“Shitty end” for the FCS
Friedhelm Funkel learns from FC Bayern’s mistake
By Tobias Nordmann
April 3, 2024, 6:48 a.m
Just a few weeks ago, Friedhelm Funkel was in coaching retirement. But football won’t let go of the 70-year-old, so he accepts the rescue mission at 1. FC Kaiserslautern. In the 2nd Bundesliga we’re heading against relegation, but there’s now a big coup in the cup.
43 years ago, Friedhelm Funkel reached the final of the DFB Cup for the first time. With 1. FC Kaiserslautern, alongside greats like Hannes Bongartz, Wolfgang Wolf and Hans-Peter Briegel, he lost 3-1 to Eintracht from Frankfurt. On May 25th this year, Funkel will be in the cup final again. And that again with 1. FC Kaiserslautern. On Tuesday evening, the ripped off “Red Devils” ended 1. FC Saarbrücken’s cup fairytale and won the extremely emotionally charged derby, which began with a gigantic pyro show and motivating banners on both sides of the stands, 2-0 (2-0). .
The third division team wrote the big story in this competition this season. Three clubs from the 1st Bundesliga collapsed here: Eintracht Frankfurt, FC Bayern and Borussia Mönchengladbach. And the last two in particular had made the same mistakes at the Ludwigsparkstadion, they had opened the door for the outsiders to counterattack and were punished for it. There was great hope that one last big fight in front of our own crowd could book the ticket to Berlin, but then came Funkel, the veteran trainer who has little use for the modern world of his guild.
The world of the 70-year-old, who was still in his well-deserved coaching pension a few weeks ago and enjoyed his time primarily on the tennis court, is one without laptop nonsense and far away from xG values. The 70-year-old’s world revolves around stabilizing a team and preparing it well for the opponent. And on Tuesday evening he demonstrated how well he still masters his craft. In order not to fall into the well-known trap of the 1. FCS, he prescribed a controlled approach to his footballers. Don’t shine, don’t dominate, but beat the third division team ice cold at the first mistake – that’s how it should work.
Funkel’s idea with Touré is a complete success
And so it went. Almamy Touré, who had previously been left out of the league at Funkel, crossed from the right side, Marlon Ritter cleverly ran in and headed the ball towards the goal from around ten meters. The ball was neither particularly placed nor particularly hard, but it slipped through the legs of goalkeeper Tim Schreiber (53′). A bitter mistake from the 21-year-old, who was a guarantee of his club’s fairytale with his saves in previous games and later fought back tears in the interview. The timing couldn’t have been better for the guests, after a weak first half they absolutely had to improve.
The first 45 minutes were difficult to endure. Both teams avoided any risk. If there ever was a hint of danger, it was when Marcel Gaus took a throw-in near the penalty area. His thrown crosses always cause unrest, but with combined forces the “Red Devils” kept the space clear in front of goalkeeper Robin Himmelmann. However, they themselves did nothing to advance the game. Nothing went through the center at all And all efforts on the flanks also came to naught. “The first half wasn’t good. The opponent has nine men in front of their own penalty area. We don’t have the playful resources. Otherwise we wouldn’t be 16th in the table in the second league,” said Funkel.
After the break the situation changed. The 1-0 score played right into the guests’ hands. Because the hosts were now obliged to increasingly abandon their own restraint, Kaiserslautern gained more access without neglecting their own defense. Ritter, the technically best player on the pitch, was now on the ball more often and had good scenes. Funkel’s footballers suddenly played with more conviction, sometimes choosing the short pass and not just the long stick. After 75 minutes, Toure, who Funkel brought into the team because of his heading skills, increased the score to 2-0. Just in your head. His primary purpose was to help keep the opponent’s warriors around striker Kai Brünker in check. That also succeeded. Cup hero Brünker missed a good header chance in the first half and after around 80 minutes he missed the huge opportunity to score with a powerful shot from close range. Calogero Rizzuto had done a lot of work.
“We are a few who are good at the glass”
And so the game finally tipped over to the Lauter team. It wasn’t pretty, but it was successful. And so Funkel saw his match plan confirmed. “We couldn’t let ourselves be countered. This is how Bayern Munich failed here, this is how Borussia Mönchengladbach failed here,” Funkel said on ARD. Together with his players, he stormed into the corner after the final whistle. It was a time of great emotions there. In the pyrotechnics, the footballers who have struggled so much this season enjoyed the carefree moments, while tears flowed on the other side. At that moment it didn’t matter to them that they had a long journey behind them. They had missed the historic chance to reach the final. Either Bayer 04 Leverkusen or second division rival Fortuna Düsseldorf are waiting for the “Red Devils” there. The roles are clearly assigned. The Werkself are still undefeated in all competitions this season, a knockout would be a sensation.
But Berlin is still a long way away. The present is called a party. Even before the start of the long night, match winner Marlon Ritter raved about the qualities of his teammates off the field. “There are some of us who are good on the glass. It’s like on the pitch: we’re a good team on the glass and also on the pitch. If you don’t celebrate today, you’ve done a lot of things wrong in your life. You experience that once, if you play for Bayern, Dortmund, Leipzig or Frankfurt, but not if you’re hanging around somewhere in the 2nd or 3rd league.”
The fallen cup heroes from Saarland received warm applause from their loyal supporters on their lap of honor, but ultimately that couldn’t ease the pain of the moment. “It was a unique opportunity for us – for each of us. It’s bitter when we’ve thrown it into the sand like that,” said Manuel Zeitz. The captain admitted that he felt a “chaos of emotions”: “Being in the semi-finals as a third division team hasn’t happened that often in recent years. We beat Bayern, Gladbach, Frankfurt and Karlsruhe, it doesn’t happen every day. It was one incredible journey, but also with an incredibly shitty ending.” It would be twice as bitter to be eliminated “without us being the worse team.”