“I was really pleased with the draw. We are still friends and can hardly wait to face each other,” says Siewert. “I find it great that we will see each other again in this way,” stresses Kramer, who also adds, “However the central point is still the anticipation of this atmospheric derby. The setting will be a big support for RWE. We need to perform very well to reach the next round.”
The start of the season for these managerial friends has not exactly gone to plan. Whilst Kramer’s Fortuna have not yet won in two games in the 2. Bundesliga (one point), Essen suffered a disappointing 3-0 defeat against SC Wiedenbrück in the first game of the Regionalliga West despite clear superiority, and the finished with ten men when right back Jeffrey Obst was sent off. A cup upset against Fortuna would be the best medicine to revive the mood of the faithful RWE fans, who contribute to an average attendance of over 9000 in the league.
Baier on substitute position: "competition increases performance"
Although Benjamin Baier was this year appointed to the Rot-Weiss team council, he had to experience the unfortunate start to the league from the bench. New captain Moritz Fritz (previously with Schalke’s reserves) and Kasim Rabihic (from 1860 München’s reserves) are currently the incumbents in central midfield. Coach Siewert gives his reasons as “tactical”.
Baier, who only played one in 34 games last season because of injury, accepts the fight. “We have two players in basically every position. Competition invigorates and increases your own performance,” according to the hard tackling midfielder who confidently announces, “If my performance is good enough then I’ll play. It totally depends on me.”
Shootout thriller earns DFB Cup place
After spells at Kickers Offenbach, RB Leipzig and Darmstadt 98 (where he was promoted to the 2. Bundesliga), the man from Aschaffenburg has become at home in the Ruhr with his wife Marlies and little son Ben (eight months).
“I like the mentality of the people in the Ruhr – they are somewhat more emotional than in other places. Sometimes excessively excited, sometimes saddened to death. After the rollercoaster ride of their first Regionalliga season (autumn champions but ended up finishing fifth), the win in the Lower Rhine Cup on penalties against rot-Weiß Oberhausen and qualifying for the DFB Cup were real high points.
“We had to work really hard to be able to be in the first round proper. And now we want to enjoy the derby against Düsseldorf even more and do everything to cause an upset,” says Baier. An encounter with brother Daniel or former side Darmstadt would then be possible in the second round.
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 Rot-Weiss Essen from the Regionalliga West.
Benjamin Baier is a midfielder for ambitious Rot-Weiss Essen from the Regionalliga West, and he had two dream opponents before the draw for the first round of the DFB Cup. “FC Augsburg and Darmstadt 98 were my personal favourites,” reveals the 27-year-old in a chat with DFB.de.
There’s clear reasoning for this: Europa League side Augsburg because Baier’s older brother plays for them; and newly promoted Bundesliga side Darmstadt because Benjamin Baier left the side a year ago and he was looking forward to a reunion with his former teammates after their sensational rise to the upper house of German football.
His wish, however, didn’t come true. “Fortuna Düsseldorf isn’t bad either,” says ‘Benny’ Baier with a grin on his face. Ultimately, the derby against the second-division side from North Rhine-Westphalia’s capital offers something for everyone in the cup next Sunday, 9th August.
Essen are Fortuna’s "bogey team" in the Cup
Essen are seen as a bit of a “bogey team” for Fortuna in cup competitions. The teams’ head-to-head record in the DFB Cup is even between the former winners from Düsseldorf (Fortuna in 1979 and 1980, Essen in 1953). In 1974/75, Rot-Weiss Essen beat Fortuna 1-0 in the quarter final, whilst Düsseldorf got revenge three years later when they won 4-1 in the third round.
On an association level, Fortuna, who recently slipped down as low as the fourth division, have regularly come off second best against the Ruhr neighbours. Whilst RWE recently recorded their eighth Lower Rhine Cup, more than any other club, and qualified for the DFB Cup after a 6-5 win on penalties over Rot-Weiß Oberhausen, Fortuna failed to win a trophy during their time in the third and fourth divisions. They often had to follow the DFB Cup as spectators. Even worse, they also lost the finals of the Lower Rhine Cup against Rot-Weiss Essen in 2004 (2-0) and in 2008 (0-1).
“I’ve also heard that our record against Fortuna in the cup is quite good,” says Essen’s midfielder Baier. “But that doesn’t change the fact that we go into the game on Sunday as outsiders. Düsseldorf have a super team, so the game will be a mammoth task for us. However we mustn’t hide but want to upset the favourites.”
Roommates Siewert and Kramer on opposite benches
There will be a battle between two good friends on the touch line. New RWE coach Jan Siewert (32), who has previously worked as a base camp coordinator for the DFB in Rhineland and as assistant coach of the Germany U17s, and his Düsseldorf counterpart Frank Framer used to be roommates during their time together at the DFB Hennes-Weisweiler- Akademie in Hennef.
“I was really pleased with the draw. We are still friends and can hardly wait to face each other,” says Siewert. “I find it great that we will see each other again in this way,” stresses Kramer, who also adds, “However the central point is still the anticipation of this atmospheric derby. The setting will be a big support for RWE. We need to perform very well to reach the next round.”
The start of the season for these managerial friends has not exactly gone to plan. Whilst Kramer’s Fortuna have not yet won in two games in the 2. Bundesliga (one point), Essen suffered a disappointing 3-0 defeat against SC Wiedenbrück in the first game of the Regionalliga West despite clear superiority, and the finished with ten men when right back Jeffrey Obst was sent off. A cup upset against Fortuna would be the best medicine to revive the mood of the faithful RWE fans, who contribute to an average attendance of over 9000 in the league.
Baier on substitute position: "competition increases performance"
Although Benjamin Baier was this year appointed to the Rot-Weiss team council, he had to experience the unfortunate start to the league from the bench. New captain Moritz Fritz (previously with Schalke’s reserves) and Kasim Rabihic (from 1860 München’s reserves) are currently the incumbents in central midfield. Coach Siewert gives his reasons as “tactical”.
Baier, who only played one in 34 games last season because of injury, accepts the fight. “We have two players in basically every position. Competition invigorates and increases your own performance,” according to the hard tackling midfielder who confidently announces, “If my performance is good enough then I’ll play. It totally depends on me.”
Shootout thriller earns DFB Cup place
After spells at Kickers Offenbach, RB Leipzig and Darmstadt 98 (where he was promoted to the 2. Bundesliga), the man from Aschaffenburg has become at home in the Ruhr with his wife Marlies and little son Ben (eight months).
“I like the mentality of the people in the Ruhr – they are somewhat more emotional than in other places. Sometimes excessively excited, sometimes saddened to death. After the rollercoaster ride of their first Regionalliga season (autumn champions but ended up finishing fifth), the win in the Lower Rhine Cup on penalties against rot-Weiß Oberhausen and qualifying for the DFB Cup were real high points.
“We had to work really hard to be able to be in the first round proper. And now we want to enjoy the derby against Düsseldorf even more and do everything to cause an upset,” says Baier. An encounter with brother Daniel or former side Darmstadt would then be possible in the second round.
