Elversberg launches Bundesliga era with 1,000 fans at first training session

First steps in St. Ingbert

On Monday, around 1,000 fans gathered in St. Ingbert to watch SV Elversberg's first pre-season session as a Bundesliga club. Coach Vincent Wagner led 25 professionals through the workout, the first of a summer that ends with the club's top-flight debut. The turnout dwarfed past attendances; Luca Schnellbacher, a player since 2020, recalled the early days.

In the Regionalliga, not even that many people came to a match as now to training.

Continuity over overhaul

Unlike many promoted teams, Elversberg has kept its core intact. Only Bambasé Conté, returning to Hoffenheim after his loan, and Manuel Feil have left, while ten of last season's regular starters remain. Wagner called that "a big plus" and predicted the team would "take another development step in the second year together."

Two new faces and more to follow

Maurice Krattenmacher, 20, from Bayern Munich, and Noah Darvich, 19, from VfB Stuttgart, both trained with the squad. Wagner expects "two, three, maybe also four" additional signings for defence, midfield and attack. One name in the media is Borussia Dortmund's Cole Campbell, loaned to Hoffenheim last season.

Road map to matchday one

The first competitive fixture is a DFB-Pokal tie at MSV Duisburg in eight weeks, with the Bundesliga opener a week later. Wagner has laid out a clear plan: four weeks of work, a five-day break with individual sessions, then three intensive weeks before the cup match. On Tuesday, the DFL will announce Elversberg's first league opponent.

Between euphoria and reality

Schnellbacher described the step from the second division as "the biggest" and noted that some opponents would earn "as much as our entire team." Wagner concedes the task is huge but cites the squad's cohesion.

Football is nonetheless eleven against eleven and starts at 0-0.