SEMI-FINAL RECORD: Tuesday’s match will be BVB’s 11th DFB Cup semi-final. So far, their record is well-balanced, with five wins and five defeats. The Westphalia side first reached this stage of the competition in 1963, beating Werder Bremen 2-0 only to lose 3-0 to Hamburger SV in the final. Dortmund suffered their worst semi-final defeat in 1983 with a resounding 5-0 loss to second division side Fortuna Köln. They last appeared in the semi-final two years ago, prevailing 1-0 against SpVgg Greuther Fürth en route to a 5-2 final triumph over Bayern.
It will be VfL’s sixth DFB Cup semi-final. The “Wolves” have only emerged as winners in one of their previous five attempts, winning 1-0 away from home against 1. FC Köln in 1995 when Siggi Reich scored the decisive goal. Their remaining semi-final results making for less encouraging reading, losing 1-0 to Werder Bremen in 1999, 1-0 to VfB Stuttgart in 2007, 2-0 to Bayern Munich in 2008 and 6-1 to the same side in 2013.
TEN-YEAR RECORD: Since the 2004/2005 season, Dortmund have contested 33 DFB Cup games, winning 25. They exited the competition once in the first round, twice in the second round, three times in the last 16, and departed at the quarter-final stage last season. They have also contested two finals, both against Bayern. In 2008 they lost 2-1 after extra time, but exacted revenge with a 5-2 victory in 2012.
This week’s game is Wolfsburg’s fourth semi-final appearance since 2007, but they have never reached the final during this period. In the past ten years, VfL have been defeated twice in the first round, and twice more in the second round. They got as far as the last 16 once, and ended their campaign in the quarter-finals on another occasion. They have played 31 games in the past decade, winning 22.
PENALTIES: VfL Wolfsburg were involved in the first penalties in DFB Cup history. In their first round encounter with FC Schalke 04 in the 1971/1972 season, there were no winners after a replay and extra time, leading to a spot-kick shoot-out that VfL lost 3-1. Penalties are not among Wolfsburg’s specialties: they have competed in ten DFB Cup shoot-outs but have won only three of them.
Borussia Dortmund have a significantly better record in this regard, winning four of their five penalty shoot-outs. BVB suffered their only penalty defeat in the 2010/2011 second round, when Kickers Offenbach prevailed 4-2.
GOALSCORERS: No one player from either side has been particularly prolific in front of goal during the current campaign. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is Dortmund’s leading scorer in the Cup with two goals to his name, while Ricardo Rodriguez and Diego – who has since moved to Atletico Madrid – top Wolfsburg’s list with the same tally. In the Bundesliga, Robert Lewandowski leads the way for BVB with 17 goals, with Ivica Olic’s 11 strikes making him VfL’s biggest threat. The most prolific player in DFB Cup history is Manfred Burgsmüller, who scored a total of 40 goals for Borussia, Rot-Weiss Essen, Bayer Uerdingen, 1. FC Nürnberg, Rot-Weiß Oberhausen and Werder Bremen.
COACHES: Jürgen Klopp has been Borussia Dortmund’s head coach since 1 July 2008. The 46-year-old has since led BVB to two German championships in 2011 and 2012 and a DFB Cup triumph in 2012. Last season he guided Borussia to the Champions League final at London’s Wembley Stadium, where his side were beaten 2-1 by Bayern Munich. Klopp’s coaching career began at FSV Mainz 05 in 2001. Under his guidance, Mainz were promoted to the Bundesliga for the first time in their history in summer 2004 and even qualified for the UEFA Cup in the 2005/2006 season. Klopp never played higher than the second division as a player, making 315 appearances for FSV Mainz and scoring 52 goals in the process.
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On Tuesday, Signal Iduna Park will play host to the first semi-final of the 2013/2014 DFB Cup. The match between Borussia Dortmund and VfL Wolfsburg will kick off at 20:30 CET and will be broadcast live on ARD and Sky. DFB.de has gathered ten interesting facts about the all-Bundesliga encounter, from their head-to-head record to a comparison of their coaches.
HEAD-TO-HEAD: Borussia Dortmund and VfL Wolfsburg last met only about a week ago, with BVB recording a 2-1 victory at their home ground thanks to goals from Robert Lewandowski and Marco Reus. Dortmund’s record against VfL is a positive one, with 18 wins, ten draws and eight defeats to their name. BVB have never met Wolfsburg in the DFB Cup – at least, not their first team. In the first round of the 2001/2002 competition, Dortmund were drawn against Wolfsburg’s second team and Ingo Vandreike’s 64th minute goal secured a shock 1-0 victory for VfL’s amateurs: not even the introduction of Tomas Rosicky, Jan Koller and Marcio Amoroso in the closing stages of the match could prevent BVB’s early exit from the tournament. Matthias Sammer was Dortmund manager back then, eventually leading them to the German championship title at the end of that season.
THIS SEASON: Borussia Dortmund currently lie second in the Bundesliga after 30 games with 61 points, an average haul of two points per match. They have recorded 19 wins, four draws and seven defeats, with a goal difference of 67:32. In their 15 home matches, Borussia have nine victories, two draws and four losses to their name for an average of 1.93 points per match. The Black and Yellows also reached the quarter-finals of this season’s Champions League, with six wins and four losses (of which two at home) in their ten European games. At the very start of the season, BVB inflicted a 4-2 defeat on Bayern Munich in the DFL Supercup.
With 50 points and a goal difference of 53:45, VfL Wolfsburg currently occupy sixth place in the Bundesliga table. They have won an average of 1.67 points per match after 15 wins, five draws and ten defeats. They have a negative record away from home, with five victories, three draws and seven losses, gaining an average of 1.2 points per match in the process. VfL have not featured in European competition this season.
ROUTE TO THE SEMI-FINAL: Dortmund have yet to concede a goal in this year’s competition, defeating Regionalliga side SV Wilhelmshaven 3-0 in the first round before beating 1860 Munich 2-0 away from home after extra time. They followed this up with a 2-0 defeat of third division 1. FC Saarbrücken and a 1-0 win against Eintracht Frankfurt. The semi-final against Wolfsburg is BVB’s first home match of their DFB Cup campaign.
Wolfsburg beat three second division sides in the first three rounds, following a 3-1 defeat of Karlsruher SC with home wins against VfR Aalen (2-0) and FC Ingolstadt (2-1). The Lower Saxony team sealed a narrow 3-2 victory over TSG 1899 Hoffenheim in the quarter-final.
CUP HISTORY: Borussia Dortmund have won the DFB Cup on three previous occasions in 1986, 1989 and 2012, making a total of five appearances in the final. BVB were also the first German winners of a European trophy after defeating Liverpool 2-1 after extra time in the 1966 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup final.
Wolfsburg’s best previous result in the DFB Cup was reaching the 1995 final, where they were beaten 3-0 by Borussia Mönchengladbach.
SEMI-FINAL RECORD: Tuesday’s match will be BVB’s 11th DFB Cup semi-final. So far, their record is well-balanced, with five wins and five defeats. The Westphalia side first reached this stage of the competition in 1963, beating Werder Bremen 2-0 only to lose 3-0 to Hamburger SV in the final. Dortmund suffered their worst semi-final defeat in 1983 with a resounding 5-0 loss to second division side Fortuna Köln. They last appeared in the semi-final two years ago, prevailing 1-0 against SpVgg Greuther Fürth en route to a 5-2 final triumph over Bayern.
It will be VfL’s sixth DFB Cup semi-final. The “Wolves” have only emerged as winners in one of their previous five attempts, winning 1-0 away from home against 1. FC Köln in 1995 when Siggi Reich scored the decisive goal. Their remaining semi-final results making for less encouraging reading, losing 1-0 to Werder Bremen in 1999, 1-0 to VfB Stuttgart in 2007, 2-0 to Bayern Munich in 2008 and 6-1 to the same side in 2013.
TEN-YEAR RECORD: Since the 2004/2005 season, Dortmund have contested 33 DFB Cup games, winning 25. They exited the competition once in the first round, twice in the second round, three times in the last 16, and departed at the quarter-final stage last season. They have also contested two finals, both against Bayern. In 2008 they lost 2-1 after extra time, but exacted revenge with a 5-2 victory in 2012.
This week’s game is Wolfsburg’s fourth semi-final appearance since 2007, but they have never reached the final during this period. In the past ten years, VfL have been defeated twice in the first round, and twice more in the second round. They got as far as the last 16 once, and ended their campaign in the quarter-finals on another occasion. They have played 31 games in the past decade, winning 22.
PENALTIES: VfL Wolfsburg were involved in the first penalties in DFB Cup history. In their first round encounter with FC Schalke 04 in the 1971/1972 season, there were no winners after a replay and extra time, leading to a spot-kick shoot-out that VfL lost 3-1. Penalties are not among Wolfsburg’s specialties: they have competed in ten DFB Cup shoot-outs but have won only three of them.
Borussia Dortmund have a significantly better record in this regard, winning four of their five penalty shoot-outs. BVB suffered their only penalty defeat in the 2010/2011 second round, when Kickers Offenbach prevailed 4-2.
GOALSCORERS: No one player from either side has been particularly prolific in front of goal during the current campaign. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is Dortmund’s leading scorer in the Cup with two goals to his name, while Ricardo Rodriguez and Diego – who has since moved to Atletico Madrid – top Wolfsburg’s list with the same tally. In the Bundesliga, Robert Lewandowski leads the way for BVB with 17 goals, with Ivica Olic’s 11 strikes making him VfL’s biggest threat. The most prolific player in DFB Cup history is Manfred Burgsmüller, who scored a total of 40 goals for Borussia, Rot-Weiss Essen, Bayer Uerdingen, 1. FC Nürnberg, Rot-Weiß Oberhausen and Werder Bremen.
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COACHES: Jürgen Klopp has been Borussia Dortmund’s head coach since 1 July 2008. The 46-year-old has since led BVB to two German championships in 2011 and 2012 and a DFB Cup triumph in 2012. Last season he guided Borussia to the Champions League final at London’s Wembley Stadium, where his side were beaten 2-1 by Bayern Munich. Klopp’s coaching career began at FSV Mainz 05 in 2001. Under his guidance, Mainz were promoted to the Bundesliga for the first time in their history in summer 2004 and even qualified for the UEFA Cup in the 2005/2006 season. Klopp never played higher than the second division as a player, making 315 appearances for FSV Mainz and scoring 52 goals in the process.
Dieter Hecking has been at the helm of VfL Wolfsburg since January 2013. VfL are his fourth Bundesliga club after Alemannia Aachen, Hannover 96 and 1. FC Nürnberg. Before that, he coached SC Verl and VfB Lübeck. His greatest success to date was reaching the 2004 DFB Cup semi-final with Lübeck, where they were beaten 3-2 after extra time by eventual champions Werder Bremen. Hecking took part in the 2004/2005 UEFA Cup with Aachen, progressing past the group stages before being defeated by AZ Alkmaar in the last 32. During his playing career, Hecking made 36 Bundesliga appearances for Borussia Mönchengladbach and VfB Leipzig but scored no goals. In the second division, the midfielder played in the shirts of Leipzig, Hessen Kassel, Waldhof Mannheim and Hannover 96, making 194 appearances in total and netting 35 goals.
FANS: Borussia Dortmund head the Bundesliga attendance figures by some distance, with an average of 80,290 fans watching matches at their home ground. They reached the million-fan mark after just 15 matches, with 1.2 million spectators attending games altogether. Dortmund also hold the DFB Cup attendance record after a crowd of 80,078 watched their team’s 3-0 semi-final victory over Carl Zeiss Jena on 18 May 2008.
Wolfsburg’s home matches in this season’s Bundesliga have an average attendance of 28,431, placing them 15th in the Bundesliga attendance table.
