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SV Elversberg have slowly plotted their rise to Germany's top division by staying true to themselves and their means. So far it's working, but this weekend's date with champs Bayern Munich will push them to the limit.Simon Hofmann/Bundesliga via Getty Images
Before we get started, SV Elversberg don't want their rise to the Bundesliga to be labelled a "fairytale," so we need to try something different.
If you want to witness a story that defies the bloated largesse and superficiality of modern football, head to south-west Germany. Spiesen-Elversberg, the town where SV Elversberg are based, has a population of 13,000 and doesn't even have a train station. It means that even when the team expand their stadium to 15,000 later next year, every resident will have a seat with space to spare.
Back in 2022, Elversberg were in the fourth tier of German football. A fortnight ago, they defeated Bayer Leverkusen in their opening match of the Bundesliga season. This is a club who have spent approximately €14 million on players in their 119-year history and on Sunday, they welcome Bayern Munich to town.
Ever since promotion -- their third in five years -- was secured in May with their 3-0 win over Preussen Munster, they've been busy in the town just 15 minutes from the French border. Earlier in the summer. technical director Dr. Josef Welzmüller, 36, and his team of transfer scouts (two) looked at the daunting numbers behind their survival bid.
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"I don't know if I should tell you this," Welzmüller tells a media call with several eagerly listening journalists. "We did this huge analysis with a very big data provider in Germany on if we should change the playing style.
"They said, when we're talking about numbers, it would make sense to change: avoid mistakes in your build-up play, lots of long balls and all of that." It would be a departure from their high octane, relentless pressing, attacking philosophy.
"After all the analysis, we sat together and said, we made the playing style part of our identity, and this is bigger than everything. We choose players suiting our playing style. We chose the coach and the staff that fit the playing style so we can't change anything. We need to play the Elversberg way."
Logic be damned, sometimes the heart wins.
Head coach Vincent Wagner has called this season their "mission to Mars." It's a voyage built on three non-negotiable pillars anchoring Elversberg's on and off-field identity: to be brave, intense, and clever.
Welzmüller has adopted their philosophy since joining in April. They're used to losing talent, both on and off the pitch. Long-term manager Horst Steffen left in May 2025 for Werder Bremen after losing in the 2. Bundesliga playoffs. Former Sporting director Ole Book, a key architect at Elversberg, was snapped up by Borussia Dortmund in April.
While every club is looking for value and hidden gems, Elversberg offer a proven track record of developing players and putting them in the shop window: Nick Woltemade, Fisnik Asllani, Paul Wanner and Younes Ebnoutalib have all passed through their doors. "We can't offer the high wages, but we can offer development and a good pathway for players," Welzmüller says. "We want high-intensity players, and that will [remain] forever.
"We're very clear about the profile, very clear what we need for our playing idea, and then it's like matchmaking."
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SV Elversberg brought in eight players over the summer, two aged over 23, with their record signing U.S. Under-23 forward Cole Campbell from Dortmund. "He's a fantastic player ... we are very sure he will have a breakout season," Welzmüller says. They're also excited by Noah Darvich (on loan from Stuttgart), Maurice Krattenmache (€2m from Bayern Munich), and Francis Onyeka (on loan from Bayer Leverkusen) among others.
"We are confident we will have a lot of fun with those kinds of players this year," Welzmüller says. "When we're talking about proven Bundesliga players, we can maybe afford one or two, but then we would break our whole wage structure."
The Saarland area (where Elversberg is located) is famous for its coal-mining heritage, and the club is built on hard work and streamlined bureaucracy. "I knew when I came here it would be seven days a week, and the magic behind that is you really love it and understand the club," Welzmüller says. "It's the choice of [president] Dominik [Holzer] who built the whole structure, picking people who he knows are hardworking and very hungry to succeed."
Due to the small numbers of staff, there's limited red tape to wade through. "There are very few people who [make decisions] inside the club, so we are very fast, and everyone is on the same page."
There are plenty of cautionary tales for Elversberg to be mindful of: clubs that smash through their ceiling, develop altitude sickness, panic, overspend and crash back to where they came from, but in worse shape than they were before. "It might sound like the rise has been a rush, but at every stage the floor was solid before the next one was built," Welzmüller says. "We did it step by step, and it didn't feel like a fairytale for the people here because they are so strong in their decision-making and very clear in how they want to play and we want to act as a club.
"This is the whole magic, to be honest, and a lot of very, very hard work."
The town just 15 minutes from the France/Germany border has a modest stadium, tons of pride and a clear identity they adhere to.iStock Editorial / Getty Images Plus
But this is the Bundesliga, a land of giants, Champions League-winners and Ballon d'Or hopefuls. Elversberg's first topflight match was against Leverkusen, who won the Meisterschale in 2024. "Before the match we were doing our analysis and we were shocked at how good they were," Welzmüller said. They were given a pre-match win probability of 17.9%. Campbell, with 11 Bundesliga appearances to his name, was their most experienced top-flight player.
With the stadium sold out -- capacity is capped at 9,000 while the north stand is being redeveloped -- Elversberg knocked out Goliath, winning 3-2. "We're small, yet mighty," Wagner said afterwards. And as for the Leverkusen view, their goalkeeper Mark Flekken was numb post-match. "I don't want to throw the whole team under the bus," he said. "It's still a long season. But it can't and mustn't continue like this."
Then came Borussia Monchengladbach away. After 56 minutes, Elversberg were 3-1 down, but Krattenmacher's intro in the 65th minute changed the flow of the match as he scored a minute later. Then, deep into injury time, he scored his second to make it 4-3 to Elversberg.
"We can still play good football and we know we can play good football," Wagner said. "You have to believe in yourself in this league. As I said last week, I'd like to see [even] more courage."
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On Sunday, it's Bayern, complete with Harry Kane and his band of superstars. Welzmüller knows them well, having done his doctoral thesis on the "Geographic diversification of professional football clubs" at Bayern. It's also a family affair: another of the Welzmüller triplets, Maximilian, is a youth coach at the 35-time Bundesliga champions. "Being able to face them in a league match is insane for me," Josef Welzmüller says.
The town already loved their football team long before this run to the Bundesliga, but now they're getting nationwide acclaim; their story means Spiesen-Elversberg is no longer a place Munich residents would struggle to pick out on a map.
"You see our flags everywhere, and people walking around with hats or jerseys on," says Welzmüller. If you're a visitor, it's near impossible to get tickets these days, but those who are season-ticket holders know what to expect, and how their team will play. "We'll take some nasty knocks ... but we have nothing to be ashamed of," Wagner said.
Conventional wisdom says that as underdogs, Elversberg should adapt their adventurous playing style to negate Bayern's threats. (Bayern are also under a tiny bit of pressure, having endured their first scoreless game last weekend in 18 months as they drew 0-0 with Schalke.) But that's not what Elversberg are built on, nor what has propelled them up through the leagues.
"I know our story sounds magic or like a fairytale, but it's about being very clear, hardworking and having this very calm environment," Welzmüller says.
"This season, the most important thing is that we stay as Elversberg. The worst thing would be losing our identity."
AI-assisted · generated from ESPN FC reporting, not editor reviewed
