'Journey to Mars:' Elversberg looking forward to Bundesliga debut

SV Elversberg are embarking on a "journey to Mars" - as coach Vincent Wagner likes to call the upcoming Bundesliga adventure - with great curiosity and confidence. 

"For us, the Bundesliga feels so far away at times. And yet, if you set aside the infrastructure and the money and just focus on playing football, we can - funny enough - somehow already keep up with the pace," Wagner said ahead of Saturday's debut in the top tier against Bayer Leverkusen.

Elversberg is the smallest Bundesliga club in history and not even a town in its own right as it is part of the Spiesen-Elversberg community with a population of 13,000.

The town doesn't even have a train station and the infrastructure around the stadium - which still resembles a construction site - is problematic. The term "village club" has probably never been more fitting.

The stars of the league should brace themselves for a culture shock on their trip to the state of Saarland. 

That's because, while the stadium, which currently seats only about 10,000 spectators, is undergoing renovations that will last until winter, and the locker rooms are located in a temporary container village.

Still a long way to the top

In other areas as well, Elversberg are still light-years behind the usual Bundesliga standard. 

The club's offices and training facilities are located in neighbouring St Ingbert. Traffic chaos regularly breaks out during home games because there is only one road leading to the stadium. To meet the new demands, the city must increase its number of public safety personnel.

Financially, the newly promoted team can't keep up anyway. In the season they were promoted, the budget for licensed players was around €10 million ($11.6 million) - significantly less than the annual salary of Bundesliga stars like Bayern Munich forward Harry Kane. 

While considerably more money flows in the top flight - TV revenue alone rises from around €7.4 million to a good €31 million - that's still very little compared to the competition. Bayern, for example, receive more than €92 million.

To generate more revenue in the future, Elversberg are focusing, among other things, on innovative hospitality offerings. However, these will be in place until the 2027-28 season, when the stadium is completed and will have a capacity of 15,500. 

Twelve field boxes, a panoramic lounge, an attic lounge, and new LED advertising boards are expected to bring in an additional €7.5 million per season.

Fortunately, the club has a major benefactor. Frank Holzer, who once played for neighbouring FC Saarbrücken and for Eintracht Braunschweig in the Bundesliga, is not only the chairman of the supervisory board but, through his global pharmaceutical company Ursapharm, has also been the club's biggest sponsor for many years.

The company lends its name to the stadium and is the jersey sponsor.

Elversberg plan to play boldly and aggressively

Still, the promotion is like a football fairy tale, and it still feels a bit surreal to Wagner. He's happy to embrace the role of the clear underdog. 

"We're as prepared as we can be. But when I look at Bayer Leverkusen's starting line-up, we've got a long way to go. We'll give it our best, learn from the experience, and see how far we can go," Wagner said.

However, he and his team have no intention of just sitting back. 

"We've had a long and intensive pre-season, strengthened the team as much as we could, and managed to keep most of the players we wanted to keep. The team is ready for the Bundesliga," the coach said.

The team wants to play boldly and offensively even in the top league. "The game plan is clear," said Wagner. 

Just as in the past four years, during which the club marched all the way from the regional league (fourth division) to the Bundesliga, youthful exuberance is the key. So the fans can continue to look forward to the team's performances.

"We will see it that will be enough," Wagener said.