With Eintracht Frankfurt the penultimate hurdle blocking Dortmund’s path to this year’s DFB Cup final, Weidenfeller could be a key figure in tonight’s match. The team must make do without the central core that contested the Champions League final against Bayern last year. Neven Subotic and Jakub Blaszczykowski are both sidelined with cruciate ligament injuries, Ilkay Gündogan is still working his way back to full fitness and now, within the space of four days, three more Germany internationals are occupying the treatment room.
Mats Hummels injured his foot in a friendly game against Fortuna Düsseldorf and faces two to three weeks out, while Sven Bender is expected to be absent for a week and Marco Reus for a fortnight after both tore muscles in their right thighs. The year is barely six weeks old and already the injury list at the club is piling up.
Coach Jürgen Klopp nevertheless still has several options at his disposal. Sokratis and Manuel Friedrich are set to line up in central defence, Nuri Sahin and Sebastian Kehl in midfield, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Kevin Großkreutz on the wings. All of them are current or former internationals, but the seemingly never-ending number of casualties has had a wearing effect.
Weidenfeller in for Langerak
That is the backdrop that could lead to Klopp calling on Weidenfeller’s experience and handing him his first cup appearance of the season. The Dortmund No1 has made way for reserve goalkeeper Mitchell Langerak in the three fixtures so far: a 3-0 win in Wilhelmshaven, a 2-0 triumph after extra time at 1860 Munich and a 2-0 victory over Saarbrücken, yet the situation may yet force Klopp’s hand. Dortmund’s confidence has soared in the wake of their 5-1 away thrashing of Werder Bremen at the Weserstadion at the weekend, but with a congested match calendar over the coming days, the team must come together to compensate for the personnel losses.
They did just that on 12 May 2012, beating Bayern Munich 5-2 despite Weidenfeller’s early departure, allowing the custodian to return to place not just one hand, but both, on the champions’ trophy.
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With injuries depriving Borussia Dortmund of Germany internationals Mats Hummels, Sven Bender and Marco Reus in their DFB Cup quarter-final away to Eintracht Frankfurt this evening (live on ARD and Sky from 20:45 CET), the club’s progress could depend on Roman Weidenfeller. It would be the Germany custodian’s first appearance in the competition this term and the 33-year-old, who has a colourful history with the cup final, will be eager for a return to the title-decider in Berlin, as DFB.de explains.
On 12 May 2012, despite Borussia Dortmund dominating the DFB Cup final in Berlin, goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller was having a far less enjoyable experience. Injured and in hospital, there was only one thing on his mind. “I had to make her understand how important it was for me to get back in time to get my hands on the trophy,” Weidenfeller said of the doctor attending him. “At first she didn’t understand that at all.”
It was a battle he would win. Weidenfeller’s Dortmund’s team-mates had just lined up alongside Federal President Joachim Gauck and DFB President Wolfgang Niersbach for the award ceremony in the Olympic Stadium when out of nowhere the goalkeeper suddenly appeared on the platform, moving gingerly with a hand on his rib cage.
A spectator in both finals
The title-winning celebrations that started that night and continued long into the next day left the Dortmund players, and Weidenfeller in particular, eager for another taste of the unique atmosphere in the historic Olympic Stadium.
Dortmund have reached the DFB Cup final twice in the last six years, but Weidenfeller, the club’s undisputed No1, has barely featured. In 2008 he watched on from the stands, injured and almost unconscious, as reserve keeper Marc Ziegler filled in between the posts as Bayern went on to win 2-1 after extra time.
On the second occasion Weidenfeller’s involvement was practically over after just eight minutes. He injured his ribs in a hefty collision with Bayern Munich forward Mario Gomez and lasted until the 34th minute before being substituted. In the changing rooms he had difficulty breathing so an ambulance rushed him to Berlin’s Charité hospital, where he was attended by the doctor who was no great football fan.
Lengthy injury list
With Eintracht Frankfurt the penultimate hurdle blocking Dortmund’s path to this year’s DFB Cup final, Weidenfeller could be a key figure in tonight’s match. The team must make do without the central core that contested the Champions League final against Bayern last year. Neven Subotic and Jakub Blaszczykowski are both sidelined with cruciate ligament injuries, Ilkay Gündogan is still working his way back to full fitness and now, within the space of four days, three more Germany internationals are occupying the treatment room.
Mats Hummels injured his foot in a friendly game against Fortuna Düsseldorf and faces two to three weeks out, while Sven Bender is expected to be absent for a week and Marco Reus for a fortnight after both tore muscles in their right thighs. The year is barely six weeks old and already the injury list at the club is piling up.
Coach Jürgen Klopp nevertheless still has several options at his disposal. Sokratis and Manuel Friedrich are set to line up in central defence, Nuri Sahin and Sebastian Kehl in midfield, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Kevin Großkreutz on the wings. All of them are current or former internationals, but the seemingly never-ending number of casualties has had a wearing effect.
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Weidenfeller in for Langerak
That is the backdrop that could lead to Klopp calling on Weidenfeller’s experience and handing him his first cup appearance of the season. The Dortmund No1 has made way for reserve goalkeeper Mitchell Langerak in the three fixtures so far: a 3-0 win in Wilhelmshaven, a 2-0 triumph after extra time at 1860 Munich and a 2-0 victory over Saarbrücken, yet the situation may yet force Klopp’s hand. Dortmund’s confidence has soared in the wake of their 5-1 away thrashing of Werder Bremen at the Weserstadion at the weekend, but with a congested match calendar over the coming days, the team must come together to compensate for the personnel losses.
They did just that on 12 May 2012, beating Bayern Munich 5-2 despite Weidenfeller’s early departure, allowing the custodian to return to place not just one hand, but both, on the champions’ trophy.
