A north wind and a new start – SVE face a relaunched Kiel
SV Elversberg are journeying into the unknown: on Saturday (1 p.m.), Vincent Wagner’s team will be playing at the Holstein-Stadion – against an opponent with a new coach. Holstein Kiel are entering a new yet old era with Tim Walter. Three days after he took after the post, this 24th match day is shaping up to be a special one for the north Germans. For Elversberg, it represents their next acid test in a strong season.
Not every match is easy to predict – and this one particularly so. This weekend, SV Elversberg are heading to the far north of Germany: Vincent Wagner’s team are up against Holstein Kiel on Saturday 28 February. Kick-off in the Holstein-Stadion is at 1 p.m. and 10,500 tickets have already been sold. The stage is set – but many other things are not.
KSV Holstein parted ways with their long-time coach Marcel Rapp just last Tuesday. Tim Walter was named as his successor the very same day and the 50-year-old ran his first training session on Wednesday. This is the first game under his watch – but he is not a complete unknown in Kiel. Vincent Wagner is curious about the upcoming match: ‘We are excited to see how much of his concept of play he incorporates into Saturday’, he noted. ‘Ultimately, he has only had three days to develop it.’ Three days between this fresh start and a real-life test – that’s all the time there is. Walter himself is dampening expectations. ‘You can’t expect miracles’, the returnee said of his first few days with the 14th-placed team (who are in danger of relegation). ‘Because you can’t change everything in three days. First and foremost the aim is to exude positive energy.’
Walter knows Kiel: he worked here from July 2018 to June 2019 in his first professional coaching job, leading the team to sixth place in the second division that year. This was followed by stints with VfB Stuttgart and Hamburger SV – where he spent three and a half years trying in vain to return to the Bundesliga – and a brief period with Hull City. Now he is back on Westring. ‘We are really, really looking forward to this match’, Walter said, describing a ‘very positive first impression’. He felt that a lot had changed. ‘But I know the people in charge very well and have done for a long time. That made it a little easier for me to get started.’
We are really, really looking forward to this match
Tim Walter
In sporting terms, Kiel are feeling the pressure. Losing five official matches in a row has dropped the team down to the lower part of the middle table. 14th place is a surprising position given the team’s individual quality. ‘Every second-division match is hard’, Walter reiterated. Despite these own areas to focus on, Tim Walter showed respect for Saarland. The 50-year-old emphasised that SV Elversberg are ‘a very, very good team’. ‘They are doing exceptional work.’ He is also ‘very, very’ impressed that SVE are once again one of the most stable teams in the division despite bleeding staff before the season began. Walter said that Elversberg play with clarity, structure and a clear signature – and also noted Vincent Wagner’s influence: ‘He’s doing a great job.’ For SVE, assertions like this are more than just courtesy – they reflect how much respect the club has now earned across the entire division.
Wagner also understands the quality of their opponent. ‘I remember the first-leg match well’, he said about SVE’s narrow 1:0 win in late September 2025. ‘It was an evenly matched game. And it will be again. The Kiel boys will be keen to prove themselves with a new coach.’ The first-leg game was an evenly matched affair that turned on a penalty. Previous duels have been generally low on goals: the clubs have each scored four goals across their last five encounters. The figures are slightly in Elversberg’s favour with two wins, one draw and one loss.
Kiel’s configuration remains to be seen. Rapp often used a three-man backfield. Walter is a proponent of a four-man defence, as a coach with a clear preference for ball possession and attacking play. However, he also emphasised the need for pragmatism. ‘It is about keeping things as easy as possible for the boys’, he said. ‘The main aim is to be pragmatic and give the boys some quick tips to help them play more effectively. And I think that will be crucial.’ Compact play and successful counter-pressing will be key factors against Elversberg.
The home team are comfortable in staffing terms. Walter described it as a ‘luxury situation’. Only the ‘usual suspects’ – Carl Johansson (knee problems) and Steven Skrzybski, who is starting to make progress after tearing a muscle – will be unavailable. The coach is also keeping his cards close to his chest when it comes to who will be in goal. ‘Timon is a great guy’, he said of Timon Weiner, ‘but Jonas Krumrey is also a very good goalkeeper’. He added with a grin: ‘You will see who is in goal on Saturday.’ This decision will be significantly influenced by co-coach Dirk Bremser, whose insider knowledge will provide some valuable insights.
Elversberg will need to adapt quickly to unanticipated events. ‘We will be facing a good opponent’, Wagner said. ‘Whether they will play using their current system or switch to more active football remains to be seen. Working out quickly which concept Kiel are using on the day will definitely be a challenge. But we can handle and react to situations like this quickly. We take a look at ourselves and how we want to play football.’ This focus on their own play has been a common thread throughout the season – regardless of their opponent.
Kiel will be seeking to bring energy, compact play and new drive to the pitch. ‘The players with the most energy will be on the pitch’, Walter explained, ‘the ones who will do anything for their club and their team’. Elversberg are heading to Westring with the confidence that comes from being in third place in the table – stable, clearly structured, with a recognisable signature. The staffing situation is almost relaxed: the only question mark is Bambasé Conté, with all other players currently available.
Saturday in Holstein-Stadion will be about experience versus emergence, continuity versus comeback. For Kiel, this marks their first chapter under new leadership, whilst for Elversberg it is the next step in what has been a remarkably consistent season so far. The stage is clearly set – but plenty still remains unresolved. That is what will make this northern jaunt such an exciting one.