Darmstadt 98 is facing an emotional season finale as the club plays against SC Paderborn on Sunday (3:30 PM). In this meaningless 2. Bundesliga match, the Lilies will bid farewell to six players whose contracts are expiring. These include Fabian Holland, Fabian Nürnberger, Serhat-Semih Güler, and Bartosz Bialek, while the loans of Marco Richter and Niklas Schmidt will also end. Coach Florian Kohfeldt expressed hope that Nürnberger might stay, as good talks about a contract extension are ongoing. The bond between players and the coach is strong, making the farewells particularly emotional.

A key focus will be on Fabian Holland, who will end his career after twelve years with SV Darmstadt 98. Kohfeldt referred to him as a club legend and promised to give him a worthy farewell. Holland will play his 319th competitive match for the Lilies, and it is unclear whether he will start, as he has been struggling with an injury recently. Kohfeldt emphasized that the team will do everything to provide Holland with a special send-off.

For Darmstadt 98, which has not won in eight games, the goal is to present themselves well against the promotion candidate Paderborn. While the guests need a high victory to maintain their promotion chances, for the Lilies, the match is more of an opportunity to say goodbye to their players. Kohfeldt admitted that motivation within the team has waned, but emotions will be palpable on both sides when the Lilies take the field on Sunday.