Two old friends will face each other to wrap up the first round of the DFB-Pokal on Monday 14th August (20:45 CEST); 3. Liga team Hansa Rostock will welcome Bundesliga side BSC Hertha to the Ostseestadion. It is set to be the 26th meeting between the two sides, one of which was in the Pokal.
That match was in 2003; the two then-Bundesliga sides fought it out in the second round for a place in the last 16. Hertha’s now-head-coach Pál Dárdai lined up in their starting 11 on a day the Blue-Whites were pushed the whole way in a tense affair. Rostock, the winners of the last East German Cup, offered the capital club and their former player, World Cup runner-up Marko Rehmer, a tight 120 minute battle. Luizao (19’) gave Hertha the lead, and then Marcus Lantz (63’) scored for Rostock to take the fixture to extra time.
Rostock flop in penalty drama
As Lantz (111’) again turned the game shortly before the final whistle, many Rostock fans believed that they would progress into the next round. However, Nando Rafael (120’) saved Hertha in the penalty shoot-out, in which Rostock succumbed to their nerves. The penalty shoot-out finished 3-4 in the end and Rostock’s dream of a fruitful Pokal season as they had enjoyed three seasons previously, when they managed to get into the semi-finals and just lost to record Pokal winners Bayern München 2-3 on penalties, was ended.
In recent times, Pavel Dotchev’s team have suffered six first-round losses in a row. “We’re very much looking forward to the game, it’s a great draw for us all,” says the coach, who figures that there is not too much hope for this Pokal season and the match, “Hertha are definitely the favourites, but we shouldn’t be counted out.”
Preetz: “Nice fixture, but not an easy task”
Hertha’s dream of playing in the Pokal final 14 years ago ended in the next round. The final has traditionally been played in the Olympiastadion Berlin, the home of the “Alte Dame” since 1985. Hertha fell short shortly before Christmas in 2003 when they were thrashed 1-6 by Werder Bremen. This year should however be completely different. “That’s a nice fixture for us, even if it’s not an easy task,” says chief executive Michael Preetz. “Hansa Rostock were a Bundesliga side for a long while and play in front of a very enthusiastic crowd.”
Their record has been up-and-down for the last five years. Dárdai’s team have lost to Borrussia Dortmund in each of the last two years, in the round of 16 and the semi-final respectively, but from 2012-2015 they were always knocked out in the first or second round.
