Our next opponents: ‘Mission to Mars’ set to begin after ‘moon landing’

Position

The recent history of SV 07 Elversberg is a football fairy tale that has long deserved a detailed documentary film. Just four years ago, the village club from the municipality of Spiesen-Elversberg was playing in the Regionalliga. Following promotion to the Liga 3, they secured direct promotion to Bundesliga 2 in the 2022/23 season. Just two years later, SVE finished third and qualified for the Bundesliga promotion play-offs, only narrowly missing out to Heidenheim in 2025. Subsequently, long-serving manager Horst Steffen and six key players left the club. Some experts therefore tipped Elversberg as relegation candidates ahead of the 2025/26 season. They were completely off the mark with their prediction. Perhaps they underestimated the new head coach.

In any case, Vincent Wagner managed to build a new, formidable squad in record time: On 17 May 2026, the team celebrated their direct promotion to the Bundesliga with their fans – the culmination so far of a breathtaking rise. Three promotions in the space of four years. Elversberg are Bundesliga club number 59 – and, following on from Borussia Neunkirchen, FC Saarbrücken and FC Homburg, only the fourth club from the Saarland to reach the top flight in German football.

With a population of just 13,000, Elversberg is the smallest town ever to have a team in the Bundesliga. The promotion – a miracle that the 40-year-old head coach compared to landing on the moon. “And for the team to avoid relegation in the top flight would be like a journey to Mars,” said Vincent Wagner ahead of the start of the season. SV Elversberg’s first season in the Bundesliga is certainly a journey into the unknown, with avoiding relegation the main objective.

Still, the club seems well-prepared for the ‘mission to Mars’. During pre-season, the Saarland side won five out of nine friendlies, including a 5–2 victory over Conference League semi-finalists Racing Strasbourg. Elversberg also progressed in the first round of the DFB Pokal last weekend, beating MSV Duisburg 3–1. The match-winner was Francis Onyeka, on loan from Bayer 04, who came on as a substitute with the score at 1–1 and secured victory for SVE with a brace within three minutes just before the final whistle. The 19-year-old is now looking forward to facing the Werkself.

PersonNEl

Onyeka, who was captain of the Germany U19 national team that finished as runners-up in the European Championship in the summer, was unable to join the Saarland side’s training sessions until later than planned. Last season, he played for VfL Bochum 1848 – also on loan. He is now set to gain further valuable match experience with Bundesliga newcomers Elversberg. Onyeka feels most at home in central midfield. However, the competition there is fierce, as SVE have signed two further highly talented midfielders: Maurice Krattenmacher (Bayern Munich) and Noah Darvich (on loan from VfB Stuttgart). Also new to manager Vincent Wagner’s squad are centre-back Luca Sirch (FC Kaiserslautern) as well as the two strikers Cole Campbell (most recently on loan from Borussia Dortmund to TSG Hoffenheim) and Noel Futkeu (on loan from Eintracht Frankfurt), who was the top scorer in Bundesliga 2 last season with 19 goals for SpVgg Greuther Fürth.

Of the regulars, only playmaker Bambasé Conté – on loan from TSG Hoffenheim – has left the Saarland and returned to Sinsheim. The ‘Elv’ are therefore largely a well-established side, with many of their moves second nature. As in the past, the club relies on a mix of long-serving key players and young, up-and-coming talents. Manager Wagner usually plays a 4-2-3-1 formation. The first-choice goalkeeper is the Austrian Nicolas Kristof, who has only missed four matches over the past four years. As in last season, the back four consists of captain Lukas Pinckert, Maximilian Rohr, Florian Le Joncour, Jan Gyamerah and Lasse Günther. The latter is one of the fastest players in the squad and he set up eight goals down the left flank last season.

The established figures in defensive midfield are the Pole Lukasz Poreba and Felix Keidel, who is regarded as the standout performer from the pre-season and he has managed to edge out the more experienced Amara Condé. In attack, too, the manager has plenty of other options at his disposal alongside Onyeka, Darvich, Krattenmacher and Campbell. Take Lukas Petkov, for example, last season’s top goalscorer and provider. The Bulgarian scored 13 goals and set up eight more. In the centre-forward position, David Mokwa, Noel Futkeu, Luca Schnellbacher and – following a long spell on the sidelines – Luca Pfeiffer are all ready to play. The latter is the only player in the squad with significant Bundesliga experience. The 30-year-old made a total of 43 appearances in the top flight for VfB Stuttgart and SV Darmstadt 98.

Problems

It is possible this very lack of Bundesliga experience could prove to be the newly promoted side’s biggest problem. How quickly will SVE be able to adapt to the faster pace and higher standard of play? “Every week we’ll be playing against teams that are more experienced, stronger individually and more clinical. There will hardly be a single match where we have the advantage on paper,” said Vincent Wagner. The qualified teacher (PE and History) has respect for the new challenge. “Nobody needs to be afraid of us, but we will try not to put on a front and just stick to our game plan, even though we’re bound to learn the hard way and take a few knocks along the way.”

Performers

Wagner has a distinct football philosophy: A dominant style of play, bold attacking football with plenty of possession (an average of 53 per cent last season, with a pass completion rate of 83.1 per cent). His team aims to control the game, practises high pressing and constantly looks to create chances through dribbling via two out-and-out wingers. Last season, Elversberg boasted most potent attack in Bundesliga 2 with 64 goals, averaging 15 shots on goal per match. “My idea is to master both aspects in their entirety – both defending and possession-based football, as practised at Barça by coaches including Guardiola and Cruyff,” said Wagner, citing famous names to illustrate his philosophy. With his many years’ experience in youth football at VfL Bochum 1848, MSV Duisburg, Rot-Weiss Essen and, most recently, with the TSG Hoffenheim U23s, Wagner is ideally suited to working with the many talented young players he has in his squad.