The last niche that has not yet been sacrificed for commerce
Buchtmann redeems St. Pauli in extra time – the highlights in the video
Dresden says goodbye to St. Pauli from the cup. The Saxons find an immediate answer twice to the opening goal of the Kiezkicker. In the extension, Christopher Buchtmann takes care of the decision. The highlights in the video.
There has not been as many dramatic, extraordinary and emotional stories as this week in German football for a long time. This competition has what we love most about football. Cheers to the DFB Cup!
Dhe spectators rubbed their eyes in amazement. What is happening now? Manuel Riemann, the regular keeper of VfL Bochum, who should get a break in the cup, is actually substituted at the end of extra time because he is a penalty killer. What a daring idea from VfL trainer Thomas Reis.
But Riemann, who had watched “a couple of Augsburg penalties” in the dressing room in the minutes before his substitution, did not save a single shot in the penalty shoot-out. So the 33-year-old, whom his teammates describe as “crazy”, got to the point himself, scored – and shot VfL into the round of 16. The backdrop in the Ruhrstadion exploded and in the end, Riemann, completely euphoric, stood on the fence in front of the east curve and asked the fans to celebrate substitute goalkeeper Michael Esser. They did as they were told.
Bochum’s goalkeeper transforms the decisive penalty – the highlights in the video
After their successes in the Bundesliga, VfL Bochum is also celebrating in the cup. Substitute Manuel Riemann becomes a penalty hero against FC Augsburg – but not thanks to his saves. The highlights in the video.
Nobody who was there on Wednesday evening in Bochum will forget this so quickly. Just as it will be remembered how Sascha Mölders, the “Wampe von Giesing”, appeared for the interview with a jersey on which the name Schalke 04 was taped after the victory in Munich in 1860. Or how Cologne’s striker Anthony Modeste single-handedly done VfB Stuttgart: The Frenchman was on the pitch less than 60 seconds after his substitution when he scored for the first time. Again five minutes later. Then Modeste walked past the Cologne bank, grinned and made a gesture: You can change me again, that’s enough.
Outstanding fashion continues to shoot Cologne in Stuttgart – the highlights in the video
1. FC Köln thanks Anthony Modeste once again. Against VfB Stuttgart, the striker initially only sits on the bench. With his first contact with the ball, he shoots the billy goats in the lead – and five minutes later tied up the brace. The highlights in the video.
There has not been so many dramatic, extraordinary and above all emotional stories in German football as in this second round of the DFB Cup. There were six extra times and four penalty shoot-outs. There were sensations like the victory of Karlsruher SC in Leverkusen or the success of 1860 Munich over Schalke. And of course: There was this unbelievable and historic 5-0 victory for Gladbach over Bayern, which will be talked about for years to come: “Do you remember when …?”
What will be the undoing of the big players in the cup
The DFB Cup is a special competition. For the big players, it may seem like a chore, because it doesn’t come close to being as important as the championship or the Champions League. There is not much money to be made here. Perhaps it is precisely this point of view that is their undoing from time to time. According to the motto: Who rotates, loses. And if you don’t take the trophy seriously, you can do it all the more.
But it is definitely the mode that makes this competition so much fun. There are no preliminary or intermediate round groups that were introduced in the European Cup competitions for the purpose of increasing money.
Let’s be honest: How many games that are worth remembering are there in a Champions League preliminary round? Even when it comes to who is eliminated or who will be transferred to the Europa League, the thrill is at best to worry about whether the goal difference or the direct comparison is more important.
The trophy, on the other hand, is the last niche in which what we love most about football has not yet been sacrificed for commerce: unpredictability. And that leads to stories that please, laugh or even annoy us. Rudi Assauer once said: The special thing about football is that it gives people topics of conversation and feelings that make their everyday lives more bearable.
With this in mind: cheers for the trophy!
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