Torsten Lieberknecht painted a somewhat skewed picture, but thematically from the world of the young men whom he leads professionally and from whom he has been producing top performances for a long time. The Darmstadt coach compared the sporting situation with a situation in the discotheque. And with the moment when you spot your dream woman there, but don't dare to talk to her until you finally take heart.
"Just think of the girlfriend you spoke to back then," he told the pros in the dressing room. "Our girlfriend is now Ascension. So let's grab it and get the climb!" Twice, the "lilies", to stay in the picture, have already let the bride walk. In what is now their third attempt, they want to finally win the second division game that is still needed to get the party going, which Darmstadt 98 has been heading towards for months.
Lieberknecht made an emotional appearance at the press conference before the last home game of the season. Tenor: Now away with the fear of loss that has taken hold of the environment, and back to the conquering spirit, with which the SVD achieved a total of 2 wins (only three defeats) between matchdays 30 to 19. "Have positive thoughts that we will make it," Lieberknecht said. "Because I'm totally convinced of it. As Darmstadt 98, we have the opportunity to get promoted with two matchdays to go. That's awesome."
Head will control the legs
The promotion calculation is and remains simple: In order to settle it even on the penultimate matchday, a home win over 18. FC Magdeburg is needed this Friday (30.1 CET in the F.A.Z. live ticker for the second Bundesliga and on Sky). If Heidenheim loses on Saturday afternoon (against Sandhausen) or Hamburger SV does not win on Saturday evening (against Fürth), a draw would be enough for the South Hessians to achieve the big goal.
Opponents Magdeburg are a newly promoted team who have secured their place in the league fresh and deserved, scoring eight points from their last four games and also proving to be a factor in the promotion race: They won a win (3-2 against HSV) and a draw (0-0 in Heidenheim) against the Darmstadt pursuers.
It is clear that it tugs at the nerves of the SVD players to have missed the match points against St. Pauli (0:3) and in Hanover (1:2) without even having been within reach of landing the one victory that is still needed. There was and is still talk of the "postponed" or "postponed" ascent for a week. But what if the Darmstadters squander the originally almost perfect starting position, crash to the relegation rank and then certainly not go into the race as favorites in the games against the Bundesliga sixteenth?
The head, you don't need a prophetic gift, will control the legs more than ever. This team is home to plenty of professionals whose career dream of playing in the Bundesliga can most likely only be fulfilled right now and with exactly this club. A constellation that increases the pressure to move at the end of a strong season for many.
The comfortable approach of a club that was not one of the first contenders for promotion and always had more to win than to lose is a thing of the past. To work and act point by point and game by game - this attitude has carried the "lilies" for a long time and brought them far. Despite leading the table continuously since the twelfth matchday, Lieberknecht had raised a formulation to the rank of a constant: "We remain hunters. Hunters for points and victories." This narrative did not ignite at the moment when the omens suddenly changed with the victory in Kiel on Matchday 30.
"Lilies" did not plan anything
Against Magdeburg, a stringent performance from the kick-off should relieve the psyche. "We want to get straight into the action and not think through football too much," said coach Lieberknecht. "We want to show what has made us stand out and strong all season – in other words, show exactly why our fans love us."
In terms of personnel, the coach no longer has any learned strength for the right side in the squad due to the absence of Müller (torn muscle bundle in the adductor area), the yellow-red suspended Bader and Manu as well as the long-term injured Ronstadt. Only if the "lilies" have proven one thing in this round, it is that they know how to compensate for personnel problems excellently.
Regarding any preparations for promotion celebrations, the SVD only says: nothing planned. Now, the experience of the previous great days in the club's recent history teaches that a successful party in Darmstadt does not require much guidance.
Incidentally, suspenseful season finales with a happy ending are a "lily" specialty. Just think of the relegation thriller in Bielefeld in 2014, the 1-0 win on the last matchday to secure passage to the Bundesliga in 2015 and the relegation there on the penultimate matchday of 2016. In the following second division years, there was a few threats of falling into the third division - especially in 2018, when SVD was only able to avert the nightmare scenario on the last matchday.
Such a final act is now also needed in May 2023. To win the dream woman named Ascension as a dance partner on Friday evening - and to kick off a Darmstadt party weekend.