As of: April 2, 2024, 11:03 p.m
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Split
Kaiserslautern's Almamy Touré (2nd from left) celebrates after his goal to make it 0:2 with Boris Tomiak (2nd from right), Marlon Ritter (l) and Julian Niehues. © Uwe Anspach/dpa
The second division team 1. FC Kaiserslautern, which is threatened with relegation, stops the cup run of outsiders Saarbrücken. The Red Devils of old coach Funkel are now heading to the final in Berlin.
Saarbrücken - Oldie coach Friedhelm Funkel hugged his assistants tightly, the players of 1. FC Kaiserslautern were celebrated by the fans in the red Bengalo fog, and tears flowed from the cup heroes of 1. FC Saarbrücken, who were defeated this time. After victories over FC Bayern, Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Mönchengladbach, the Saarlanders were stopped by the Red Devils in their march through the DFB Cup shortly before the big goal.
“It hurts extremely now because it doesn’t have to be that way,” said Saarbrücken coach Rüdiger Ziehl on ARD. Looking back, you will also realize what a journey it was. “We can be proud of it.” The second division team from the Palatinate, which is threatened with relegation, won the semi-finals 2-0 (0-0) in Saarbrücken on Tuesday and thus reached the final for the eighth time in the club’s history. “Today we had the necessary luck in the game,” explained Funkel: “But the team remained patient.” Now they are in Berlin, emphasized the coach and gave the players permission to celebrate for a few hours.
In front of almost 16,000 spectators, Marlon Ritter in the 53rd minute and Almamy Touré (75th) scored the goals for the victory, which brought the Palatinate team further millions in revenue. The Red Devils' final opponent will be determined on Wednesday between Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen and second division club Fortuna Düsseldorf. The final will take place on May 25th in Berlin. There, the 70-year-old Funkel's team can even secure their participation in the Europa League with a win. It would be FCK's third cup success after 1990 and 1996.
Saarbrücken, on the other hand, failed to qualify for the final as only the fourth third division team in the almost century-long history of the competition. So far, only the amateurs from Hertha BSC (1993), Energie Cottbus (1997) and 1. FC Union Berlin (2001) have achieved this feat.
Bavaria, Frankfurt and Gladbach had beaten Saarbrücken
After a rainy Easter weekend, the weather gods had an understanding with the Saarlanders, who were only able to play their quarter-final against Borussia Mönchengladbach at the second attempt because the pitch was unplayable. This time it stayed dry on the day of the game, and the sun even made a few appearances. Referee Marco Fritz was able to whistle the game as planned.
Unlike the surprise victories against Bundesliga clubs Bayern Munich, Eintracht Frankfurt and Gladbach, Saarbrücken took the initiative at the beginning. However, the home team did not get beyond promising approaches in the fourth cup semi-final in their club's history.
A blatant goalkeeping mistake helps Lautern take the lead
Kaiserslautern shied away from taking risks and relied on a stable defense. The spectators therefore saw a lot of ball pushing and little movement. There were no chances to score on both sides. Things got heated at times between the penalty areas.
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After just half an hour, FCK coach Friedhelm Funkel had to make his first change because attacker Kenny Prince Redondo was injured without any interference from the opponent. Aaron Opoku came for him. This had no impact on the game, which sputtered along without any highlights. So it went into the break goalless.
After the change, both teams came out of the locker room with more momentum. The opening goal for the guests, who had reached the semi-finals for the first time in ten years, came somewhat fortunately. A harmless header from Ritter slipped through the hands of FCS goalkeeper Tim Schreiber and into the net.
Thousands of Lautern fans who traveled along were in the final mood
The goal had an impact on the underdog, who conceded the second header through Touré a quarter of an hour before the end. This time Schreiber was powerless. In the final phase, the FCK didn't let anything go wrong and in the end celebrated their well-deserved success with thousands of fans who had traveled with them. dpa