By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Two incredible underdog stories come together in this season’s Bundesliga play-off as 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 face off against SV Elversberg in a two legged match-up to decide who gets a place in the German top flight for the
2025-26 season.
Frank Schmidt’s Heidenheim have certainly had a roller-coaster first two seasons in the Bundesliga. After qualifying for the UEFA Conference League in a dream maiden campaign at the highest level, the Voith-Arena outfit have struggled to find consistency. Balancing league action with continental commitments has proven a tough ask.
Their Bundesliga form saw an upturn following their exit from the Conference League, but four wins and three draws in the final 12 matchdays was unfortunately not enough to help them escape the play-off spot in 16th.
Nonetheless, the wins seem to have come at just the right time to give them some momentum heading into the winner-takes-all encounter with SV Elversberg. Crucially, they have won three of the last four in the league and kept clean sheets in all three too. Defensive resilience – led by captain Patrick Mainka, who has played every single minute of Heidenheim’s two-year Bundesliga existence – has been one of the bedrocks of Schmidt’s team, and they will need every bit of it to secure top-flight survival.
“We’re not disappointed by the fact that we’re playing in [this] play-off,” the Heidenheim boss said. “We’re Heidenheim and this was our second year in the Bundesliga. We have a chance to stay up with two extra games, and we’re approaching them with determination and a positive attitude,” he added.
As for Elversberg, this is an opportunity to keep their own dream rise through the German pyramid going. Having never played higher than the third tier before 2023, Elversberg have been supremely impressive in the second division this season.
Coach Horst Steffen has been at the club since 2018 and has taken them from the regional leagues to the second division. The one-time minnows are now two games away from joining giants 1. FC Köln and Hamburger SV in the Bundesliga.
With 64 goals scored and just 37 conceded in 34 Bundesliga 2 outings, Elversberg had a better record in both categories than champions Köln, and their goal difference of +27 is bettered only by runners-up HSV, who finished as the leading scorers.
The Saarland outfit have lost just once in 15 league outings, a 1-0 defeat to Preußen Münster on Matchday 26. Since Matchday 20, they have collected eight wins and six draws, finishing the regular season with three wins on the bounce to set up the play-off against Heidenheim.
Fisnik Asllani, on loan to SV Elversberg from TSG Hoffenheim, is one to keep an eye on. The 22-year-old finished as the third-highest scorer in Bundesliga 2 with 18 goals and laid on eight assists while attempting the second-highest number of shots in the division with a total of 102.
Steffen’s Elversberg bring offensive promise to the table, while Schmidt’s Heidenheim pack defensive nous with experience at the back to set up an intriguing and hugely exciting play-off. Two clubs with fantastic stories, but onlyone has a Bundesliga future next season. The first leg at the Voith-Arena is on Thursday, with the return fixture at the USAPHARM-Arena the following Monday.
One final outstanding question for 2024-25 is then who will play alongside the losing side in Bundesliga 2 next season. The 18th and final available spot is being contested between Eintracht Braunschweig, who came 16th in the second division, and 1. FC Saarbrücken, who finished third in the 3. Liga.
Both are former Bundesliga clubs, with Braunschweig even champions in 1967. The first leg at Saarbrücken’s Ludwigsparkstadion is on Friday, with the decisive match at the Eintracht-Stadion and final fixture of the German season the following Tuesday.