Bundesliga news: Newly promoted SV Elversberg are German football’s latest fairytale story

SV Elversberg are one of the smallest professional football teams in Germany, and on the last weekend of the season, they did what many clubs dream of and reached the Bundesliga for the first time in the club’s history.

As a result, next season will see them take on giants of the game such as Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, and Schalke.

Here, Sports News Blitz writer Luca Salmasi takes a closer look at SV Elversberg’s story and the latest addition to Germany’s top flight.

True underdog story

Formed in 1907, Elversberg is based in Spiesen-Elversberg in south-west Germany, a town of just over 13,000 people that has long punched above its weight and will be the smallest town represented in the Bundesliga.

Indeed, the club’s 2025/26 campaign was just their third-ever 2. Bundesliga campaign, and they have, for the most part, only played in the third division in their history.

They even played in the fourth tier as recently as the 2021/22 season.

Horst Steffen’s appointment in 2018 was the catalyst for the club’s trajectory as Elversberg achieved back-to-back promotions in 2021/22 and 2022/23 to reach the 2. Bundesliga, where they would finish 11th in their first season.

This latest, historic promotion is thus their third in five years.

While they have never had much success in the DFB Pokal, failing to get past the second round, they have won the local Saarland Cup on eight occasions.

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Rising coaching star

Despite the success under Steffen, Vincent Wagner took the reins in July 2025 after a great season saw Elversberg miss out on promotion due to a last-minute Heidenheim winner in the promotion play-offs.

Wagner began his playing career in the lower levels of German football at the likes of Uerdingen and Rot-Weiss Essen, making 222 appearances.

He transitioned to coaching early on, taking up youth coaching positions at VfL Bochum, MSV Duisburg, and Rot-Weiss Essen before finding success at TSG Hoffenheim, managing their reserve team for three years.

During his 102 games in charge, Wagner successfully developed young players and brought success in a 2024/25 campaign that saw the reserves win the Regionalliga title and earn promotion to the third tier.

When Steffen departed for Werder Bremen, Wagner retained a lot of what had previously worked for the club, particularly its bold and modern football philosophy, and made only a few small personal tweaks.

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Major stepping stone

SV Elversberg are somewhat of an unknown, but they have been crucial in providing a platform for many Bundesliga teams’ top young talent to either launch or revive their careers.

One of the most well-known success stories is Newcastle United’s Nick Woltemade, who was loaned from Werder Bremen to Elversberg and scored 10 goals in 31 appearances, playing a key role in their promotion to the 2. Bundesliga whilst earning the 3. Liga Player of the Season award.

Woltemade would go on to sign for VfB Stuttgart and have a great season before then making a move to the Premier League.

Finik Asllani was another forward who became a revelation in the 2. Bundesliga during the 2024/25 campaign.

Asllani racked up 19 league goals and eight assists in 33 appearances to help keep Elversberg in the promotion picture, which they would unfortunately fall short on.

His prolific form earned him a permanent move to Hoffenheim, and after switching his international allegiance, Asllani made his senior debut for the Kosovo national team.

Another Hoffenheim player to trod that path is Muhammed Damar.

An attacking midfielder, Damar provided the offensive spark, scoring 15 goals and cementing himself as a core player, during Elversberg’s 2024/25 campaign.

His impact and impressive development solidified his place in German football and further paved his path at Hoffenheim towards the first team.

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