RObert Marien is a nice man. He says himself. That’s why he answers the phone when he actually doesn’t have time. As President of Hansa Rostock, Marien is very busy. Conferences, appraisals, transfer period, and then the DFB Cup game at RB Leipzig is on Wednesday (6.30 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the DFB Cup and on Sky). Not that this round of 16 was inconvenient, it’s just that the priorities in Rostock are different at the moment. “Our main focus is on the league,” says Marien, who doesn’t want to detract from the cup game.
“Nevertheless, we are really looking forward to the duel with RB. This is a real highlight that the players deserve. And I wouldn’t have any objections to getting into the quarter-finals,” says Marien. Not least because this would secure quite nice income for the financially unfortunate club, which was not foreseen in the budget. But Hansa needs points more than money. The financially conscious Marien also sees it that way. “The league serves our daily bread, it’s no different here than at Bayern,” he says.
After a little more than half a year, things are running as expected there. As a promoter, Hansa has good days and less good days, the less good days have prevailed recently, Hansa has been waiting for a win in the league for six games. 15th place is the consequence. In the end, that would just be enough to hold the class. “As long as three teams are behind us, we’re on target,” says Marien, who didn’t want to harbor any great illusions after the promotion. Relegation battle, that was the reality from the beginning, which the Rostockers wanted and now have to face.
“That’s something special”
Things are going better in the cup. In the round before, Hansa surprisingly won at league rival Jahn Regensburg, at that time still second in the second division. Hansa has not been in the last sixteen for thirteen years. This round is also unfamiliar territory for coach Jens Härtel and most of the players. “I’ve been a coach for over 15 years and I’m in the last 16 of the DFB Cup for the first time. That’s something special, and that’s how we want to approach it. You don’t have a round of 16 every year. We should look forward to that and try to prove ourselves against a team like RB and not hide,” says Härtel.
He knows only too well what to expect from his players in Leipzig. Nine years ago, Haertel switched to RB in the youth academy. His mission: Leading the A youth from the regional league to the Bundesliga. He managed that without any problems, but the collaboration ended after twelve months. There is talk of discrepancies with the then Leipzig sports director Ralf Rangnick.
Haertel has been training in Rostock for three years now, which is also part of Hansa’s recent success story. After being relegated from the Bundesliga in 2005, the club lacked continuity in key positions for a long time. It’s different now. Haertel would like to use the game in Leipzig to break out of everyday life with his players after the difficult past few weeks. Unlike in the league, the pressure is low. “Leipzig is clearly the favorite. We’re going there as outsiders, but we feel very comfortable in this role,” says Härtel. So well that nobody at FC Hansa would resist another round in the cup.
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