Darmstadt 98 is one of the positive surprises of this season. Captain Fabian Holland has been on board since 2014.
In his first year with the Lilien – Holland had moved to Böllenfalltor from Hertha BSV in July 2014 – the defender experienced the miracle of Darmstadt as a regular when, after promotion last year, he managed to make it through to the Bundesliga under coach Dirk Schuster. “The first few years here, with promotion in 2015 and staying in the league in 2016, were already special in terms of team spirit,” the now 31-year-old looks back.
Promotion is not (yet) an issue
The team spirit is also very important to the Hessians this season, playing a “big role on and off the pitch” and also thanks to coach Torsten Lieberknecht, under whom things are going really well again for the 98ers. After four wins and a draw, the Darmstadt team is flying high and is in 4th place with close contact to the very top. Right at the top – once again heading for promotion? Holland is keeping a low profile: “It doesn’t make any sense to speculate about that at the moment.
Of course, the plan is still to continue the current good run. The indispensable veteran, who played 90 minutes in all 13 games and, in addition to his main job as a left-back, has also been deployed in central midfield on several occasions this season, wants to stay “on this wave as long as possible”.
If they succeed, they could even take the lead in the standings after the next matchday, when St. Pauli, who are currently three points better than them, visit Böllenfalltor.
