Second Bundesliga: Dursun's long shadow in Darmstadt

When Serdar Dursun stomped tears over the lawn after his last home game for Darmstadt 98, a 5-1 home win against Heidenheim in May, you could already have foreseen that this farewell would not only be difficult for him. He had scored four goals in the 90 minutes before and, as so often in the previous season, was the decisive man for the "Lilien". His free transfer was already clear at this point, he had long since shot himself in spheres beyond the financial possibilities of Darmstadt. Dursun finally said goodbye with 27 goals and as the top scorer of the second division season.

Three months later, the home game against FC Ingolstadt last weekend: the Darmstadt team's starting line-up combined 19 goals in the second division - in total. The false start to the season with two defeats against Regensburg and Karlsruhe without a goal of their own as well as the end in the DFB Cup against 1860 Munich only to the departure of the scorer is certainly not enough. Injuries and numerous corona failures first made it difficult for the new coach Torsten Lieberknecht to prepare and then decimated the matchday squad.

But you don't need an overly active imagination to be able to imagine that things could have gone better with a Dursun in a storm.

That he scores a goal where there wasn't even a chance.

Because he is often right, has a strong head and foot.

Can even make a goal out of nothing.

But how do you replace a player who is so good that you can't afford his grade?

"A certain impact in the sixteenth"

Lieberknecht wants to distribute this burden over several shoulders. This project worked for the first time against Ingolstadt: it was 6: 1 after an extremely convincing offensive performance by the "Lilien". The two newcomers Luca Pfeiffer and Phillip Tietz played a decisive role in the success. Pfeiffer played for FC Midtjylland in Denmark the previous season and came to Darmstadt without any second division experience. Tietz came from the third division club Wehen Wiesbaden and had already scored six goals in Germany's second-highest division.

As before in the cup, Lieberknecht sent the two tall attackers out onto the field together for the first time in the league in order to "create a certain force in the sixteen". The plan worked: Both met twice. And both gave cause for hope that their first goals would not be the last of this season. Especially Pfeiffer's hits, two outstanding individual performances - first with force from around twenty meters away, then with feeling with a lifter - should have caused the audience in Darmstadt to have forgotten the name Serdar Dursun, at least for a short time.

Incidentally, he had done his former employer one last favor and newcomer Klaus Gjasula from Hamburger SV “only told positive things” about Darmstadt as a football location and “advised him to change”, as the new man in the defensive midfield announced. Gjasula - 3 goals in 69 first and second division games - was certainly not brought in for his scoring qualities, but with his aggressiveness in a duel he is supposed to initiate the quick switching game demanded by Lieberknecht.

These “switching moments” were already “under control” against Ingolstadt, says the coach.

And it was precisely these switching moments that were in focus in the training week before the game on this Sunday (1.30 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the second division and on Sky) at Hamburger SV.

Newcomer Gjasula will probably play a key role again.

After his rarely successful intermezzo in Hamburg, there should be no lack of motivation.

A blueprint?

It is unclear whether Lieberknecht will again resort to a two-man storm from Tietz and Pfeiffer for the promotion aspirants or whether one of the two has to take a seat on the bench first.

The previous week FC St. Pauli demonstrated how to defeat HSV with a double top.

In the 3-2 win, Simon Makienok and Guido Burgstaller were probably the only storm duo in the second division on the pitch that still surpasses Tietz and Pfeiffer in terms of body length.

Possibly a blueprint for Lieberknecht and his coaching team.

In any case, they want to have identified a weakness in defending standard situations in the opponent in Darmstadt - so maybe two strikers with strong headers are better than one.

And maybe Tietz and Pfeiffer will still get the chance to make Dursun's departure forgotten as a collective.

The clearing of the club's own hospital should also soon give Torsten Lieberknecht more opportunities. Tobias Kempe could be an option for the starting XI again - his crosses would certainly also help Pfeiffer and Tietz. Incidentally, Lieberknecht also wants another new addition. And probably has a certain player on the list. He does not reveal whether this is a striker. Two more shoulders to bear the weight of Serdar Dursun's departure certainly couldn't hurt.