There are not many stories which spring to mind. If you are looking for a connection between Ron-Robert Zieler and the cup, you will not find one immediately. There is one episode, although it says rather little about the cup, but quite a lot about the person and athlete Ron-Robert Zieler. In this story, Manuel Neuer is the protagonist. Just weeks before the World Cup in Brazil, Germany's first choice keeper sustained an injury to his shoulder joint during the DFB Cup final against Borussia Dortmund, which left a whole nation sweating on his fitness. Meanwhile Zieler only had one thought when he saw Neuer receive medical treatment on the pitch at the Olympiastadion Berlin: "Hopefully it's nothing serious!" It never crossed his mind to potentially benefit from Neuer being ruled out for the tournament. While footballers need to be an egoist once in a while, there is certainly no place for egomaniacs. "We are here at the German international team; we are all filled with a team spirit. I sincerely hope that he will be fit again soon," Zieler said. "He has delivered some excellent performances in past tournaments and was key for the team. He is the number one."
There's another cup story involving Zieler, and it's one which brings back pleasant memories for him. This is somewhat remarkable, because the Hannover 96 custodian will be able to tell a lot of success stories – but the DFB Cup is rarely at the heart of those. Getting eliminated with Hannover in the early stages regularly, fortune has never favoured the Reds in this competition. In 2012/13, Hannover met Dortmund in the round of 16 and suffered a 5-0 defeat, last year they succumbed 4-1 in the second round against FC Bayern.
Yet one of Zieler's fondest memories comprises a cup match. Mind you, it's not one from the DFB Cup, this tale didn't even take place in Germany. It's from Zieler's past and happened during his spell in England. The keeper, who won the World Cup with Germany in the summer, was part of the Manchester United youth academy back then and cites experiences in the FA Youth Cup 2007 as highlights in his career. "If you win that trophy you feel a bit like the English youth champion," he explained. "During the semi-final against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium there was a crowd of more than 38,000, which is a record in that competition." United managed to come out on top in that match, so on the story goes: "The final took place at Anfield in Liverpool in front of 20,000 fans making noise like 30,000 would. I had goose bumps. Unfortunately, we lost the second leg at Old Trafford in front of an even bigger crowd on penalties."
Since moving back to Germany, Zieler is yet to come close to similar experiences in a cup competition. At least the start to this season's campaign in the DFB Cup is promising. Tayfun Korkut's side opened with a 3-1 victory over fourth-division outfit Astoria Walldorf and avoided some of the toughest draws in the second round. On Tuesday, they will face off with VfR Aalen (19:00 CET) and while it's not the home game they hoped for, at least they're not playing Dortmund or Bayern. "Obviously a home match in the cup would have been nice after such a long time, not least for our fans. Aalen is a challenge we are eager to pass because we have set our sights on the round of 16," Hannover's Director of Sport Dirk Dufner professed. Coach Tayfun Korkut issued a caution for his team, but feels confident his troops can deliver. "We are coming up against a motivated team from the second division. They will be determined to beat a Bundesliga team at home. But our ambition is to progress to the next round."
If the match against Dortmund on the weekend was Zieler and Co.'s dress rehearsal, they'll be happy to get the show on the road – a 1-0 win at BVB saw them celebrating their first away victory of the season. "We were more passionate and more courageous than in the past," emphasised Zieler, who had a huge stake in the victory providing several fine saves. "Sure I made my contribution so we can take three points home. I think this victory is a relief for the team, especially looking ahead to the cup match in Aalen. We need to take this confidence and belief we gained today into the next matches." Whatever works to entangle Zieler and the cup in a success story…
