Latest news with #Saarland
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Hoffenheim target Elversberg centre-back Lukas Pinckert
Sky Germany reports that TSG 1899 Hoffenheim are targeting SV Elversberg centre back Lukas Pinckert. The German second division side – having recently lost squad captain Robin Fellhauer to Augsburg – may be about to lose another key player. Elversberg narrowly missed out on promotion to the German top flight in this year's playoffs. Pinckert just completed a strong season for his Saarland side. The 25-year-old made 39 appearances across all competitions, in the process more than doubling his estimated market value from €600,000 to €1.5m over the course of the 2023/24 campaign. Sky notes that other German clubs are interested. Additionally, Elversberg – per the German pay TC channels – Elversberg have received inquires from Belgium and France. Advertisement Hoffenheim continue to try and shore up their defensive corps ahead of next season. Defensive midfielder Leon Avdullahu has been purchased from FC Basel for €10m while versatile Brazilian defender Bernardo arrived from VfL Bochum on a free. The rumored purchase of Japanese centre-back Koki Machida was also wrapped up yesterday. The 17-times-capped Samurai international arrived in Sinsheim for a reported €4.5 transfer fee. Machida maintains a €11m estimated market value. 'In Koki Machida, we have found a center back who has exactly the qualities we were looking for in this position,' TSG sporting director Andreas Schicker noted in a club statement yesterday. 'He has experience as a Japanese international and was a regular in Royale Union Saint-Gilloise's championship-winning team last season. Koki is an uncompromising defender who doesn't shy away from a tackle. He is also very strong in the air and has good [field] vision.' 'I am very happy that my transfer to TSG Hoffenheim has worked out,' Machida himself added. 'TSG is an extremely exciting and ambitious club that plays in one of Europe's top five leagues. For me, the move to Hoffenheim and the Bundesliga is the next step in my career and I honestly can't wait to get started with my new teammates. I will definitely give everything to be successful with the team in the future.' GGFN | Peter Weis
Yahoo
15-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Mayor would build town hall balcony if Elversberg get promoted
Elversberg fans stand in their block during the German 2nd Bundesliga soccer match between Eintracht Braunschweig and SV Elversberg, at Eintracht Stadium. The mayor of Spiesen-Elversberg said that the city would build a balcony in the town hall for celebrations in the event SV Elversberg gets promoted to the Bundesliga. Swen Pförtner/dpa The mayor of Spiesen-Elversberg said that the city would build a balcony in the town hall for celebrations in the event SV Elversberg gets promoted to the Bundesliga. "There's no town hall balcony. We don't have one, but we would build one. If we have to, believe me, we can do it," mayor Bernd Huf said. Advertisement In Germany, football clubs traditionally celebrate their titles and other major achievements from the town hall balcony while surrounded by fans. Elversberg will face Heidenheim, who finished the Bundesliga in 16th, in the away first leg on Thursday ahead of the second leg next Monday for a chance to play in the Bundesliga. They would be the first club in the Bundesliga from Saarland in 32 years after the much larger Saarbrücken were relegated in 1993. It is just their second season in the second division after spending only one in the third tier, after promotion from the fourth division in 2022. Advertisement The club are from the municipality of Spiesen-Elversberg, which has a population of around 13,000 and no train station, in the south-western Saarland state. Their average attendance is 9,000 fans per game. Huf admitted that a lot of work would have to be done if the club gets promoted to the top tier, "but that was clear to everyone. We would have to do that even if we stayed in the second division." For him, the "biggest step the club has taken was promotion to the second division" to play alongside German giants such as Cologne, Nuremberg, Hamburg SV and Dusseldorf.
Forbes
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
Pragmatic Heidenheim Secure Bundesliga Spot With Win Over Elversberg
Leo Scienza of Heidenheim 1846 celebrates with the fans following the team's victory in the ... More Bundesliga playoffs second leg match between SV Elversberg and 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 (Photo by) Elversberg's run from the fourth division to the Bundesliga has been stopped. In front of 9,970 fans at the Waldstadion an der Kaiserlinde, Bundesliga side Heidenheim beat 2. Bundesliga Elversberg 2-1 (4-3 on aggregate) to win the Relegation Playoffs. Heidenheim secured its spot in the Bundesliga most dramatically. Dominated on the pitch by the lower division team, Heidenheim forward Leonardo Scienza scored with just seconds remaining. It was Heidenheim's only opportunity in the second half. The Bundesliga team had taken the lead thanks to a goal by Mathias Honsak (9'). But from then on, it was all Elversberg, and in the 31st minute, Robin Fellhauer finally scored the equalizer. Then, within seconds of the second-half kickoff, Elversberg thought they had the lead. Fisnik Asllani thought he had given the Saarländer the lead, but VAR intervened correctly—Lukas Petkov was offside in the buildup. 'I was praying that it would be a goal,' Asllani said in the mixed zone after the game. 'But I think it is the correct decision. After all, that's what VAR is for: to make correct decisions. Otherwise, it would be pointless.' It felt like the decisive moment of the game because even though Elversberg dominated, the club coached by Horst Steffen didn't generate enough dangerous situations. Although they dominated possession and encircled Heidenheim in their own end, opportunities to score goals were lacking. 'Fortune wasn't on our side,' Steffen said. 'A few centimetres decide whether you win or lose the game. It is really sad. It is a sad moment. We thought we had a big opportunity and fulfilled our dream of reaching the Bundesliga.' The xG underlines this observation. While Heidenheim had an xG of 1.55, Elversberg's xG was just 1.55. Heidenheim also produced more shots on goal (11 to 8). 'We just weren't clinical enough,' Steffen said when asked about the difference between his side and Heidenheim. 'Perhaps we just lacked the experience to get the job done.' On balance, Heidenheim's performance over the full 180 minutes wasn't pretty. Although Heidenheim boss Frank Schmidt has evolved his game over the last few years, his sense of pragmatism has always been the foundation of the Swabian-based club. Heidenheim head coach Frank Schmidt got the job done. (Photo by) Sitting deep and absorbing the pressure, Heidenheim, in fact, never really looked in danger of conceding a second goal. And while the almost 10,000 fans in the Waldstadion were getting ready for 30 minutes of extra time, Scienza broke through the box and ended the match with seconds to go. 'It is difficult to put it all in words,' Schmidt said after the game. 'I knew that it would be a difficult task as Elversberg under Steffen plays good football. Even though you know how they play, they are hard to defend.' Then Schmidt admitted what everyone saw with their own eyes. 'To be honest, we didn't do much in the attack,' Schmidt said. 'Until Scienza and Paul Wanner, who came on fresh, combined to get the job done.' Moments of ecstasy for the winner and agony for the loser followed. 'It is brutal,' Schmidt said. 'We have experienced it ourselves. It is cruel that a team that finished third in the 2. Bundesliga has to play in the relegation playoffs. You play a great season, and your dream is being shattered.' Failure in the 2020 relegation playoffs for Heidenheim wasn't the end of the story. The club would win the 2. Bundesliga in 2023. Perhaps in a few years, Elversberg might be there as well. Indeed, an argument could be made that the Saarländer weren't quite ready for promotion yet. Promoted twice in the last three seasons, Elversberg's infrastructure hasn't quite kept pace with the club's growth. One example is the stadium, which is currently being expanded to 15,000 seats and, as a result, is open on one end. Still, the club is doing a fantastic job, and there is a sense of when and not if Elversberg will eventually represent the Saarland in the Bundesliga.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Dramatic late goal saves Heidenheim's Bundesliga status
Heidenheim will play in the Bundesliga again next year after overcoming Elversberg 2-1 with a dramatic stoppage time goal in the German league's most lucrative playoff on Monday. The teams drew 2-2 in Heidenheim last Thursday and Heidenheim secured its place in the top tier with a 4-3 aggregate triumph after Leo Scienza completed a superbly worked goal in the fifth minute of injury time. The playoff, known in Germany as the 'Relegation,' is between the teams that finish third-to-last in the Bundesliga and second in Bundesliga 2. Heidenheim's victory meant the top tier club has won all six playoffs. It ended Elversberg's fairy tale rise for at least one more year and broke the hearts of a capacity crowd at Elversberg's tiny home ground. The club from the Saarland was aiming to become the smallest ever club to play in the Bundesliga based on population size. Elversberg is in Spiesen-Elversberg, a town of around 13,000. It has been in the Bundesliga 2 for only two seasons. ___ AP soccer:
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Dramatic late goal saves Heidenheim's Bundesliga status
Heidenheim will play in the Bundesliga again next year after overcoming Elversberg 2-1 with a dramatic stoppage time goal in the German league's most lucrative playoff on Monday. The teams drew 2-2 in Heidenheim last Thursday and Heidenheim secured its place in the top tier with a 4-3 aggregate triumph after Leo Scienza completed a superbly worked goal in the fifth minute of injury time. Advertisement The playoff, known in Germany as the 'Relegation,' is between the teams that finish third-to-last in the Bundesliga and second in Bundesliga 2. Heidenheim's victory meant the top tier club has won all six playoffs. It ended Elversberg's fairy tale rise for at least one more year and broke the hearts of a capacity crowd at Elversberg's tiny home ground. The club from the Saarland was aiming to become the smallest ever club to play in the Bundesliga based on population size. Elversberg is in Spiesen-Elversberg, a town of around 13,000. It has been in the Bundesliga 2 for only two seasons. ___ AP soccer:
