Big stages for small clubs. The DFB Cup throws Germany’s amateur clubs into the spotlight. Village teams can face German champions; ambitious Regionalliga sides can go head-to-head with Champions League participants. There have been plenty of cup upsets and shocks in the over 70-year history of the competitions. The cup has its own rules and its own history. Over the next two weeks, DFB.de will preview all 18 amateur clubs who are featuring in the first round of the 73rd DFB Cup. Today it’s VfB Lübeck from the Regionalliga Nord.
VfB Lübeck are taking part in their 23rd DFB Cup, and the team from the Regionalliga begin their campaign in the first round against newly promoted Bundesliga side SC Paderborn on Sunday, 9th August. The team from Schleswig-Holstein have a history of causing furore in the Cup: in 2003/04, when in the 2. Bundesliga, the side reached the semi-finals and only lost out to Werder Bremen in extra time. The manager at the time was Dieter Hecking, who today is the manager of holders VfL Wolfsburg. In an exclusive interview with DFB.de, the 50-year-old recalls Lübeck’s dream campaign in the DFB Cup.
DFB.de: Mr Hecking, what do you think of first when you look back on the 2003/04 season? Progressing to the semi-finals of the DFB Cup or relegation to the Regionalliga?
Dieter Hecking: The semi-final of the Cup comes first. That was such a great evening for VfB Lübeck. Unfortunately we went out just before the final through a bit of bad luck. Of course we never wished for the relegation later in the season.
DFB.de: Was there a link between the success in the Cup and the failure in the league?
Hecking: No. When we played the semi-final we were okay in the league. Towards the end of the season we had a lot of bad luck with injuries. Some of our best performers weren’t available. That was out biggest problem at the end of the season.
DFB.de: After VfB Lübeck beat lower-division Eintracht Rheine and FC St Pauli, you then faced Bundesliga side SC Freiburg in the third round. You won 1-0 thanks to a goal from Daniel Bärwolf in the 76th minute. What memories do you have from that game?
Hecking: That was in December 2003 and the pitch was frozen solid and hard to play on. But that worked in our favour that day because Freiburg wanted to play delicate, subtle football and couldn’t because of the condition of the pitch. It was an absolutely deserved win. To have beaten Freiburg and be in the quarter finals was of course a huge success.
DFB.de: In the quarter finals you beat TSG Hoffenheim 1-0, who were playing in the Regionalliga at the time. At that time could you see that a strong club was growing there?
Hecking: At the time it was a well known goal of Hoffenheim to get the club into professional football as quick as possible. The team already had a very good level, and we were quite lucky to go into half time at 0-0. Silvio Adzic scored the only goal of the game at the perfect moment.
DFB.de: In the semi-final you came up against Werder Bremen, who would later go on to win the Bundesliga and the Cup. Besides them, it could’ve been Borussia Mönchengladbach or Alemannia Aachen from the 2. Bundesliga. How much did you curse drawing Bremen?
Hecking: We were more angry about not getting to play them at home. Nevertheless it was an unforgettable evening in Bremen. Around 10,000 people from Lübeck came with us to Bremen. And the team sold itself amazingly. We were so close to making it to the final.
DFB.de: Your team took the lead twice…
Hecking: …and we had good chances to seal the game for ourselves. If I remember right, Ferydoon Zandi went through one-on-one with the keeper just before the end. If he’d made it 2-1, we would’ve probably been going to Berlin. But it went to extra time. We took the lead again, but then conceded the equaliser and in the 114th minute they made it 3-2.
DFB.de: After the match you said that Nelson Valdez’s winning goal was irregular.
Hecking: I still believe that to this date. Valdez handled the ball to score – even if Bremen saw it differently. That was really sour for us. But at the end of the say we gave them a great fight as the underdogs.
DFB.de: You’ve already mentioned that 10,000 people travelled to Bremen from Lübeck. Did the cup run cause a lot of euphoria in Lübeck?
Hecking: There was a lot of euphoria. In 2002 we achieved promotion to the 2. Bundesliga and had a great first year there. At the time of the semi-final everything was going fine in the league. You never got the feeling afterwards that we could be relegated, but unfortunately that’s what happened. Otherwise VfB Lübeck would’ve had a good prospect of establishing itself in the 2. Bundesliga in the long term.
DFB.de: At the end of the season in 2004 you left the club and moved to Alemannia Aachen. At that time could you envisage what difficult times were to come for VfB Lübeck? Since then there have been two insolvencies and demotion to the firth division.
Hecking: In the subsequent two years Lübeck just missed out on promotion. But when the finances are in trouble and the club has to plug one gap after another, then that is to the disadvantage of sporting quality. You then can quickly start dropping down the leagues – we’ve seen it happen to many clubs.
DFB.de: Do you still feel connected to VfB Lübeck?
Hecking: I’ve been back there now and then, but I barely knew anybody there anymore. I do still follow all of my old clubs though, and VfB Lübeck play in the same division of Wolfsburg’s reserves.
DFB.de: Lübeck’s Stadion an der Lohmühle is rather small, but the club is still by far the most well known in the city of 200,000 people. Are the conditions there to again reach the 2. Bundesliga?
Hecking: The conditions for professional football are present in Lübeck. The club first has to get to the third division, and that is difficult enough because the reserve teams of Bundesliga clubs in the Regionalliga are generally very good. But VfB is on a good path with local, talented players.
DFB.de: VfB Lübeck now face SC Paderborn in the first round of the DFB Cup. Do you think an upset is possible?
Hecking: There is always potential for surprises in the first round of the DFB Cup. A team from the fourth division is always in the position to stand up to a team from the 2. Bundesliga. You need to have a good day, a slice of luck and make the right call at the right moment.
DFB.de: Final question: you are defending champions with Wolfsburg and you face third-division Stuttgarter Kickers in the first round. Is this one of the most difficult ties that Wolfsburg could have been given?
Hecking: The Kickers had a great season last year and were in the promotion places for a long time. We mustn’t underestimate the team, but we’ve always had difficult draws in recent years. We had to play in Darmstadt and in Karlsruhe, who had just achieved promotion to the 2. Bundesliga. So we know how to deal with this task. After the experience of winning the Cup in Berlin, we will perform with the necessary concentration. And we want to experience it again.
created by mmc/clm
Big stages for small clubs. The DFB Cup throws Germany’s amateur clubs into the spotlight. Village teams can face German champions; ambitious Regionalliga sides can go head-to-head with Champions League participants. There have been plenty of cup upsets and shocks in the over 70-year history of the competitions. The cup has its own rules and its own history. Over the next two weeks, DFB.de will preview all 18 amateur clubs who are featuring in the first round of the 73rd DFB Cup. Today it’s VfB Lübeck from the Regionalliga Nord.
VfB Lübeck are taking part in their 23rd DFB Cup, and the team from the Regionalliga begin their campaign in the first round against newly promoted Bundesliga side SC Paderborn on Sunday, 9th August. The team from Schleswig-Holstein have a history of causing furore in the Cup: in 2003/04, when in the 2. Bundesliga, the side reached the semi-finals and only lost out to Werder Bremen in extra time. The manager at the time was Dieter Hecking, who today is the manager of holders VfL Wolfsburg. In an exclusive interview with DFB.de, the 50-year-old recalls Lübeck’s dream campaign in the DFB Cup.
DFB.de: Mr Hecking, what do you think of first when you look back on the 2003/04 season? Progressing to the semi-finals of the DFB Cup or relegation to the Regionalliga?
Dieter Hecking: The semi-final of the Cup comes first. That was such a great evening for VfB Lübeck. Unfortunately we went out just before the final through a bit of bad luck. Of course we never wished for the relegation later in the season.
DFB.de: Was there a link between the success in the Cup and the failure in the league?
Hecking: No. When we played the semi-final we were okay in the league. Towards the end of the season we had a lot of bad luck with injuries. Some of our best performers weren’t available. That was out biggest problem at the end of the season.
DFB.de: After VfB Lübeck beat lower-division Eintracht Rheine and FC St Pauli, you then faced Bundesliga side SC Freiburg in the third round. You won 1-0 thanks to a goal from Daniel Bärwolf in the 76th minute. What memories do you have from that game?
Hecking: That was in December 2003 and the pitch was frozen solid and hard to play on. But that worked in our favour that day because Freiburg wanted to play delicate, subtle football and couldn’t because of the condition of the pitch. It was an absolutely deserved win. To have beaten Freiburg and be in the quarter finals was of course a huge success.
DFB.de: In the quarter finals you beat TSG Hoffenheim 1-0, who were playing in the Regionalliga at the time. At that time could you see that a strong club was growing there?
Hecking: At the time it was a well known goal of Hoffenheim to get the club into professional football as quick as possible. The team already had a very good level, and we were quite lucky to go into half time at 0-0. Silvio Adzic scored the only goal of the game at the perfect moment.
DFB.de: In the semi-final you came up against Werder Bremen, who would later go on to win the Bundesliga and the Cup. Besides them, it could’ve been Borussia Mönchengladbach or Alemannia Aachen from the 2. Bundesliga. How much did you curse drawing Bremen?
Hecking: We were more angry about not getting to play them at home. Nevertheless it was an unforgettable evening in Bremen. Around 10,000 people from Lübeck came with us to Bremen. And the team sold itself amazingly. We were so close to making it to the final.
DFB.de: Your team took the lead twice…
Hecking: …and we had good chances to seal the game for ourselves. If I remember right, Ferydoon Zandi went through one-on-one with the keeper just before the end. If he’d made it 2-1, we would’ve probably been going to Berlin. But it went to extra time. We took the lead again, but then conceded the equaliser and in the 114th minute they made it 3-2.
DFB.de: After the match you said that Nelson Valdez’s winning goal was irregular.
Hecking: I still believe that to this date. Valdez handled the ball to score – even if Bremen saw it differently. That was really sour for us. But at the end of the say we gave them a great fight as the underdogs.
DFB.de: You’ve already mentioned that 10,000 people travelled to Bremen from Lübeck. Did the cup run cause a lot of euphoria in Lübeck?
Hecking: There was a lot of euphoria. In 2002 we achieved promotion to the 2. Bundesliga and had a great first year there. At the time of the semi-final everything was going fine in the league. You never got the feeling afterwards that we could be relegated, but unfortunately that’s what happened. Otherwise VfB Lübeck would’ve had a good prospect of establishing itself in the 2. Bundesliga in the long term.
DFB.de: At the end of the season in 2004 you left the club and moved to Alemannia Aachen. At that time could you envisage what difficult times were to come for VfB Lübeck? Since then there have been two insolvencies and demotion to the firth division.
Hecking: In the subsequent two years Lübeck just missed out on promotion. But when the finances are in trouble and the club has to plug one gap after another, then that is to the disadvantage of sporting quality. You then can quickly start dropping down the leagues – we’ve seen it happen to many clubs.
DFB.de: Do you still feel connected to VfB Lübeck?
Hecking: I’ve been back there now and then, but I barely knew anybody there anymore. I do still follow all of my old clubs though, and VfB Lübeck play in the same division of Wolfsburg’s reserves.
DFB.de: Lübeck’s Stadion an der Lohmühle is rather small, but the club is still by far the most well known in the city of 200,000 people. Are the conditions there to again reach the 2. Bundesliga?
Hecking: The conditions for professional football are present in Lübeck. The club first has to get to the third division, and that is difficult enough because the reserve teams of Bundesliga clubs in the Regionalliga are generally very good. But VfB is on a good path with local, talented players.
DFB.de: VfB Lübeck now face SC Paderborn in the first round of the DFB Cup. Do you think an upset is possible?
Hecking: There is always potential for surprises in the first round of the DFB Cup. A team from the fourth division is always in the position to stand up to a team from the 2. Bundesliga. You need to have a good day, a slice of luck and make the right call at the right moment.
DFB.de: Final question: you are defending champions with Wolfsburg and you face third-division Stuttgarter Kickers in the first round. Is this one of the most difficult ties that Wolfsburg could have been given?
Hecking: The Kickers had a great season last year and were in the promotion places for a long time. We mustn’t underestimate the team, but we’ve always had difficult draws in recent years. We had to play in Darmstadt and in Karlsruhe, who had just achieved promotion to the 2. Bundesliga. So we know how to deal with this task. After the experience of winning the Cup in Berlin, we will perform with the necessary concentration. And we want to experience it again.
