Manuel Zeitz (m.) and goalscorer Marcel Gaus (r.) didn’t let up and stopped Bayern around Eric Maxim Choupo Moting.
Photo: imago/Markus Fischer
When it came to classifying one of these sensations in the history of the DFB Cup, even the otherwise eloquent Thomas Müller seemed almost overwhelmed. The experienced FC Bayern professional struggled for words, and they came out of his lips hesitantly. Like Müller, his coach Thomas Tuchel and the other Munich players also suffered. But also the people of Saarbrücken, who could hardly believe their luck and were almost as shocked by their incredible 2:1 (1:1) win against the German record champions and record cup winners as Bayern were by their completely unexpected exit in the second round at the fifteenth place in the table third league.
“I can’t believe it,” stammered Saarbrücken goalkeeper Tim Schreiber, “just awesome.” Captain Manuel Zeitz called the victory “surreal.” His trainer Rüdiger Ziehl immediately gave the order to party, otherwise he would be declared “crazy”.
The ecstasy in the Ludwigsparkstadion was made possible because 1. FC Saarbrücken equalized FC Bayern’s early lead through Müller in the 16th minute through Patrick Sontheimer in stoppage time in the first half, before Marcel Gaus in the second half in the sixth minute used a counterattack in added time to make it 2-1. »There are games that people still talk about decades later. “It was a game like that,” the goalscorer cheered. The 34-year-old was already aware of the dimensions of success. The club’s reach is “billions in reach” as a result of this success, “that’s the case everywhere in the world,” said Gaus.
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Conversely, at FC Bayern, before the German classic on Saturday at Borussia Dortmund, which is also attracting worldwide attention, they have to live with the fact that the whole world is talking about their cup disgrace and wondering how something like this could have happened to a third division team that was in poor form – four days after the 8-0 win -League win against Darmstadt. “It is of course a brutal blow for us that we are eliminated in the second round of the cup every year,” said Müller. On Thursday night he added on Instagram: “At the moment it’s difficult to swallow this and concentrate on Saturday.”
Last season, the Munich team only said goodbye to SC Freiburg in the quarter-finals. Before that, it actually ended in the second round: first with second division club Holstein Kiel, then with Borussia Mönchengladbach. The defeat in Saarbrücken is one of the worst cup defeats in FC Bayern’s history, such as in 1990 and 1994 against third division clubs Weinheim and Vestenbergsgreuth or in 2000 against fourth division club 1. FC Magdeburg. 23 years later, Bayern have now been eliminated for the first time against a team that does not play in the first or second league. Perhaps this end is the biggest cup embarrassment of all, because the Munich team has become increasingly distant economically from all competitors in this country.
Bayern were left all the more perplexed after the exit in Saarbrücken, having already lost the title they had longed for and which they last won in 2020. Thomas Tuchel was “super disappointed”: “We wanted to go to Berlin with all our might.” What makes matters worse is that central defender Matthijs de Ligt may be out for the game in Dortmund with a knee injury. Should the Dutchman not be able to play for BVB, only Minjae Kim would probably be available as a specialist for central defense because Dayot Upamecano, who was also recently injured, is still in advanced training.
Müller’s insights in Saarbrücken also gave food for thought. In any case, his criticism of his colleagues, who quickly retreated into the catacombs after the final whistle instead of thanking the fans who had traveled with them, was clear. »I would like to apologize to our fans for the team’s behavior. We should stay together and show some respect for you,” Müller wrote on Instagram. He had previously said: »What is not possible at all is that only three or four players understand how to respect the support. During the week the boys drive I don’t know how many hundred kilometers up to the away game and support us. The least you can do is understand how to give something back.” This character criticism can also be interpreted as a warning signal.
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