Cross from the left, Luca Pfeiffer heaves his 1.96 meter body into position, heads the ball against the inside post under pressure. It would have been so nice – for the “lilies”, who would have been close to a draw in the derby at Eintracht (0:1) at the start of the season with a goal. And for Pfeiffer personally, who had just returned to Darmstadt on the day of his 27th birthday.
A week later: Pass from the right, Pfeiffer is spot on, freestanding in the center forward position, his direct acceptance from five meters lands on the inside of the post. It would have been nice – for the “lilies”, who could have made the result at home against Union Berlin (1: 4) a little more bearable and could have countered the finding that they were weak offensively. And for Pfeiffer personally, who could have fixed the flaw of not scoring in the Bundesliga.
Darmstadt’s hopes lie on the returnee, which could be decisive for the season. As an outsider in the league, someone is urgently needed to take advantage of the presumably few scoring chances up front. “We,” said SVD sports director Carsten Wehlmann, “are convinced that Luca can continue the performances he has already shown here in the ‘Lily’ jersey.” Wehlmann could also have said: We sincerely hope. That what worked so well in the second division also works in the Bundesliga.
“It’s very bitter that the two shots hit the inside of the post. But it’s important that we have chances to score and see that we’re close. Now it is a matter of forcing luck so that the next player flies into the goal,” says Pfeiffer in an interview with FAS Pfeiffer was a seeker of fortune in his previous years as a goalscorer. In Denmark at FC Midtjylland he even made brief appearances in the Champions League (against Liverpool, among others), but he never really felt at home there in terms of sport or personality.
Desired beyond the second division
The one-year loan to Darmstadt for the 2021/22 second division season should remedy the situation – and was a complete success: the attacker contributed 17 goals and six assists, forming a splendid storm duo with Phillip Tietz (15 goals). Darmstadt offered the football biotope that he, the calm, relaxed Pfeiffer who was sometimes alienated from the customs of the football business, needed. His performance made him sought after beyond the second division. The first million-dollar contract of his previously checkered career beckoned – he opted for VfB Stuttgart, which also transferred around three million euros to Midtjylland.
But Pfeiffer only made a manageable number of (short) appearances with the Swabians under four different coaches in the 2022/23 season and, much worse for an attacker like him: zero goals in the league. “I had a difficult year in Stuttgart. There’s hardly a worse start than getting a red card right in the first game. But that was just one of several reasons why there was no good cooperation,” says Pfeiffer, who is contractually bound to the Stuttgart team until mid-2026, but a return on good terms, even if he doesn’t say so, is hardly possible appears.
“Working, keeping the goal in mind, knowing what you want and what you can do and that it has worked out before – it’s not always easy, but it’s one of the tasks of a professional,” says the man from Bad Mergentheim. In any case, his restart in the “Lily” dress was promising – apart from the goals scored by a few centimeters.
In his 118 minutes of playing time so far, Pfeiffer has taken on the role in the center of the attack with a certain degree of matter-of-factness, has used his skills in heading the game and has demonstrated his talent for holding and passing balls with physical power and quite technical sophistication. He artfully prepared the only Darmstadt Bundesliga goal so far with the hoe. Overall, he seemed significantly stronger than the 1.96 meter new center forward Fraser Hornby, who is injured when the “lilies” play at Bayer Leverkusen this Saturday (3:30 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Bundesliga and on Sky).
“You could see that Luca was helping us,” said coach Torsten Lieberknecht, who recognized from the first collaboration that Luca needed less the big stage than an environment in which he felt comfortable. “Both sides knew what they were getting,” said Pfeiffer: “I knew what I was going to find and I knew that I would feel comfortable right away. I’ve already experienced a lot of appreciation here and I believe that I will quickly get back to my maximum in terms of my performance.”
A comment by Christopher Meltzer Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 4 David Lindenfeld Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 1 Jörg Daniels, Frankfurt Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 1
The fact that Pfeiffer and Tim Skarke, who also returned to Darmstadt on Thursday, are not brooding types who are focused on the game and not the overall starting position is a plus. He found an “extremely intact team” in which “it’s fun to be on the field,” said Pfeiffer. “As in the past, the team lives from its team spirit.” But that also has to be maintained through a sense of achievement. Luca Pfeiffer in particular should take care of that.
