jonathan Heimes died of cancer and, posthumously, Darmstadt's stadium was renamed as "Jonathan-Heimes-Stadion am Böllenfalltor" for the 2016–17 season. Darmstadt finished the 2015–16 season in 14th position, mainly due to a positive away record.
Coach Dirk Schuster announced his decision to join FC Augsburg, and Norbert Meier was appointed as head coach for the 2016–17 season. After being defeated in the second round of the 2016–17 DFB Pokal and only scoring 8 points in 12 games, Maier was sacked on 5 December 2016. On 27 December 2016, former Bundesliga player and Werder Bremen assistant manager Torsten Frings was presented as new head coach. However, the team was incapable of securing the next season in the Bundesliga after a 0–1 defeat to Bayern Munich in the 32nd matchday of the season, and was relegated to the 2. Bundesliga.
After a poor start to the 2017–18-second Bundesliga season, Torsten Frings was removed from his position, and, on 11 December 2017, the vacant manager's position was again filled by Dirk Schuster, who returned to the Darmstadt club for his second spell as manager. He finished 10th in the league.
In the 2018–19 2. Bundesliga season, Dimitrios Grammozis replaced Schuster after 23 points out of 22 games, going on to finish 10th. In the following season, the club finished 5th. After the season, Markus Anfang took over as head coach.
In the 2022–23 2. Bundesliga season, Darmstardt secured automatic promotion to the Bundesliga by beating 1. FC Magdeburg 1–0 at home.
They were relegated the following season from the Bundesliga, finishing bottom of the table in 18th. The club only recorded three wins for the entire season out of a possible 34 matches.
Players Current squad
Out on loan
Current technical staff
Position Name Head coach Florian Kohfeldt Assistant coaches Martin Heck Darius Scholtysik Goalkeeping coach Alexander Kynaß Head of performance Alexander Ryan Fitness coach Christopher Busse Rehabilitation coach Florian Bauer Video analysts Maximilian Kohl Johannes Behlau Immanuel Höhn Sporting director Paul Fernie Head of the licensed players department Matthias Neumann Team manager Jonas Nietzel Head of physiotherapy department Morris Sepoetro Physiotherapists Fabian Fischer Katrin Herbig Maximilian Schubert Supervisor Michael Richter Sebastian Hein Sports psychologist Dr. Andreas Marlovits Team doctors Dr. Philip Jessen Dr. Alexander Lesch Dr. Marc Schneider Dr. Oscar Velasquez
Honours The club's honours:
League Regionalliga Süd (II) Champions: 1972–73 2. Bundesliga Süd (II) Champions: 1978, 1981 2. Bundesliga (II) Runners-up: 2014–15, 2022–23 Regionalliga Süd (IV) Champions: 2011 Hessenliga (II/III/IV) Champions: 1950, 1962, 1964, 1971, 1999, 2004, 2008
Cup Hesse Cup (Tiers III–VII) Winners: 1966†, 1999, 2001, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2013 Runners-up: 1971, 2009, 2014
Recent seasons
The recent season-by-season performance of the club:Das deutsche Fußball-Archiv Historical German domestic league tablesFussball.de – Ergebnisse Tables and results of all German football leagues
Season Division Tier Position1963–64 Amateurliga HessenIII 1st ↑1964–65 Regionalliga SüdII14th1965–66 Regionalliga Süd13th1966–67 Regionalliga Süd14th1967–68 Regionalliga Süd14th1968–69 Regionalliga Süd8th1969–70 Regionalliga Süd 18th ↓1970–71 HessenligaIII 1st ↑1971–72 Regionalliga SüdII7th1972–73 Regionalliga Süd1st1973–74 Regionalliga Süd4th1974–75 2. Bundesliga Süd10th1975–76 2. Bundesliga Süd7th1976–77 2. Bundesliga Süd6th1977–78 2. Bundesliga Süd 1st ↑1978–79 BundesligaI 18th ↓1979–80 2. Bundesliga SüdII4th1980–81 2. Bundesliga Süd 1st ↑1981–82 BundesligaI 17th ↓1982–83 2. BundesligaII7th1983–84 2. Bundesliga12th1984–85 2. Bundesliga15th1985–86 2. Bundesliga10th1986–87 2. Bundesliga4th1987–88 2. Bundesliga3rd1988–89 2. Bundesliga11th1989–90 2. Bundesliga16th1990–91 2. Bundesliga17th1991–92 2. Bundesliga Süd8th1992–93 2. Bundesliga 24th ↓1993–94 Oberliga HessenIII9th1994–95 Regionalliga Süd11th1995–96 Regionalliga Süd15th1996–97 Regionalliga Süd13th1997–98 Regionalliga Süd 16th ↓1998–99 Oberliga HessenIV1st 1999–00 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 IV 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 BundesligaI 14th 2016–17 Bundesliga 18th ↓ 2017–18 2. BundesligaII 10th 2018–19 2. Bundesliga 10th 2019–20 2. Bundesliga 5th 2020–21 2. Bundesliga 7th 2021–22 2. Bundesliga 4th 2022–23 2. Bundesliga 2nd ↑ 2023–24 Bundesliga I 18th ↓ 2024–25 2. BundesligaII 12th 2025–26 2. Bundesliga 5th 2026–27 2. Bundesliga 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.
Former managers The managers of the club:
Start End Manager 1968 1970 Heinz Lucas † 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 1989 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 1998 1999 Slavko Petrović 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 Runjaić 5 September 2012 17 December 2012 Jürgen Seeberger 2012 2016 Dirk Schuster 1 July 2016 5 December 2016 Norbert Meier 5 December 2016 27 December 2016 Ramon Berndroth (interim) 3 January 2017 9 December 2017 Torsten Frings 12 December 2017 18 February 2019 Dirk Schuster 24 February 2019 30 June 2020 Dimitrios Grammozis 1 July 2020 30 June 2021 Markus Anfang 1 July 2021 1 September 2024 Torsten Lieberknecht 7 September 2024 Florian Kohfeldt
References
External links
SV Darmstadt 98 at Weltfussball.de Das deutsche Fußball-Archiv historical German domestic league tables