Dream goals, curiosities and above all SENSATIONS! The round of 16 in the DFB Cup had everything that football fans love!
Among the eight teams that have qualified for the quarter-finals are four second-division teams: St. Pauli, HSV, Hannover 96 and Karlsruher SC, more than in 18 years.
So the chance is greater than ever that one of the outsiders will make it into the cup final in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium on May 21st. The last time they managed this feat was eleven years ago as second division side MSV Duisburg (0:5 final bankruptcy against Schalke).
Above all, football fans in the north are allowed to dream!
FC St. Pauli, currently leaders in the 2nd division, achieved the biggest sensation with a 2-1 win over BVB. With courageous attacking football, the win against the Dortmund star ensemble was anything but happy or undeserved. “That’s just awesome. (…) This is a dream. To beat Borussia Dortmund as a team at home is absolutely crazy,” said goalkeeper Dennis Smarsch (23), only number two in the league at the Kiez club, after finding the right words.
Hamburger SV secured their quarter-final ticket in a curious way. In the penalty shoot-out in Cologne, Florian Kainz (29) was the last Bundesliga club to shoot the ball against his own supporting leg. His goal didn’t count, the cheering at the second division knew no bounds!
And Hanover 96? Promoted Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-0 out of the cup. Lower Saxony could have scored four or five goals against the desolate team coached by Adi Hütter (51). Hanover is only 12th in the second division, far from the promotion places…
Who is favorite now?
Because FC Bayern, Dortmund and also Leverkusen or Gladbach are already out, a team will win the DFB Cup that was not necessarily on the list before the season. The hottest tip should now be RB Leipzig. The Saxons have been in the final twice in the last three years, but only lost against Bayern (0:3, 2019), last year against BVB (1:4).
The Bundesliga surprise teams Freiburg and Union Berlin also have good chances. With Christian Streich (56) and Urs Fischer (55) in the coaching position, both clubs have relied on continuity for years, have continued to develop and have gained sympathy throughout Germany. Not only ARD expert Bastian Schweinsteiger (37) would “wish” that these two clubs would reward themselves for their fantastic work by participating in the DFB Cup final.
No less remarkable is the quarter-finals of VfL Bochum, which is the only one of the eight remaining clubs in the current competition with Augsburg and Mainz to have already eliminated two Bundesliga teams. Milos Pantovic (25) started the 3-1 win against Mainz with a fantastic lob. The most beautiful goal of the round of 16!
When is the draw?
All clubs are now eagerly awaiting the next draw. However, they still have to be patient for a few days. The quarter-final pairings will be drawn on January 30th as part of the ARD sports show in the football museum in Dortmund. The game will be played on March 1st and 2nd.
