Upheaval at SV Elversberg: hefty departures – promising arrivals
After a historic season that saw SV Elversberg reach an outstanding third place in the 2. Bundesliga, a new stage in the club’s development is now beginning. The end of the 2024/2025 season marks the departure of eight players from SVE (including some real role models), offset by the arrival of three new additions to hone the team’s profile in the coming season.
Formative personalities leaving
The SV Elversberg team came together once more for an internal gathering to show appreciation for the players who will no longer be part of the squad next season. A total of eight players will be leaving SVE: loaned players Fisnik Asllani, Elias Baum, Muhammed Damar and Frederik Jäkel, plus Maurice Neubauer, Luca Dürholtz, Paul Stock and Arne Sicker.
The departure of Maurice Neubauer and Luca Dürholtz marks a particularly emotional change to the team’s structure. Neubauer, who has been playing for SVE since 2020, has racked up a remarkable 165 official appearances and has been a stabilising factor on the club’s path from the Regionalliga to the 2. Bundesliga. Dürholtz, who was at Elversberg from 2018 to 2021 and again since 2022, also leaves a significant sporting and human gap from his 159 appearances. Both have played a major role in the club’s impressive rise and have embodied SVE’s philosophy and self-image for many years.
Paul Stock, Arne Sicker and Frederik Jäkel are also leaving the club after two years. Stock played 52 times for SVE, Sicker and Jäkel 19 times each. Despite their short time with the club, they have similarly played a role in the success story.
Other key contributors to this season’s success were the three loaned players Fisnik Asllani and Elias Baum (with 37 appearances each) and Muhammed Damar (34 appearances). They were consistent top performers during the most successful season in the club’s history. ‘We had exceptional team spirit this season. All of the players, regardless of how long they had been at SVE, gave their all to the club and each other. Saying goodbye was not easy’, SVE sports director Ole Book explained with evident sadness. He also offered his thanks:
We would like to thank each and every one of them for their commitment and wish the boys the best on their journey.
Three high-profile new additions
The farewell was followed by a welcome. By signing Luca Pfeiffer, Jason Ceka and Felix Keidel, SV Elversberg has bolstered both its offensive and its defensive ranks.
In Luca Pfeiffer, SVE is gaining a striker able to make his mark both physically and in terms of play. The 28-year-old attacking player, most recently on loan to Karlsruher SC, is actually under contract with VfB Stuttgart. He has now signed a contract with Elversberg until the summer of 2028. The 1.96-metre-tall centre forward brings experience from 43 first-division and 50 second-division games. Pfeiffer received his football training in Hoffenheim and Hollenbach, before spells with Stuttgarter Kickers, VfL Osnabrück and Würzburger Kickers as well as gaining international experience at FC Midtjylland in Denmark.
Pfeiffer’s most successful season so far was 2021/2022 with SV Darmstadt 98, where he scored an impressive 17 goals in the 2. Bundesliga. This performance catapulted him into the Bundesliga with a move to VfB Stuttgart. He was also back playing in the Bundesliga last season, initially returning to Darmstadt on loan, before moving to KSC.
‘We are looking forward to welcoming Luca to Elversberg this summer. He is a great striker with strong play, who is a very good fit for our team on both a sporting and a human level’, sports director Ole Book emphasised. The player himself also sounded delighted about the move:
SV Elversberg have been a prominent club since before this season. Their development over recent years has been remarkable, and the way the team plays leaves you wanting more. I am looking forward to joining the club and the team for the new season.
Creativity and determination: Jason Ceka incoming
The second new addition for the 2025/2026 season is Jason Ceka. The 25 year old is moving from 1. FC Magdeburg to SVE and has also signed a contract up to 2028. Ceka, who is primarily used as a play maker or on the right wing, is coming to Elversberg with 54 second-division appearances.
His footballing development began early at VfB Frohnhausen, before heading to Rot-Weiss Essen and then FC Schalke 04. Ceka gained his first experience in the senior Regionalliga in Gelsenkirchen. He made particularly striking contributions in the 2020/2021 season with twelve goals and two assists in 25 matches for Schalke’s second team. This sparked the interest of 1. FC Magdeburg, where he became a firm fixture on the team from 2021 onwards.
In the 2021/2022 third-division season, Ceka became a key part of Magdeburg’s promotion to the 2. Bundesliga with eleven goals and seven assists in 36 matches. He remained a reliable attacking player in the second division, achieving a total of 17 assists and six goals over the last three seasons.
‘Jason will invigorate our attacking play with his technically adept, agile style. He is a hungry player with a determination that can continually carve out good attacking opportunities’, Ole Book positively noted. Ceka is looking forward to the new challenge with excitement:
I am very excited about this new chapter in Elversberg. SVE have delighted many with their offensive, creative style of play. I am looking forward to helping continue delighting people in the future and playing beautiful, successful football.
Felix Keidel – defensive versatility
Felix Keidel is coming to strengthen SVE’s defence. The 21-year-old full-back is moving from FC Ingolstadt to Saarland and has signed a contract to 2028. Keidel can play as both a left and right back and became a key player in Ingolstadt.
Keidel played for FC Ingolstadt from the age of nine, working his way up through all of the youth teams. He moved permanently to the professional team in 2022/2023 and has chalked up 82 third-division matches so far.
‘Felix Keidel has achieved strong development in Ingolstadt and this is by no means complete. His natural love of football, his commitment and his willingness to learn mean that he has the potential to make his mark in the 2. Bundesliga as well’, SVE sports director Ole Book said.
Keidel is looking forward to the new challenge:
I am hugely motivated and will give my all to perform at my best for the team and club.
Upheaval meets continuity
The changes to the SV Elversberg squad after this memorable season represent more than just a change of players: they are the perfect example of the balancing act between continuity and development, between gratitude for what has been achieved and ambition to reach an even higher level in the future. In a league with a high-quality lineup for the coming season, Elversberg will remain true to their style – attacking, bold and always with a clear plan. They will be continuing to set a course for this with their squad choices the coming weeks.