The "lilies" have always been good at making themselves small.

Reference is made to the budget, infrastructure, history and in general to the short duration of professional football membership.

That's part of the game, and SV Darmstadt 98 will no longer be a big hit under the management team that has been acting together unchanged since - measured by football standards - primeval times.

Countries were once called “tiger states” which, by virtue of their economic advances, are on the verge of joining the big and established ones.

It may well be that the Darmstadt football operation is just starting to make such a leap on its terrain.

At the beginning of 2023 there will be a completely renovated, modern stadium on Nieder-Ramstädter Straße, which will open up new economic opportunities.

In unity with a squad poised to become a major force in the promotion race.

The five competitive wins in a row, including the impressive 2-1 away win at Hamburger SV on Friday evening, are certainly not a flash in the pan.

Things have been running like clockwork at the SVD for almost exactly a year now.

Since the third matchday of the previous season - we take the first two out of the ranking here because the "Lilies" were only able to play with a skeleton squad due to the corona - there have been 22 wins, six draws and only nine defeats in the second division under head coach Lieberknecht.

If you include the record second half of the 2020/21 season (10/3/4) under Coach Beginning, the "lilies" have been blooming for a year and a half at a time.

What does it take to succeed in the tricky second division?

And what of it does the SVD have on it?

Actually everything.

The team is both battle-tested and enthusiastic on the one hand and strong and structured on the other.

In short: She can fight and kick, she can be tactically variable (the back three is the current model for success), and she is dangerous in standard situations, which should not be underestimated in this league.

If you add a positive, inspiring atmosphere from the home crowd, a coach Lieberknecht, who is equally well received as a people's tribune outside and as a football coach internally, and a pronounced conquering spirit due to the narrowly missed promotion opportunity last season - and you have nothing less than a genuine candidate for promotion.