Both are hot candidate for „coach of the year”. Their players made tremendous strides, their teams surprised everybody. And on Saturday, they’ll play each other in the biggest single game in German football.
Newly crowned German champion Armin Veh and Hans Meyer, masterminds of VfB Stuttgart and 1. FC Nürnberg, will battle on Saturday in the German Cup Final (8 P.M, ARD). The game in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium has been sold-out for months.
Led by Veh, this year’s cinderella team VfB Stuttgart won the German championship last weekend, their first title since 1992. The 46- year old Veh had never won a title before, but by defeating Nürnberg, he would claim the double, a rare feat indeed. Meyer, 64, has won three German Cup titles during his illustrious career, all of them with Carl Zeiss Jena in the former German Democratic Republic.
In this installment of the
“Talk of the Week” on www.dfb.de, the two coaches talk about the upcoming game. “Playing a final is always a tremendous emotional experience”, said Meyer. While Armin Veh commented: “The DFB Cup Final is the biggest holiday for every football fan in Germany.”
Question: Mr. Meyer, Mr. Veh, you have both never reached the DFB Cup Final before. How do you rate this achievement?
Hans Meyer: Playing a final is always a tremendous emotional experience. Emotions are a much bigger factor in such a single game then in a regular Bundesliga game. But you better make sure to win the Cup Final. In our society, finishing first is all that counts. Carl Zeiss Jena lost the European Cup Final in 1981, but nobody remembers that today. You end up as a footnote in history when you lose a final.
Armin Veh: This is what every player and coach dreams about, to play the DFB Cup Final in Berlin. These last few years, I always travelled to Berlin as as private person. Now I am thrilled to compete in Berlin.
Question: Mr. Meyer, you won the Cup three times in East Germany. Now, you can become the first coach to win a Cup Final in both parts of Germany.
Meyer: Really, I don’t think too much about that. Probably, a lot of people from the former East keep their fingers crossed. They would like to see me win on Saturday. But to me, that side of it is irrelevant. It’s a football game.
Question: What would winning the Cup mean for your club?
Meyer: The 1. FC Nürnberg could finally order new stationery. We were lucky this year, because we drew Eintracht Frankfurt in a home game. In last year’s round of sixteen game, we had to play in Frankfurt and were eleminated.
Veh: The Cup has such a tremendous tradition. The DFB Cup Final is the biggest holiday for every football fan in Germany. Ten years have passed since Stuttgart were able to advance to the final. We’re all looking forward to Saturday.
Question: Who will win the Cup?
Meyer: The VfB has just won the German Championship, so they must be favourites. I have always respected Armin Veh’s work. They were able to spend real money last summer, which we could not. So yes, Stuttgart are favourites to win the Cup.
Veh: For me, it’s a toss-up. Both teams accomplished so much more than what was expected. So the matchup is a reflection of the entire season.
Question: Nuremberg have won both Bundesliga games against Stuttgart, soundly defeating the VfB both times. Any implications for Saturday?
Veh: We lost two times, because our performance was sub-par. But we analysed these defeats and I feel very confident for Saturday’s game.
Meyer: We were lucky two times. We managed to surprise them, with both games played right after the break. But it’ll be a new ball game on Saturday. If anything, because of the two wins, we know that we don’t need to hyperventilate.
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Both are hot candidate for „coach of the year”. Their players made tremendous strides, their teams surprised everybody. And on Saturday, they’ll play each other in the biggest single game in German football.
Newly crowned German champion Armin Veh and Hans Meyer, masterminds of VfB Stuttgart and 1. FC Nürnberg, will battle on Saturday in the German Cup Final (8 P.M, ARD). The game in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium has been sold-out for months.
Led by Veh, this year’s cinderella team VfB Stuttgart won the German championship last weekend, their first title since 1992. The 46- year old Veh had never won a title before, but by defeating Nürnberg, he would claim the double, a rare feat indeed. Meyer, 64, has won three German Cup titles during his illustrious career, all of them with Carl Zeiss Jena in the former German Democratic Republic.
In this installment of the
“Talk of the Week” on www.dfb.de, the two coaches talk about the upcoming game. “Playing a final is always a tremendous emotional experience”, said Meyer. While Armin Veh commented: “The DFB Cup Final is the biggest holiday for every football fan in Germany.”
Question: Mr. Meyer, Mr. Veh, you have both never reached the DFB Cup Final before. How do you rate this achievement?
Hans Meyer: Playing a final is always a tremendous emotional experience. Emotions are a much bigger factor in such a single game then in a regular Bundesliga game. But you better make sure to win the Cup Final. In our society, finishing first is all that counts. Carl Zeiss Jena lost the European Cup Final in 1981, but nobody remembers that today. You end up as a footnote in history when you lose a final.
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Armin Veh: This is what every player and coach dreams about, to play the DFB Cup Final in Berlin. These last few years, I always travelled to Berlin as as private person. Now I am thrilled to compete in Berlin.
Question: Mr. Meyer, you won the Cup three times in East Germany. Now, you can become the first coach to win a Cup Final in both parts of Germany.
Meyer: Really, I don’t think too much about that. Probably, a lot of people from the former East keep their fingers crossed. They would like to see me win on Saturday. But to me, that side of it is irrelevant. It’s a football game.
Question: What would winning the Cup mean for your club?
Meyer: The 1. FC Nürnberg could finally order new stationery. We were lucky this year, because we drew Eintracht Frankfurt in a home game. In last year’s round of sixteen game, we had to play in Frankfurt and were eleminated.
Veh: The Cup has such a tremendous tradition. The DFB Cup Final is the biggest holiday for every football fan in Germany. Ten years have passed since Stuttgart were able to advance to the final. We’re all looking forward to Saturday.
Question: Who will win the Cup?
Meyer: The VfB has just won the German Championship, so they must be favourites. I have always respected Armin Veh’s work. They were able to spend real money last summer, which we could not. So yes, Stuttgart are favourites to win the Cup.
Veh: For me, it’s a toss-up. Both teams accomplished so much more than what was expected. So the matchup is a reflection of the entire season.
Question: Nuremberg have won both Bundesliga games against Stuttgart, soundly defeating the VfB both times. Any implications for Saturday?
Veh: We lost two times, because our performance was sub-par. But we analysed these defeats and I feel very confident for Saturday’s game.
Meyer: We were lucky two times. We managed to surprise them, with both games played right after the break. But it’ll be a new ball game on Saturday. If anything, because of the two wins, we know that we don’t need to hyperventilate.
