Third-division team Arminia Bielefeld will welcome Bundesliga side VfL Wolfsburg in the DFB Cup semi-final on the 29th April (20:30 CEST). Only six other third-division clubs have made it through to this stage of the competition before. Three of them even managed to progress to the final but didn’t manage to lift the cup in Berlin.
Since the introduction of the 3. Liga in 2008, Bielefeld are the first representatives to make it through to the semi-finals. The previous third-division side to reach this stage of the competition was FC St. Pauli in 2006. There has never been a team from the fourth division or lower in the DFB Cup semi-finals. The performances of Arminia and Co. are remarkable and reason enough for DFB.de to acknowledge previous sensational semi-finalists in a miniseries. Today Eduard Geyer speaks about Energie Cottbus‘ journey to the final in the 1996-97 season.
Eduard "Ede" Geyer, long-time manager of FC Energie Cottbus, doesn’t watch vidoes from the past so regularly; however, he did watch the 1996-97 DFB Cup semi-final not too long ago. Cottbus advanced to the semi-finals, in which they defeated then Bundesliga side Karlsruher SC 3-0, but then lost 2-0 to VfB Stuttgart in the final. Geyer’s side did secure promotion to the 2. Bundesliga in the same season though. DFB.de sat down with Eduard Geyer to discuss the cup surprise, the battle in the snow against KSC and a premonition.
DFB.de: Mr Geyer, what do you have to say about the 14th June 1997?
Eduard Geyer: I am never going to forget that date. We were a regional-league team in the DFB Cup final in Berlin up against VfB Stuttgart. Not many players get the opportunity to participate in and enjoy a game of that magnitude. Despite losing 2-0, it was an unparalleled experience.
DFB.de: Why were you unable to achieve the desired result?
Geyer: Krassimir Balakow, Giovane Elber and Fredi Bobic formed a "magic triangle" for VfB. Stuttgart were the clear favourites and took the lead in the 18th minute through Elber. We had the chance to make it 1-1 shortly after the break. If we had taken that opportunity, who knows how the match would have turned out. Almost immediately after that opening though Elber scored the decisive goal.
DFB.de: You defeated Karlsruher 3-0 in the semi-final.
Geyer: Many Cottbus players remember this game more than the final.
DFB.de: Why?
Geyer: When we boarded the bus to travel to the stadium, it was cold, but the sun was shining and the sky was almost cloudless. I don’t know why but for some reason I had a premonition, went up to our caretaker and told him to bring some orange footballs. His expression said it all. He must have thought I’d lost the plot. Then it clouded over and all of a sudden, there was a snow storm, which enveloped everything in white. There was about 20 centimetres of snow and visibility was severely restricted at times; however, that didn’t affect the enthusiasm in the stands. We coped with the conditions better than KSC, who were one of the top teams in the Bundesliga at that point.
DFB.de: Your team had previously defeated some higher division clubs. What were the reasons behind your good performance?
Geyer: When a third division team knocks out a higher division side, the opposition immediately sit up and take notice. In our case, we defeated the then second-division side Stuttgarter Kickers 1-0 after extra-time. After such a game, teams aren’t keen to be drawn against you and they were particularly reluctant to face us. It was a good spirited game and went according to plan. You also need a little bit of luck. If you get drawn against FC Bayern München, it’s incredibly likely that your run in the competition is going to be over.
DFB.de: The 1996-97 season was outstanding. You were crowned Regionalliga Nordost Champions with 82 points, DFB Cup finalists and earned promotion to the 2. Bundesliga after two legs against Hannover 96. Was that one of the best seasons in your career?
Geyer: We most definitely set milestones and achieved something special. My team was passionate, extremely ambitious and there was a great spirit amongst the players. The morale was excellent. In both legs of the promotion playoffs, we had to deal with having a man sent off but still managed to triumph.
DFB.de: There’s now another third division side, Arminia Bielefeld, in the semi-finals of the DFB Cup. Are they capable of making it through to the final?
Geyer: Anything can happen. Arminia will certainly have real self-confidence going into the game given their successes in the competition so far. They won’t be afraid of Wolfsburg. However, VfL are well aware that this is a tremendous opportunity for them to make it through to the final in Berlin, show what they’re capable of in front of a big crowd and lift the cup. That doesn’t make things any easier for Bielefeld. Wolfsburg’s attack is prolific and a real force to be reckoned with. They’re not always solid in defence though and perhaps Arminia can use this to their advantage.
DFB.de: Why do higher division teams often have problems against lower division teams in the DFB Cup?
Geyer: The favourites can often be lacking that final few percent. This can sometimes be enough to give the underdogs an advantage.
DFB.de: How important were the successes in the DFB Cup for the development of Energie Cottbus?
Geyer: From an economic point of view, promotion into the second division and then progressing into the Bundesliga three years later were valued more highly than competing in the DFB Cup final. The money collected from the game being broadcast on television helped us a lot though to set the budget for the next season. It was important for us because, despite our success, the sponsors didn’t offer us bottomless reserves of money. It was key to budget well. We couldn’t afford to make any mistakes with transfers.
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Third-division team Arminia Bielefeld will welcome Bundesliga side VfL Wolfsburg in the DFB Cup semi-final on the 29th April (20:30 CEST). Only six other third-division clubs have made it through to this stage of the competition before. Three of them even managed to progress to the final but didn’t manage to lift the cup in Berlin.
Since the introduction of the 3. Liga in 2008, Bielefeld are the first representatives to make it through to the semi-finals. The previous third-division side to reach this stage of the competition was FC St. Pauli in 2006. There has never been a team from the fourth division or lower in the DFB Cup semi-finals. The performances of Arminia and Co. are remarkable and reason enough for DFB.de to acknowledge previous sensational semi-finalists in a miniseries. Today Eduard Geyer speaks about Energie Cottbus‘ journey to the final in the 1996-97 season.
Eduard "Ede" Geyer, long-time manager of FC Energie Cottbus, doesn’t watch vidoes from the past so regularly; however, he did watch the 1996-97 DFB Cup semi-final not too long ago. Cottbus advanced to the semi-finals, in which they defeated then Bundesliga side Karlsruher SC 3-0, but then lost 2-0 to VfB Stuttgart in the final. Geyer’s side did secure promotion to the 2. Bundesliga in the same season though. DFB.de sat down with Eduard Geyer to discuss the cup surprise, the battle in the snow against KSC and a premonition.
DFB.de: Mr Geyer, what do you have to say about the 14th June 1997?
Eduard Geyer: I am never going to forget that date. We were a regional-league team in the DFB Cup final in Berlin up against VfB Stuttgart. Not many players get the opportunity to participate in and enjoy a game of that magnitude. Despite losing 2-0, it was an unparalleled experience.
DFB.de: Why were you unable to achieve the desired result?
Geyer: Krassimir Balakow, Giovane Elber and Fredi Bobic formed a "magic triangle" for VfB. Stuttgart were the clear favourites and took the lead in the 18th minute through Elber. We had the chance to make it 1-1 shortly after the break. If we had taken that opportunity, who knows how the match would have turned out. Almost immediately after that opening though Elber scored the decisive goal.
DFB.de: You defeated Karlsruher 3-0 in the semi-final.
Geyer: Many Cottbus players remember this game more than the final.
DFB.de: Why?
Geyer: When we boarded the bus to travel to the stadium, it was cold, but the sun was shining and the sky was almost cloudless. I don’t know why but for some reason I had a premonition, went up to our caretaker and told him to bring some orange footballs. His expression said it all. He must have thought I’d lost the plot. Then it clouded over and all of a sudden, there was a snow storm, which enveloped everything in white. There was about 20 centimetres of snow and visibility was severely restricted at times; however, that didn’t affect the enthusiasm in the stands. We coped with the conditions better than KSC, who were one of the top teams in the Bundesliga at that point.
DFB.de: Your team had previously defeated some higher division clubs. What were the reasons behind your good performance?
Geyer: When a third division team knocks out a higher division side, the opposition immediately sit up and take notice. In our case, we defeated the then second-division side Stuttgarter Kickers 1-0 after extra-time. After such a game, teams aren’t keen to be drawn against you and they were particularly reluctant to face us. It was a good spirited game and went according to plan. You also need a little bit of luck. If you get drawn against FC Bayern München, it’s incredibly likely that your run in the competition is going to be over.
DFB.de: The 1996-97 season was outstanding. You were crowned Regionalliga Nordost Champions with 82 points, DFB Cup finalists and earned promotion to the 2. Bundesliga after two legs against Hannover 96. Was that one of the best seasons in your career?
Geyer: We most definitely set milestones and achieved something special. My team was passionate, extremely ambitious and there was a great spirit amongst the players. The morale was excellent. In both legs of the promotion playoffs, we had to deal with having a man sent off but still managed to triumph.
DFB.de: There’s now another third division side, Arminia Bielefeld, in the semi-finals of the DFB Cup. Are they capable of making it through to the final?
Geyer: Anything can happen. Arminia will certainly have real self-confidence going into the game given their successes in the competition so far. They won’t be afraid of Wolfsburg. However, VfL are well aware that this is a tremendous opportunity for them to make it through to the final in Berlin, show what they’re capable of in front of a big crowd and lift the cup. That doesn’t make things any easier for Bielefeld. Wolfsburg’s attack is prolific and a real force to be reckoned with. They’re not always solid in defence though and perhaps Arminia can use this to their advantage.
DFB.de: Why do higher division teams often have problems against lower division teams in the DFB Cup?
Geyer: The favourites can often be lacking that final few percent. This can sometimes be enough to give the underdogs an advantage.
DFB.de: How important were the successes in the DFB Cup for the development of Energie Cottbus?
Geyer: From an economic point of view, promotion into the second division and then progressing into the Bundesliga three years later were valued more highly than competing in the DFB Cup final. The money collected from the game being broadcast on television helped us a lot though to set the budget for the next season. It was important for us because, despite our success, the sponsors didn’t offer us bottomless reserves of money. It was key to budget well. We couldn’t afford to make any mistakes with transfers.
