Football-Braunschweig against Stuttgart: This is how DFB Cup goes

“These are the nights that are always talked about. That was a difficult away game. That was brutal for the neutral viewer to watch. That was nerve-wracking, «said VfB Stuttgart striker Ermedin Demirovic after his team prevailed against Eintracht Braunschweig in a penalty shootout. The reigning cup winner was extremely difficult to free himself from the continuous pressure of the second division club from Lower Saxony. “I think we ran to the ground today,” said Eintracht captain Sven Köhler after the duel.

Köhler himself brought his team in the lead early. But projections did not last long in this game: First Demirovic turned the game in favor of the Swabians with two goals, then Fabio di Michele Sanchez scored twice for Braunschweig and supposedly led his team to the Siegerstrasse. Nick Woltemade then equalized for VfB shortly after his substitution – ten minutes before referee Florian Exner final whistle: extension! The next goal fell again for the Stuttgart, but even after the own goal of Sanoussy BA, the lions didn’t think of giving up. In the 105th minute Christian Joe Conteh final equalized to 4: 4. The decision had to be made in the penalty shootout. Goalkeeper Alexander Nübel, who had previously looked unhappy with several goals before, has now become a hero for Stuttgart: he held three penalty and brought his team the victory.

The new harmony

“We still won the game: Alone that we keep up for 120 minutes, score four goals, come back twice – that’s a victory for me,” said Braunschweig coach Heiner Backhaus after the game. He also pointed out that many of his players were still part of the Eintracht team last year, who could only hold themselves in the second division in the relegation. “Who knows how many had lost their job here in the club, it is about existence,” he said of the pressure that was on the team three months ago. “Today you are the outsider against the German Cup winner. Sorry, but that’s fun, you have nothing to lose, «said the coach.

A large part of the players who were there back then did not play bigger roles in the Lower Saxony last season. It is also thanks to Backhaus that they are now blooming: the 43-year-old took over the club in summer and started the new season successfully. Two victories in three games in the league and now the cup winner brought to the edge of a defeat-the bakery intersection is impressive. Captain Köhler also thinks that: “Anyone who keeps it with Eintracht Braunschweig should go home proudly today.”

VfB, on the other hand, cannot be happy about how the start of the season so far: after a narrow defeat in the Supercup against FC Bayern, they also lost to the Bundesliga against Union Berlin at the weekend. Although they have continued a round, the team should not be satisfied with the performance in the cup, according to coach Sebastian Hoeneß. “The Braunschweig team gave us great problems with their pressing,” he said after the game. The team was apparently missing a plan to deal with it, which could also be due to the fact that VfB’s defense had never played together in a competitive game. Only Maximilian Mittelstädt remained in the starting line -up from the chain of four that ran against Bavaria and Union. So there were no rehearsed processes in the development game – and Braunschweig could use it.

Fans demand cup games on the cup weekend

Criticism not only has to deal with Hoeneß, but also the German Football League (DFL), because they schedule the Supercup between the master and cup winner during the cup weekend. Fan groups then boycotted the Supercup game, as in the previous year, when VfB was hit on Bayer Leverkusen. The ultra group “Commando Cannstatt 1997” justified this a year ago as follows: “In our view, the DFL supercup has no sporting charm as a competition and, accordingly, no relevance that would justify an organized demeanor. The fact that a completely unnecessary additional English week has to be disputed by the execution of the Supercup on the cup weekend is even more difficult. «

While both coaches announced that they release their players the next day, fans often cannot afford this luxury or have to apply for extra vacation to support their team. Since the first cup day usually takes place at the weekend if there is no fact, the trouble of the fans is understandable. After all, there are almost 500 kilometers between Stuttgart and Braunschweig, which the fans traveled must bridge.