In a tiny village in southwestern Germany, something special is happening as SV Elversberg prepares to kick off their maiden Bundesliga voyage. While the club may be new to Germany’s top flight after securing promotion from the 2. Bundesliga, the club are no strangers to preparing both players and staff for Germany’s Bundesliga and beyond.
Nick Woltemade broke out at the club before going to Stuttgart en route to Newcastle United, and Hoffenheim striker Fisnik Asllani also came into his own at the club, while talented Bayern Munich youngster Paul Wanner spent time at the club on loan. They’ve also sent managers to other clubs, such as Horst Steffen, who went to Werder Bremen after leading the club to successive promotions.
But rebuilding is something that the club is used to, and they’ve done it quite well, be it replacing loan players to prepare for a new season or retooling in general. Now that job is a bit easier in the top flight, their Technical Director, Josef Welzmüller, thinks.
“I think this year it’s even easier because we can offer them to play in the Bundesliga, you know? It was a bit more difficult in the 2. Bundesliga, but this year it’s quite easy, you know. We can’t offer high wages, but we can really offer a good development pathway for the player,” Welzmüller says.
Belief in a young American
Elversberg have continued their mode of operation by adding talented young players such as Francis Onyeka on loan, but there are a few permanent additions that the club has made too, including a new record signing in American winger Cole Campbell. Splitting last season between Borussia Dortmund and Hoffenheim, the 20-year-old winger is expected to be a key member of the squad, signing a four-year contract. Despite his age, he’s someone who has spent the last three seasons around the Bundesliga between Dortmund’s youth side and the senior squad, which will be valuable experience for the Bundesliga debutants.
“[Cole] was our record signing, which probably shows how much we believe in Cole. He’s a fantastic player. He’s very fast. He’s very strong with the ball, very strong in one-on-one situations,” Welzmüller said. “And to be honest, I spent quite some time with him now, and he’s a very good kid, a very good character. We just want him to go into one-on-one situations and solve spaces for us. And we are very sure that he will have a breakout season.”
Hearing that has to be music to the ears of USMNT fans, as a player who can create their own chances and chances for others would be a major boost to the national team. Campbell’s talent was clear when he made the move to Dortmund, and despite that move not working out, that doesn’t mean that he won’t have a chance to succeed in an Elversberg side that are committed to playing their way in the Bundesliga.
Speaking to sources close to Campbell, he’s also looking forward to being able to establish himself in the Bundesliga to accomplish his own dreams as everything comes together in this opportunity at Elversberg. Given how this club has prepared its players for the next steps in their careers, it’s a great time to show what he can do.
When the whole town is behind you, you can’t lose
The players are already a part of something special, being able to represent a town of only 13,000 in Germany’s top flight. In 2022, the club were still in Germany’s fourth division, and now here they are, preparing to host Bayer Leverkusen at their home ground, which is still undergoing renovations to reach the Bundesliga minimum standard of 15,000. Tickets to Elversberg games are among the most exclusive in Germany due to the size of the stadium and the number of season ticket holders, but they wouldn’t have it any other way. They came close in the 2024-25 season, losing in the promotion playoff to a 95th-minute winner from Heidenheim, but despite losing their coach and five key players, this club was able to bounce back.
“What happened in the last few years was exceptional for the town. When you walk through the town or drive through the town right now, you will see those SV Elversberg flags all around,” Welzmüller said. “You will see people walking around with merch, with a hat or with a jersey of Elversberg, which makes me extremely proud, to be honest. And the players feel the same.”
That sense of pride is an underrated feature in the global game where many can be looked at as mercenaries. In a club like this that is modest even by German standards, let alone in the global game where spending gets higher and higher by the year. Even their scouting department is only two people, and while that’s hopefully something that will grow, between the scouting and data resources, Elversberg have been able to identify players who can fit the club and continue to build to play their way.
There were discussions about whether that style should change coming into the Bundesliga in order to survive, but the decision was that if the club does stay up, it’s important for them to avoid relegation on their terms.
“We did quite a huge analysis if we should change the playing style… when we’re talking about numbers, it would make sense to change and to avoid mistakes in your build-up and play a lot of long balls and all of that, and this was the result of this analysis. But then we sat together, and we said, ‘hey, we made the playing style part of our identity’. And this is bigger than everything,” Welzmüller said. “We chose 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. We need to play the Elversberg way. And I’m very glad we decided to do that.”
Of course, there’s every chance that this story may not have a fairy tale ending, but when the club has already beaten the odds to get to the Bundesliga, it’s important to stick to what they’ve done well over the years. If it works out, Americans may be seeing much more of Elversberg since not only would that mean Campbell is at the center of things to push for a place in the United States men’s national team and the Olympic roster, but this would be a continuation of one of the best stories to come out of German soccer.
How to watch Elversberg vs. Bayer Leverkusen
Date: Saturday, August 29 | Time: 9:30 a.m. ET
Location: URSAPHARM-Arena an der Kaiserlinde — Spiesen-Elversberg, Germany
Live stream: Fandango
Odds: Elversberg +425; Draw +333; Bayer Leverkusen -167
