DFB Cup without the giants
Underdogs’ Cup revives the underdogs’ title dream
January 30, 2024, 6:34 a.m
The German football giants are already out, now the little ones have their big chance. A historic quarter-final in the DFB Cup without the usual favorites promises excitement and perhaps even sensations. In Berlin they want to live the dream of the late President Kay Bernstein.
Will third division team Saarbrücken make it to the final in Berlin? Will a second division team play in the European Cup next year? Or will Leverkusen or Mönchengladbach win their first title in almost 30 years? The early exit of record winners FC Bayern Munich, defending champions RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt, who have often been in the finals, have made the DFB Cup the cup of the underdogs. And lets dreams blossom for the eight remaining clubs.
“I don’t want to offend any team, but there are already big names out. It has rarely been so easy to get to the final,” said midfielder Marlon Ritter from second division club 1. FC Kaiserslautern. It’s about history for smaller clubs or at least clubs that haven’t been spoiled by titles recently. The economic aspect, although the semi-final alone would bring in around 3.5 million, will be a “nice side effect”, according to Fortuna Düsseldorf’s sports director Christian Weber.
None of the quarter-finalists have lifted the trophy this millennium, and only two of them have even appeared in a final during this period. For only the second time since the Bundesliga was founded 60 years ago, only three first division teams are in the quarter-finals. And there is only one possible constellation of a pure Bundesliga final.
Hertha’s cup dream – also for the late Bernstein
The round begins almost symbolically this week with two pure second division duels. On Tuesday (8.45 p.m./ZDF and Sky) welcomes leaders FC St. Pauli Düsseldorf. “The cup is always something special and has a high priority for me too,” said coach Fabian Hürzeler: “We can reach the semi-finals and therefore achieve something big. The anticipation is great.”
On Wednesday (8.45 p.m./Sky and all also in the ntv.de live ticker) Hertha BSC is fighting against 1. FC Kaiserslautern for the long-held dream of the first final in the Olympic Stadium at home. This would also happen in honor of the recently deceased President Kay Bernstein. “Everyone knows that the club has a dream, that the fans have a dream, that Kay had a dream,” said captain Toni Leistner. “We have to do everything we can to achieve this.” Since 1985, the final has always been played in the capital and became Germany’s Wembley, and Hertha has been chasing this dream ever since. During this period it ended once in the semi-finals and three times in the quarter-finals. But in contrast to this time, the opponents were always first division teams.
In Saarbrücken they find it “insane”
The biggest outsider in the competition even rewrites his own fairy tale. Four years ago, 1. FC Saarbrücken was the first fourth division team to reach the semi-finals, now the Bundesliga founding member is only one step away from the semi-finals as a third division team. And two from Berlin. Goal scorer Kai Brünker said it was “mentally ill”: “It would be crazy if we really went to Berlin.” You have to stay on the ground, “but we beat Bayern, we beat Frankfurt. Of course we want to win the next game too.”
The opponent there is Borussia Mönchengladbach. The five-time champions from the 1970s have not won a trophy since winning the cup in 1995 – nor reached a final. Since then, Borussia have failed six times in a quarter or semi-final, twice despite playing at home and four times against lower-class clubs. But the motto in Gladbach is: dream instead of trauma! “The path is getting shorter and shorter, the probability is getting higher,” said sports director Roland Virkus. And midfielder Julian Weigl explained: “The cup is incredibly exciting because so many big teams are already out.”
Two clubs appear even stronger than Borussia, but significantly, Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen and third-placed VfB Stuttgart meet directly. Bayer has been waiting for a title since winning the Cup in 1993 and has lost three finals since then. Stuttgart have lost in the final twice since their last success in 1997.
Bayer, who also have home advantage in this duel, are of course the clear favorites for the title. “But there are also St. Pauli, Fortuna Düsseldorf and Hertha,” said coach Xabi Alonso. And given the way the competition has gone so far, he didn’t mean that ironically: “There are always surprises in the cup. They play good football. And the cup is a different competition.” What has rarely been as clear as this year.