EXCLUSIVE | SV Elversberg: The team taking on the Bundesliga in their own way

EXCLUSIVE | SV Elversberg: The team taking on the Bundesliga in their own way

The rise of SV Elversberg has not gone unnoticed within German football. This sleepy Saarland settlement of just 13,000 inhabitants has no train station, but has gone from the fourth tier to the Bundesliga in just five seasons, each time developing young talents and selling them on for profit.

On the eve of Elversberg’s first Bundesliga game in their history , I had the pleasure of attending a media round table with the club’s Technical Director, Josef Welzmüller. Rather than just relying on wealthy investors, something that has become unfortunately more common with certain clubs’ success in recent years, Elversberg has stuck to their core principles and the unbelievable work ethic of its staff.

From sporting philosophy to their transfer strategy, and what to expect from them this season, this is Elversberg.

Core Pillars

Despite Josef only being in his role since April 2024, it’s clear he understood the club’s philosophy and the way in which this wasn’t going to change, regardless of the opposition or league.

During our discussion, it became clear that Elversberg’s core pillars, both on and off the pitch, are to be brave, intense, and clever .

Throughout the club’s rise, Josef explained that these core ideas have never changed and will never, for that matter.

“We will never do anything different. The identity stays the same; it’s built on three core pillars. The first one is to be brave, the second one is to be intense and then to be clever. When I’m talking about playing on the field, brave means like when we have the ball, we want to be a highly possession playing team, being very brave and making decisions with the ball. When we’re talking about against the ball, we want to be very clever in how we attack the opponent and intensity-wise. You will see when you watch us, when you see how our striker defends, we want high-intensity players, and that will stick forever.”

It’s an admirable attitude to have, that plucky underdog attitude of doing things your own way, despite tough opponents and regardless of what others say.

But football is a business, and results tend to matter more than the way a team plays to get such results.

Not for Elversberg. Josef explains that the club chose this identity, and this is something to be honoured:

“We [club management] sat together, and we said, hey, we made the playing style part of our identity, and this is bigger than everything. We need to play the Elversberg way, and I’m very glad we decided to do that.”

I later asked Josef how confident he is that this identity and the work they’ve put in at this point will work in the top flight? Or is it perhaps that they will either succeed or fail doing it the Elversberg way, so to speak? Given how passionate Josef was about their identity and core pillars, the answer did not shock.

“Probably the second one, to be honest. We have very much respect for the Bundesliga, but we don’t fear anybody. That’s important to us. The worst part would be if we lost our identity after the season. Obviously, we will put everything in we can to hold the league, but as I said, the identity is the most important one.”

Transfer Philosophy and Trusting Youth

As Elversberg have risen through the leagues, their transfer policy has been clear. They invest in high-potential youth players, giving them playing time to express themselves, before they ultimately move on for a profit.

In recent years, the club has given chances to the likes of Younes Ebnoutalib and Nick Woltemade (loan) to show their talents. Ebnoutalib is now at Eintracht Frankfurt and scored a hat-trick on the opening weekend of the season against Union Berlin. Woltemade is now a German international regular and playing for Newcastle United.

When it comes to this season, the club is not changing course. It’s a philosophy which has served them well:

“Our intention was always, when you go back the years, to bring in top talented players and develop them – that’s our core business. We have a coaching staff which is insanely good in that we have a very calm environment here in Elversberg, which also helps to do that. Cole [Campbell] is a very good example. But we also have Noah Darvich, we have Maurice Krattenmacher, we have Franic Onyeka.”

On paper, it sounds all so simple, but this is a saturated market where every club is trying to find the next hidden gem, the next ‘big thing’. So how have Elversberg been so consistent in their recruitment, and what are they offering that others can’t?

“I think the biggest argument is our track record. In recent years, from Fisnik Asllani to Paul Wanner to Nick Woltemade, obviously, we can tell the story that player got their time on the pitch, got the responsibilities from the coach, and as I said, really having a development plan, an individual development plan for each player to really get better. You know, we can’t offer the high wages, but we can really offer a good development pathway for the player.”

It’s the last sentence of Josef’s answer that stood out to me here. A good development pathway for the player – this is the crux of it.

If a young player wants to truly improve, both as a person and a professional, this club is dedicated to giving you the mentorship and time on the pitch to do just that. In Elversberg, you are away from the bright lights and noise, surrounded by a culture of nurture, which will help you improve if you’re of the right mindset.

Given the development pathway the club has successfully coordinated, you’d assume that the scouting network is a sprawling eco-system with eyes and ears all over Europe and perhaps the world, all reporting back on hidden gems.

Well, as Josef explains, the club’s scouting team consists of just two people . It’s almost unthinkable that any professional club could s...

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