Introduction

As its name implies the story of SV Darmstadt 98 began in 1898, but the club has rarely performed at the highest levels.

Although a successful second division side for much of the 1950s and 1960s Darmstadt only managed two seasons (1978/79 and 1981/82) in the Bundesliga in the last century.

Indeed, for most of its recent past the Hessen club has been plagued by poor performances on the pitch and significant financial worries in the boardroom. As a result, Darmstadt dropped through the divisions and in 2008 came within a hairsbreadth of bankruptcy. It was only thanks to last-minute measures including a benefit friendly against Bayern and donations from fans that Darmstadt was able to survive.

This narrow escape gave the club the opportunity to restructure and make a fresh start and signalled the beginning of a dramatic rise through the divisions. They ended the 2010/11 season as Regionalliga Süd champions and were promoted to the 3 Liga. Three years later a third-place finish and a dramatic play-off win over Armenia Bielefeld secured promotion to the second division. Unbelievably, Darmstadt finished second in their very first season at this level and gained automatic promotion to the Bundesliga.

The club struggled to hang on to its place at the top table. A 14th-place finish in 2014/15 was followed by an 18th-place finish and relegation the next year.