Darmstadt were not able to build on their encouraging last campaign as they were relegated back to the second division following a dismal second season in the Bundesliga. With Dirk Schuster having left the club for better things at Augsburg, Darmstadt took a gamble by appointing Norbert Meier as his replacement and, though Darmstadt began the season on an encouraging note, thrashing Bremer SV in the first round of the DFB Cup and collecting eight points from their opening eight games, their campaign quickly unraveled as they could only manage a solitary draw from their next 11 games which included a shock cup defeat to Astoria Walldorf. The disastrous form saw Darmstadt drop quickly to the foot of the table and the board pulling the trigger over Meier at the start of December and appointing Torsten Frings as his permanent successor in the winter break. Things did not improve in the second half of the season, with Darmstadt losing eight of Frings' first 11 games in charge of the club and, while a three-match winning run raised some hopes of a miraculous bid for survival, a narrow defeat to eventual champions Bayern Munchen confirmed the relegation for Darmstadt who did end the campaign with a positive display against Borussia Monchengladbach.
Performances across the board were poor form Darmstadt who managed to score just 28 goals while conceding just one less than Werder Bremen who had the worst defensive record. There were a few bright sparks for Darmstadt, with Mario Vrancic's form in the second half of the season giving hope to the fans, but the majority of the new signings did not work out and, with some of the key players expected to leave the club over the summer, Frings will have a big task on hand if he is to help Darmstadt lead to an immediate return back to the Bundesliga next season.
