The final is in reach. We started with 64 and now only four of those teams are still in the running to win the 2015/2016 DFB Cup. The semi-finals will be played today and Wednesday (20:30 CEST). DFB.de has rounded-up all of the important facts ahead of both DFB Cup semi-finals.
The participants: Both of the semi-finals are all Bundesliga affairs and three out of the four teams are currently in the top-four of Germany’s top division as they brought their great league form into the cup. Alongside these three stands relegation threatened Werder Bremen, who have taken care of teams such as Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Mönchengladbach and FC Köln throughout their cup run this season.
Bayern’s permanent semi-final ticket: On 4th March 2009, Bayer Leverkusen achieved something that no other team has managed to achieve since; they stopped FC Bayern progressing to the DFB Cup semi-finals. With a 4-2 win in the LTU-Arena in Düsseldorf - the BayArena was being rebuilt at the time - they knocked the record cup winners out of the competition. Since this season, in which Bayern won no silverware, the team from Munich has made it to at least the semi-finals of the competition every single time. They have not been outstanding in Munich during this stage in past seasons though, losing to Borussia Dortmund on penalties last year and being eliminated by Schalke thanks to a Raul goal and an inspired Manuel Neuer performance in 2011. Is it a good omen for Werder that they will be playing in the Allianz Arena tonight?
Top scorer: Four players have scored four goals in the current campaign, including Henrich Mchitarian, who will get the chance to add to his tally against Hertha. Claudio Pizarro has bagged twice in his three cup appearances so far this season and given two assists. As far as all time scorers go, the Peruvian striker is currently third with 30 goals, two behind Hannes Löhr, who netted 32 times in the DFB-Cup for FC Köln. Gerd Müller sits atop the list with an unbelievable 64 goals in 56 games.
BVB can make history: In the 70 year history of the DFB-Cup, four teams have managed to make it to three consecutive finals. Bayern München have managed this feat three times (1984-1986, 1998-2000 and 2012-2014), while Schalke 04 (1935-1937), Fortuna Düsseldorf (1978-1980) and Werder Bremen (1989-1991) have done it once. Borussia Dortmund will be able to join this exclusive club if they can overcome Hertha. BVB lost 2-0 to FC Bayern in 2014, and suffered another defeat to Wolfsburg a year later (3-1).
Final hosts missing: There has been a club cup competition in Germany since 1935. The DFB Cup final has been held at the Olympiastadion in Berlin since 1985 but apart from one surprise cup run by the Hertha amateurs the Berlin club hasn’t managed to make it to a final in their own back yard. Pal Dardai’s team has the chance to achieve this now with a win against Borussia Dortmund.
Hertha managed to make it to the final of the cup twice during the period when the location of the final changed each year. The capital club lost 1-0 to FC Köln in a replay in 1977 and in 1979, they were beaten again, this time 1-0 by Fortuna Düsseldorf in extra time.
European qualification for 2016/2017: The winner of the DFB Cup has had the chance to qualify for the Europa League since the 2014/2015 season. If the cup winners could already qualify through their league position no additional teams became eligible. This rule has changed for the current Bundesliga season. Now, if the cup winner can qualify through their league position seventh-place will qualify for the Europa League. The team that loses the final will end up empty handed even if the winner has already qualified for Europe through their position in the table.
2016/2017 participants: While this season’s semi-finals are currently taking all of the attention, two amateur clubs have already qualified for next year’s tournament. The two finalists in the Lower-Saxony Cup, SpVgg. Drochtersen/Assel and 1. FC Germania Egestorf-Langreder, will not only be celebrating making it to the final of the competition. Due to the calibre of the competitions in the region not only the Regional League teams but also the Oberliga sides are eligible to take part in the DFB Cup.