1. FC Saarbrücken wrote cup history and was the first fourth division to reach the semi-finals. But the outsider doesn't have enough - and dreams of the final in Berlin.
Völklingen (dpa) - club icon Dieter Ferner moved into an at least reasonably quiet corner, looked incredulously through the Völklingen stadium, which was shaking in its foundations, and rubbed tears from his eyes again and again.
"This is the biggest sensation since the birth of Christ," said the former Bundesliga goalkeeper, two-time head coach and current vice president of 1. FC Saarbrücken to the German Press Agency. Then the 71-year-old plunged into one of the largest football parties the Saarland has ever experienced.
The regional league celebrated its historic entry into the semi-finals of the DFB Cup until well into Wednesday morning. "This is just awesome shit," said trainer Lukas Kwasniok: "I've seen crying adults who have had to go through serious operations and have fought many battles."
The 7: 6 in a penalty shoot-out with 20 shots against the Bundesliga club Fortuna Dusseldorf made the FCS the first fourth division club to reach the preliminary round. And now the Saarland is hoping for the really big coup. Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas from Saarlouis also dreams of a final on May 23 with the big underdog. "The madness," tweeted the SPD politician: "I expect you in Berlin!" The CDU chairwoman Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer congratulated with the words: "Great performance. Congratulations!" And Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier tweeted, flanked by three emojis: "Saarländer halt."
After their league rivals Cologne and the second division clubs Regensburg and Karlsruhe, the Düsseldorfers were the fourth victim of the insubordinate outsider. The founding member of the Bundesliga no longer fears anyone before the semi-finals, which will be drawn on Sunday. "We are in the mood for more. If you are in the semi-finals, you also want to go to the final," said Tobias Jänicke, whose 1-0 (31st) Düsseldorf's Zanka equalized in the final minute. "We want to continue our journey," said Kwasniok with a smile. "We just have to save ourselves again on penalties."
Keeper Daniel Batz saved four penalties there - that hadn't happened since the start of data collection. Batz had already parried another in the game against Rouwen Hennings (83.). "Five penalties - that's more than I have held together in my entire career," said the 29-year-old, who played a Bundesliga game for SC Freiburg in 2012, and announced before the party started: "Beer can take it I'm not that good. I can take the long drinks more. But I won't sleep. "
The Saarbrücken team definitely want to hold their semi-finals in the small old stadium in Völklingen - knowing that the conditions that are unusual for professional clubs with mobile floodlight masts and a missing grandstand side made the cup fairy tale possible. When pointing out that the game would have to take place in Mainz because of the requirements for live broadcasting on free TV, top scorer Jänicke said: "Then there will be no television."
Homepage of 1. FC Saarbrücken
Game details
Tweet from Heiko Maas
Tweet from Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer
Tweet from Peter Altmaier
