Es looks like something out of a different Darmstadt football era: It was summer 2014, the “Lilien” got into the mood for the second division season as a promoted team at the official season opener. Coach and team, a few sponsor representatives, otherwise it was more like “friends and family”, as Anglo-Saxons would say, who found themselves in the clubhouse of a south Hessian golf club. Fabian Holland was sitting a little apart on the terrace. The look and body language of the newcomer from Hertha BSC made one thing clear above all: please do not speak to him. The then 24-year-old hardly got his teeth apart. Not much indicated that one of the smartest and most enduring personnel decisions of the SVD sat there – and hoped that this evening may be over as soon as possible.
Eight years and eight months later, Holland is a Darmstadt player who enjoys a high reputation. Who is a powerful constant on the pitch and integrates and leads off the field. As captain, the native of Berlin has played a major role in the long-lasting rise towards the top of the second division table, which is accompanied by a pleasant internal atmosphere in the team.
Now “Fabi”, as he is called everywhere in the SVD cosmos, is certainly not a loud poltergeist with excess testosterone. However, he is not a quiet walker, as he has been accused of because of his calm, unexcited manner. Holland is not someone who polarizes or strengthens his authority in a (public) way. His statements into microphones are often too brittle for that.
On the inside, it is said that Holland has a strong opinion, is open to everyone and has a fine sense of humour. For more than four years already. As an alternative to his predecessor Aytac Sulu, he took over the captaincy in January 2019. At that time during the second, much less successful aegis of coach Dirk Schuster, whom the Darmstadt team faced on Saturday evening (8:30 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the 2nd Bundesliga, on Sport1 and Sky) as Kaiserslautern coach in the Böllenfalltor stadium. The successors Grammozis, Beginning and Lieberknecht also held on to Holland as manager.
One of the best left-backs in the league
He has long been one of the best left-backs in the second division and also impresses when he plays in central midfield. “We’re having a very good season as a whole team, which makes it easier for every single player. It was a new experience for me to play so often in the more central position, but I feel very comfortable there,” Holland told FAS.
Last Saturday, Holland stepped out of his role as a balanced moderator at the SVD and set a different tone. The 3-1 defeat at Arminia Bielefeld bothered him tremendously and his message to his colleagues, whose (for the first time this season) lacking fighting spirit he missed, was unmistakable: pull yourself together!
A few days apart, Holland says: “We’re all very honest with each other, that’s what makes our team what it is. Then there are words that aren’t nice at first, but that help us as a team to move forward. It is important that there is not only praise and pats on the back. There wasn’t a big bang now, but it was important for all of us to address a few things.” A draw (against HSV) and two away defeats (Heidenheim and Bielefeld) were the dismal results from the last three games.
In order not to endanger their still very comfortable position in the fight for promotion, the Darmstadt team is building on a quick turnaround. In Holland’s balanced way. “It’s not for nothing that we’ve been emphasizing how balanced the games in this league have been since the start of the season. You have to work through everything anew every weekend and it can happen that you lose out. We as a team are extremely strong and have shown time and again that we can deal with setbacks very well. We believe in our own strength, are good at assessing situations and don’t drive ourselves crazy,” said Holland.
But of course the 32-year-old also knows about the importance of the game against the Palatinate from former coach Schuster. “We are aware that we have to improve again. And also will.”
The defensive player is a paragon of consistency, it’s hard to remember a really weak game from him. Adding to his reliability and class is that he’s particularly injury-resistant. In the six second division seasons since Darmstadt were relegated to the Bundesliga in 2016, Holland has only missed eleven games. An extremely strong rate that has already driven many a left-back backup in the Darmstadt squad to despair. In the past and this season, the 1.71 meter small power plant has been on the pitch every minute, with the exception of a single substitution in the 88th minute. Which was also necessary in view of the team’s enormous injury problems for months.
A loss of substance could not be denied in the past few weeks. “Of course, this means that there is a component missing in the squad, maybe also in terms of options from the bank,” says Holland. “But we pushed our way through these situations very well.” The captain, who was once a silent man when he arrived in Darmstadt, sets the best example.
