Just like many of his teammates, Darmstadt’s Christoph Zimmermann hasn’t got a Bundesliga minute under his belt yet. The desire for the new season is correspondingly high.
Marcel shoes? Still without a Bundesliga minute. Marvin Mehlem, Braydon Manu, Fabian Schnellhardt, Jannik Müller and many more? No Bundesliga minute. And Christoph Zimmermann, the defense chief of SV Darmstadt 98? Well, same answer. For many Lilien players, a new adventure will start this summer. “It’s a childhood dream that will come true,” Zimmermann summed it up on Monday and followed it with a smile: “It’s nice that it’s so far at the tender age of 30.”
The anticipation in the Südhessen squad for the Bundesliga is therefore huge. But that doesn’t mean that everyone has already realized what was done a few weeks ago. “I’ll let you know when the time comes,” said defense chief Zimmermann. “It hasn’t quite arrived yet.”
Team spirit required more than ever
However, when you see that there is no longer a “2” before Bundesliga in the label, it slowly becomes clearer. “It’s such small moments when you know it,” said the 30-year-old. “The Magdeburg game is just not that far away.” At the latest when the first Bundesliga game day at Eintracht is due, the debutants will certainly be aware of the consequences.
What Zimmermann and Co. are already aware of is the approach to Bundesliga adventures. The lilies were already characterized by an immense team spirit in the promotion season, and this will also be in demand in the new season. And that more than ever.
“We are not blue-eyed”
“We have to move closer together as a team,” said Zimmermann. Which could be easier said than done in the new situation. Success like in the promotion year automatically promotes team spirit. Now the Darmstadt team have to show that the team will not fall apart even if there are dry spells.
“We are not naïve. We know that we often have to live with failures,” the Darmstadt defense chief is aware. “That shows how much the team spirit endures. It will be important to support each other.” This is the only way to achieve the goal of staying up.
Two relegations with Norwich City
Zimmermann is personally familiar with such a situation. With Norwich City, against whom the Darmstadt team will play a test match on Wednesday (6.30 p.m.), he played in the Premier League for two seasons – two years apart. In both seasons, the underdog ended up being relegated.
“We have a similar starting position and will now be the underdog. We have to accept that,” emphasized the 30-year-old. “We didn’t do so well in Norwich. I hope we can do better in Darmstadt.” Then the next dream would probably come true.