The DFB Cup began back in August with 64 teams, but now only eight remain, and on Tuesday and Wednesday, the 2013/2014 DFB Cup semi-finalists will be determined. Hamburger SV face a challenging encounter against defending champions Bayern Munich, Eintracht Frankfurt meet Borussia Dortmund, 1899 Hoffenheim host VfL Wolfsburg and Bayer Leverkusen will be the overwhelming favourites against second-division 1. FC Kaiserslautern.
Before this week’s quarter-finals kick off, DFB.de has gathered eight facts and anecdotes about the eight remaining teams in the competition.
Outsiders: 1. FC Kaiserslautern are the only second division club left in the fray alongside seven Bundesliga sides in the quarter-final. The Red Devils have won the DFB Cup twice, in 1990 and 1996, and won their second title in extraordinary circumstances. One week before the final, Kaiserslautern were relegated from the Bundesliga for the first time after drawing 1-1 against fellow 2013/2014 quarter-finalists Bayer Leverkusen. At the final in Berlin, Martin Wagner scored from a free-kick to give his side a 1-0 win over Karlsruher SC, prompting an outpouring of emotion from fans. The victory laid the foundation for Kaiserslautern’s promotion in 1997 and sensational league title in 1998.
Quarter-final curse: This is the fifth time since 2007/2008 that TSG 1899 Hoffenheim have reached the last eight, but they have not yet managed to progress past this stage. The first time, they lost 3-1 to Borussia Dortmund; the following year ended in a 2-1 defeat to Werder Bremen and, despite being drawn at home both times, Hoffenheim slumped to 1-0 losses against Energie Cottbus and SpVgg Greuther Fürth in 2011 and 2012 respectively.
Trophy collectors: Of this year’s eight quarter-finalists, six have already won the DFB Cup, with defending champions Bayern Munich winning a record 16 titles alone. Eintracht Frankfurt have lifted the cup four times, most recently after defeating VfL Bochum 1-0 in 1988. They are closely followed by Borussia Dortmund and Hamburger SV, who have three titles apiece, 1. FC Kaiserslautern with two trophies and Bayer Leverkusen with a single victory to their name. Hamburg have endured the longest wait since their last DFB Cup win, beating second-division Stuttgart Kickers 3-1 in Ernst Happel’s last game as coach in 1987. That year, the winning team included greats such as Uli Stein, Manfred Kaltz, Ditmar Jakobs and Thomas von Heesen.
Hotshot: With three goals in a 5-0 win over BSV Schwarz-Weiß Rehden, two in the 4-1 victory against Hannover 96 and another strike in the 2-0 win against FC Augsburg, Thomas Müller has found the target in all three rounds so far and leads the scorers’ list for this year’s tournament. Bayern Munich’s German international now has an opportunity to equal the record held by Dirk Kurtenbach for Stuttgart Kickers in 1987 and Dieter Müller for 1. FC Köln in 1977 by scoring in every match from the first round to the final. However, Thomas Müller is unlikely to surpass another of Dieter Müller’s benchmarks. The Cologne forward netted a total of 14 goals in the 1976/1977 cup season, matched only by Ernst-Otto Willimowski for TSV 1860 Munich in 1941/1942.
Coaching changes: In the 1992/1993 season, Dragoslav Stepanovic pulled off the unusual feat of being knocked out in the semi-final but ending up as a DFB Cup winner. He began by coaching Eintracht Frankfurt, who lost 3-0 to Bayer Leverkusen in the last four, but by the final he was sitting on Bayer’s bench instead. “Stepi” had already signed for Leverkusen for the following season months earlier, and when Reinhard Saftig left the club after Matchday 29, the switch was brought forward early. It posed little problem for Stepanovic, who had resigned from Frankfurt after losing the semi-final anyway. Ulf Kirsten’s goal proved to be the difference in a hard-fought 1-0 final win against Hertha BSC’s amateurs to secure the trophy for Stepi and Bayer.
Final memories: VfL Wolfsburg have played in the Bundesliga since 1997 and won the German Championship under Felix Magath in 2009. However, the Wolves had their best DFB Cup result to date as a second-division side in 1995. Led by coach Gerd Roggensack and playmaker Claus-Dieter “Pele” Wollitz, they fought their way to the final, where they lost 3-0 to a Borussia Mönchengladbach side that included Martin Dahlin, Stefan Effenberg and Heiko Herrlich. On their way to the final, Wolfsburg dumped Bayern Munich out of the competition with a 2-1 victory at the quarter-final stage. However, it was Bayern’s second team, as the first team made a premature exit in the first round that year by losing 1-0 to TSV Vestenbergsgreuth. Bayern’s giant slayers ultimately lost 5-4 after penalties in the last 16 – to Wolfsburg.
Windfall: Each club will earn around one million euros from TV and marketing revenues for participating in the quarter-finals. The four clubs whose matches are being shown on free-to-air TV (Eintracht Frankfurt versus Borussia Dortmund and Hamburg versus Bayern Munich), will receive up to 1.4 million euros from these networks alone.
Live matches: All four games will be broadcast live by DFB Cup partners Sky. On free-to-air TV, ARD will show the encounter between Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday from 20:45 CET, and the duel between Hamburg and Bayern Munich on Wednesday from 20:30 CET. 1899 Hoffenheim’s tie against VfL Wolfsburg and Bayer Leverkusen’s match against 1. FC Kaiserslautern both kick off on Wednesday at 19:00 CET.
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The DFB Cup began back in August with 64 teams, but now only eight remain, and on Tuesday and Wednesday, the 2013/2014 DFB Cup semi-finalists will be determined. Hamburger SV face a challenging encounter against defending champions Bayern Munich, Eintracht Frankfurt meet Borussia Dortmund, 1899 Hoffenheim host VfL Wolfsburg and Bayer Leverkusen will be the overwhelming favourites against second-division 1. FC Kaiserslautern.
Before this week’s quarter-finals kick off, DFB.de has gathered eight facts and anecdotes about the eight remaining teams in the competition.
Outsiders: 1. FC Kaiserslautern are the only second division club left in the fray alongside seven Bundesliga sides in the quarter-final. The Red Devils have won the DFB Cup twice, in 1990 and 1996, and won their second title in extraordinary circumstances. One week before the final, Kaiserslautern were relegated from the Bundesliga for the first time after drawing 1-1 against fellow 2013/2014 quarter-finalists Bayer Leverkusen. At the final in Berlin, Martin Wagner scored from a free-kick to give his side a 1-0 win over Karlsruher SC, prompting an outpouring of emotion from fans. The victory laid the foundation for Kaiserslautern’s promotion in 1997 and sensational league title in 1998.
Quarter-final curse: This is the fifth time since 2007/2008 that TSG 1899 Hoffenheim have reached the last eight, but they have not yet managed to progress past this stage. The first time, they lost 3-1 to Borussia Dortmund; the following year ended in a 2-1 defeat to Werder Bremen and, despite being drawn at home both times, Hoffenheim slumped to 1-0 losses against Energie Cottbus and SpVgg Greuther Fürth in 2011 and 2012 respectively.
Trophy collectors: Of this year’s eight quarter-finalists, six have already won the DFB Cup, with defending champions Bayern Munich winning a record 16 titles alone. Eintracht Frankfurt have lifted the cup four times, most recently after defeating VfL Bochum 1-0 in 1988. They are closely followed by Borussia Dortmund and Hamburger SV, who have three titles apiece, 1. FC Kaiserslautern with two trophies and Bayer Leverkusen with a single victory to their name. Hamburg have endured the longest wait since their last DFB Cup win, beating second-division Stuttgart Kickers 3-1 in Ernst Happel’s last game as coach in 1987. That year, the winning team included greats such as Uli Stein, Manfred Kaltz, Ditmar Jakobs and Thomas von Heesen.
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Hotshot: With three goals in a 5-0 win over BSV Schwarz-Weiß Rehden, two in the 4-1 victory against Hannover 96 and another strike in the 2-0 win against FC Augsburg, Thomas Müller has found the target in all three rounds so far and leads the scorers’ list for this year’s tournament. Bayern Munich’s German international now has an opportunity to equal the record held by Dirk Kurtenbach for Stuttgart Kickers in 1987 and Dieter Müller for 1. FC Köln in 1977 by scoring in every match from the first round to the final. However, Thomas Müller is unlikely to surpass another of Dieter Müller’s benchmarks. The Cologne forward netted a total of 14 goals in the 1976/1977 cup season, matched only by Ernst-Otto Willimowski for TSV 1860 Munich in 1941/1942.
Coaching changes: In the 1992/1993 season, Dragoslav Stepanovic pulled off the unusual feat of being knocked out in the semi-final but ending up as a DFB Cup winner. He began by coaching Eintracht Frankfurt, who lost 3-0 to Bayer Leverkusen in the last four, but by the final he was sitting on Bayer’s bench instead. “Stepi” had already signed for Leverkusen for the following season months earlier, and when Reinhard Saftig left the club after Matchday 29, the switch was brought forward early. It posed little problem for Stepanovic, who had resigned from Frankfurt after losing the semi-final anyway. Ulf Kirsten’s goal proved to be the difference in a hard-fought 1-0 final win against Hertha BSC’s amateurs to secure the trophy for Stepi and Bayer.
Final memories: VfL Wolfsburg have played in the Bundesliga since 1997 and won the German Championship under Felix Magath in 2009. However, the Wolves had their best DFB Cup result to date as a second-division side in 1995. Led by coach Gerd Roggensack and playmaker Claus-Dieter “Pele” Wollitz, they fought their way to the final, where they lost 3-0 to a Borussia Mönchengladbach side that included Martin Dahlin, Stefan Effenberg and Heiko Herrlich. On their way to the final, Wolfsburg dumped Bayern Munich out of the competition with a 2-1 victory at the quarter-final stage. However, it was Bayern’s second team, as the first team made a premature exit in the first round that year by losing 1-0 to TSV Vestenbergsgreuth. Bayern’s giant slayers ultimately lost 5-4 after penalties in the last 16 – to Wolfsburg.
Windfall: Each club will earn around one million euros from TV and marketing revenues for participating in the quarter-finals. The four clubs whose matches are being shown on free-to-air TV (Eintracht Frankfurt versus Borussia Dortmund and Hamburg versus Bayern Munich), will receive up to 1.4 million euros from these networks alone.
Live matches: All four games will be broadcast live by DFB Cup partners Sky. On free-to-air TV, ARD will show the encounter between Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday from 20:45 CET, and the duel between Hamburg and Bayern Munich on Wednesday from 20:30 CET. 1899 Hoffenheim’s tie against VfL Wolfsburg and Bayer Leverkusen’s match against 1. FC Kaiserslautern both kick off on Wednesday at 19:00 CET.
