The surprises in the cup have consequences for players and those responsible. Not only the money is gone for Gladbach and Dortmund. The image damage is irreparable.
Borussia Dortmund? Flew out. Gladbach? disgraced. the FC Bayern and Leverkusen? Long gone. More crazy things have happened in the cup than they have in ages. Does he lose attractiveness due to the lack of top clubs? Under no circumstance.
The opposite is true. There are eight clubs in the quarter-finals that absolutely deserve it, including four second division teams. With RB Leipzig there is still a favorite. After what happened this week, however, anything can happen as the competition progresses.
The league doesn’t matter
In which league does a club play or what were the last results? That doesn’t matter at all in the cup. Gladbach defeated FC Bayern two weeks ago. Now Hannover has knocked out Borussia. Cologne is having an excellent season. Now he has HSV eliminated the FC. Dortmund seemed to have settled into the league and be able to start a series.
Now St. Pauli surprised the second in the Bundesliga. Hertha BSC finally wanted to be in the final in the Olympic Stadium at home. Unfortunately, Union let this dream burst and made themselves the new number one in the capital.
Only the Reds from Union Berlin are cheering in the blue-lit Berlin Olympic Stadium. This is one of many surprises in the cup. (Source: Annegret Hilse/Reuters)
I had an offer from HSV
That makes it incredibly exciting. And not only means a lot of money for the lower-class clubs and smaller Bundesliga clubs – but possibly also a strong boost for the rest of the season. Who knows? Perhaps at the end of the season we will finally see the resurrection of Hamburg football when St. Pauli and HSV climb up as first and second.
Personally, as a Hamburg resident, I would be very happy about that – especially since I’m one of the few people in Hamburg who keeps their fingers crossed for both clubs. I left Hamburg for Mönchengladbach when I was 17 and later returned neutral. And even during my career, I only had one point of contact.
When I left FC Bayern in 2002, I had an offer from Wolfsburg and one from HSV. However, he couldn’t really keep up sportingly and financially back then, which is why I went to VfL.
Are the players still so annoyed today?
For me, the cup showed very clearly why FC Bayern are so far ahead of the competition in Germany and why nothing will change about that. The potential pursuers don’t even manage to consistently win their games against smaller clubs. Neither in the league nor in the cup, where they sometimes fail at second division teams. How should they then become dangerous to Bayern?
Of course it’s damn difficult – especially in the cup against the highly motivated underdogs. I experienced that myself and was incredibly annoyed at times after a missed opportunity. You shouldn’t have spoken to me until the next game because I was pissed and thinking for days. I think that used to be the case for some, whether Matthias Sammer or Oliver Kahn.
And of course I ask myself: Is it still the same for today’s players?
It’s about the life’s work of Max Eberl
The most explosive situation is certainly in the two Borussias – Dortmund and Mönchengladbach.
I was in Mönchengladbach at the beginning of the week and got the impression that the fans are very, very worried about their club. And I also think that they are appropriate. This is about the life work of Max Eberl. In the past 15 years he has built up a lot, signed great players and was about to usher in an era.
As of today, the opposite has happened. Gladbach is extremely far away from the goals and requirements. There are certainly many reasons for this. Eberl and coach Adi Hütter certainly didn’t do themselves any favors, national players Matthias Ginter to sit on the bench last weekend, suggesting that he say goodbye – but to explain this publicly with sporting reasons.
Gladbach players have no place at Bayern
The big problem in Gladbach is certainly different. In the past few weeks and months, too many players were no longer 100 percent with Borussia. They grappled with their future, with expiring contracts, alleged interest from top clubs. You saw Gladbach as a springboard to the top. And that is the root of all evil.
If your advisor has put nonsense in your head, you won’t just get it out again. Then you have in mind: If this is not so successful here, then I will probably change clubs. They are also currently playing soccer.
A change from defensive midfielder Denis Zakaria to FC Bayern is said to be particularly hot. I have to say: a player from this Gladbach team has no place at Bayern. This is another level that others have already bitten their teeth off – from former super talent Renato Sanches to Marcel Sabitzer currently. One or the other at Gladbach obviously overestimates themselves.
Only one consistently delivers the necessary performance
The only one who radiates that at Gladbach and constantly puts what it takes on the pitch is goalkeeper Yann Sommer. Will, attitude, ambition, passion and identification – everything is really right here.
I even expect captain Lars Stindl to question himself and not keep saying the same thing after games. Why don’t the players get what they set out to do on the pitch? He has to start with himself and ask himself this question.
What to do to save this season and somehow qualify for international competition? Gladbach must get nine or ten points from the next four Bundesliga games. And that’s not possible with a performance like last time.
Who can Hütter still count on?
Nevertheless, I say unequivocally: I would stick with Hütter. For me, there are at least nine others before I ask who the coach is – and they relate to the team and the players.
Away with the mask: The eaten Gladbach coach Adi Hütter at 0: 3 against Hannover 96. (Source: Swen Pförtner / dpa)
Hütter criticized his players very clearly after the end – and has every right to do so. Players sometimes make it too easy for themselves and are perhaps too relaxed about such an embarrassment.
If the fans have their way, Eberl and Hütter have to start sorting out players and betting on those who are really ready to concentrate on Gladbach 100 percent and beyond the season. One has to fear that there won’t be many left. But I tend to agree with them. Hütter has to take a very close look at who he can count on.
At BVB it’s always the same pattern
Basically, this is the only way to overcome this crisis.
The fact is: this defeat, this thing, really hurts. The chance of winning the cup will only be that big again in 15 years.
Borussia Dortmund won’t have to wait that long. BVB just won the cup last season. Nevertheless, Dortmund is also chasing the goals and demands and was at least as embarrassed at St. Pauli (1: 2).
It’s always the same pattern here. Dortmund wins two games, seems on the right track. Then there is a bitter disappointment. And then they realize that they haven’t really learned from the last disappointment. And then, of course, it becomes unbelievable.
The greatest lesson from the cup
The parallels to Gladbach are numerous. The biggest one, however, is this one – and that’s probably the biggest lesson from the round of 16 of the cup: the future of various players is unclear and their thoughts are not one hundred percent on the pitch. You obviously can’t win a title like that as a top club. And Dortmund can’t claim to win the cup every four or five years.
This topic is also a good way to show why Bavaria doesn’t have any comparable problems. Here, too, there are always a few open questions and discussions, as is currently the case with Robert Lewandowski.
However, the club retained most of the players and especially the top performers early on and for the long term. Recently, after Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka, Kingsley Coman has also signed – Serge Gnabry, Manuel Neuer and Lewandowski will follow, I’m pretty sure.
Erling Haaland and BVB are out of the cup. His goal to make it 1:2 from the penalty spot was just a cosmetic result. (Source: imago images)
Haaland decision is now even more pressing
In Dortmund, the future issue naturally primarily affects top strikers Erling Haaland with his 75 million euro exit clause and the interest of various top European clubs. But I also count the 18-year-old huge talent Jude Bellingham, for whom it is a matter of time before he leaves.
And then there are the numerous contracts that expire this summer – but especially in 2023. This applies to captain Marco Reus as well as defense chief Mats Hummels, Manuel Akanji, Raphael Guerreiro or Mahmoud Dahoud.
In the case of Haaland, for example, this means that the decision about his future is now even more urgent – so that Dortmund can at least still try to win the Europa League.
This image damage cannot be repaired
Gladbach and Dortmund are in a dilemma. Of course, the money that they would have generated if they had progressed will go to waste. But the image damage is worse. It cannot be repaired.
Hertha BSC is also one of these clubs in the crisis. Here, too, one thing is clear: you cannot continue like this. And that means for the sports directors and managers Michael Zorc, Max Eberl and Fredi Bobic that they have to take a very close look at their squad and start planning for next year. With players they can really count on.
