Es was a scene for “lily” friends with a romantic football streak. It was the 86th minute in the last season home game against SV Wehen Wiesbaden. Ensar Arslan comes to the ball at the edge of the penalty area and stands seven meters in front of the goalkeeper after a remarkable double pass. No one would have taken it for Arslan if he had been looking for his first second division goal at the age of 18. But the youngster put the ball across, so Marcel Heller only had to push the ball across the line. From a football romantic perspective: a co-production of the Darmstadt future (Arslan) and the past by the 34-year-old Heller, the last player in the squad to experience the rise from league three to one (2013 to 2015).
The fact that Heller is passé at the SVD is guaranteed by the expired and not extended contract. After 16 second division minutes and the state of its development, it is far from clear that Arslan is the future. It was not even clear until this week that the talented offensive player will continue his young career at the Böllenfalltor. “We would like to commit the boy further and are currently showing him ways of how his future can look with and at Darmstadt 98. I assume that we will be able to report something in a timely manner, ”says sports director Carsten Wehlmann, who was recently annoyed by the time play at the Arslan camp.
Contract shortly before completion
According to information from the FAS, Arslan has now given its promise to become a local player in Darmstadt and become a professional, and the contract is nearing completion. It would not have shed good light on the “lilies” if one of the rare home-grown plants on the threshold of profit had immediately sought to expand. As you can hear, Arslan’s professional debut is said to have gone to the head of some in his family environment. However, it fails to recognize that even in chronically heated football business, 16 second-division minutes of an 18-year-old are not enough for other clubs to immediately wag well-paid contracts.
“Ensar was thrown in and did it properly in his first few minutes. But the transition from A-Juniors to professionals is a huge step to constantly confirm this level a big challenge. You shouldn’t forget that, ”says Wehlmann. Arslan was born in Darmstadt and played for the “Lilies” in the U 12 and U 13. Then came the move to Frankfurt Eintracht, but after two years it did not go any further, so that the German Turk has been playing for the SVD again since the U 14. “Ensar was a top performer in all grades. But in the past season, in his second A-junior year, he got a real boost, ”says Björn Kopper, head of the Darmstadt Youth Performance Center (NLZ). “He has grown from a good player to a leader who leads the way when things get tight and also has a rousing effect on the team with words on the pitch.” And who impressed with his goal rate. In the 16 Hessenliga games until the end of the season, Arslan scored 27 goals.
He was a decisive factor in the team’s promotion to the A-Junior Bundesliga. For the first time, all “Lilies” youth teams are playing in the top division. In the years of the rapid upswing of the professionals, the club management made no secret of the fact that the infrastructure at Böllenfalltor was to be followed first – and that only the minimum requirements were met when promoting young talent. Since the club has established itself in the professional sector, more funds have flowed into the NLZ. But in the regional competition for talent with Eintracht, Mainz, Hoffenheim, Lautern and Wehen, the “lilies” play a small role. It has not yet made it into the first team. Leon Müller spent his first professional year at SVD with a mini-mission on the last day of the game. Silas Zehnder, once with a first division short assignment, has returned to the Böllenfalltor after a rather cheerless loan to the fourth division club Aschaffenburg.
What’s next for Arslan? His environment is said to have spoken against a loan to the third or fourth league in high flight after the goal preparation against contractions Wiesbaden. This is an adequate way to acclimatize to men’s football and maintain game practice. It wouldn’t be surprising if Arslan did the season preparation with the SVD second division team – and then continued on loan elsewhere.
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