Tiny town aims to surprise in Bundesliga debut

Elversberg became the smallest town to be promoted to the Bundesliga last season

In south-west Germany, close to the border of France, lies the small town of Elversberg.

It has no railway station and a population of just 13,000, but on Saturday it enjoyed a moment of history as its football team played in the Bundesliga for the first time.

Their debut performance was one that will live long in the memory as the side who just a few years ago was playing in the country's regional leagues defeated Bayer Leverkusen - champions two years ago - 3-2.

Their coach Vincent Wagner had described staying up this season as challenge "like a journey to Mars", but Elversberg are well-versed in defying the odds, and will aim to do so again this season.

"It might sound like the rise has been a rush but at every stage the floor was solid before the next one was built," Elversberg's technical director Josef Welzmuller said.

"We did it step by step and it didn't feel like a fairytale for the people here because they are so strong in their decision-making and very clear in how they want to play and we want to act as a club.

"This is the whole magic to be honest, and a lot of very, very hard work."

Nick Woltemade (right), who joined Newcastle for £69m last summer, first caught the eye during a loan spell at Elversberg

With three promotions in the past five years, Elversberg have swiftly climbed from the fourth tier of German football to the top flight.

It is not unusual in football for a small team to enjoy a rapid rise - Wrexham have famously done just that having gone from non-league football to the Championship.

But while they have been helped by having wealthy owners, Elversberg have never had similar financial clout - and as a result have had to do things a little differently.

A key figure in Elversberg being able to rise as quickly as they have was Ole Book.

A former footballer in Germany's lower leagues, Book joined Elversberg in 2017 as a scout, and within a year was promoted to sporting director.

Book had an eye for spotting talented youngsters and giving them the platform to showcase their emerging talent by becoming key players in the Elversberg team.

One of those players was Nick Woltemade, who was brought in on loan from Werder Bremen II in 2022 and went on to score 10 goals that season. Woltemade then joined Stuttgart before his £69m club record move to Newcastle last year.

Book's impressive work at Elversberg ultimately caught the eye of Borussia Dortmund, who appointed him as sporting director in April, with the club specifically highlighting his ability to find and develop young players, "creating value for the squad".

Despite his departure, Elversberg have not changed their philosophy for the coming campaign, with talented youth being the main focus of their recruitment.