Four years after competing in Germany’s semi-professional fourth tier, tiny SV Elversberg will welcome defending Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich on Sunday in one of the biggest matches in the club’s history.
With a population of just 13,000 and no train station, Elversberg has become the smallest community in German league history to host a top-flight team this season.
Yet the newcomers have shown little fear of the Bundesliga spotlight.
Elversberg have won both of their opening matches, including a stunning 3-2 victory over 2023-24 double winners Bayer Leverkusen in their first-ever top-flight game.
Technical director Josef Welzmueller insists there is no magic behind the remarkable rise.
“I know that it sounds like magic or like a fairytale, but we did it step by step, and it didn’t feel like a fairytale, to be honest,” Welzmueller told AFP.
The club’s home stadium normally holds just over 14,000 spectators, but capacity has been reduced to 9,500 this season while renovation work takes place to meet the Bundesliga minimum of 15,000.
By comparison, Bayern’s 75,000-seat Allianz Arena could accommodate Elversberg’s entire population five times over.
Elversberg have reached the Bundesliga after three promotions in five seasons, but their journey has been anything but straightforward.
The Saarland club narrowly missed promotion in 2025 after losing a two-legged playoff to Heidenheim before coach Horst Steffen departed for Werder Bremen.
They then lost striker Younes Ebnoutalib to Eintracht Frankfurt and sporting director Nils-Ole Book to Borussia Dortmund during their promotion push last season.
Book’s departure was expected to damage Elversberg’s momentum, but the club secured automatic promotion anyway.
Identity Above Everything
Welzmueller, who replaced Book, believes the club’s unwavering identity has helped them overcome every setback.
“We choose the players that fit our playing style, we chose the coach and the staff that fit the playing style, so we can’t change anything,” he said.
That philosophy is so deeply rooted that Elversberg even rejected data-driven recommendations to abandon their preferred style.
“We did a huge data analysis if we should change the playing style,” Welzmueller explained.
“The numbers suggested it would make sense to change and avoid mistakes in our build-up play, play long balls and all of that.
“But then we sat together and said, ‘Hey, we made the playing style part of our identity and this is bigger than everything.’”
Their commitment has already produced remarkable results.
After beating Leverkusen, Elversberg found themselves 3-1 down against Borussia Moenchengladbach last weekend. Instead of collapsing, they scored three times to complete a stunning 4-3 comeback.
Now Bayern stand in their way.
The 13-time champions in the past 14 seasons will arrive with their own reputation, but Elversberg will actually sit two points above Bayern when the two sides meet.
Welzmueller is no stranger to the Bavarian giants. A childhood Bayern supporter, he even wrote his doctoral thesis in partnership with the club.
“I grew up as an FC Bayern Munich fan and an FC Bayern family. So being able to face them now in a league match is insane for me,” he said.
But sentiment will be put aside on Sunday.
“We have so much respect for the Bundesliga, but we don’t fear anybody.”
Elversberg will also have to cope without coach Vincent Wagner, who was sent off after collecting two yellow cards in the first half against Moenchengladbach. He will watch from the stands while an appeal is considered.
Wagner remains confident his players can cope without him.
“I’m not worried at all that we won’t be able to handle things without me. I’d only worry if things always worked out without me,” he told Kicker.
He also urged his players to embrace the enormity of the occasion.
“Bayern are simply extremely good. We have a snowball’s chance in the desert. But the beautiful thing is it’s snowed in the desert before.”
Wagner previously compared Elversberg’s fight against relegation to a journey to Mars. Now, he believes the club has already travelled much further than anyone expected.
“We’ve left Earth’s orbit without burning up in the process. But the journey to Mars is still a long one.”
