Goalkeeper Tim Schreiber was unable to explain his crucial mistake after the DFB Cup exit. In the 53rd minute, a harmless header from Marlon Ritter slipped through the legs of the 21-year-old in the semi-finals of the DFB Cup on Tuesday evening. It was the lead for 1. FC Kaiserslautern, who ultimately prevailed 2-0 at 1. FC Saarbrücken and reached the final of the DFB Cup.
“These are the kind of balls that you think ten out of ten of in training. You hold everyone,” Schreiber told ARD. “You can’t explain that in retrospect. For a moment you just want to sink into the ground, but then you have to keep going.” In the 75th minute, Almamy Touré also headed past the Saarbrücken goalkeeper.
“We fought so hard”
“I’m extremely sorry for the team. The boys fought so hard, even after the 0-1 score,” said Schreiber. The third division club had a lot to thank the goalkeeper on their miraculous journey through the DFB Cup with victories against Bayern Munich, Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Mönchengladbach.
“It was a fairy tale,” said Schreiber, who is on loan at Saarbrücken from Bundesliga club RB Leipzig until the end of this season, about the sensational cup appearances. FCK coach Friedhelm Funkel expressed sympathy for the opposing goalkeeper. “It was of course luck that the ball slipped through him. These are the stories that football writes after previously holding up so well in the cup,” said Funkel.
Kaiserslautern’s goalscorer Marlon Ritter didn’t care about Saarbrücken’s fate: “That’s how it is, if the grass is shit, then it goes in,” said the 29-year-old about the strange goal that made it 1-0. “If they had had a decent lawn, he would have taken it. But then they probably wouldn’t have been here today either,” Ritter continued, referring to the Saarbrücken games in the previous cup rounds, which were characterized by the difficult pitch.
While the tears flowed from the defeated Saarbrücken team, the old coach hugged his assistants tightly and the 1. FC Kaiserslautern players were celebrated by the fans in the red pyrotechnic fog.
“It hurts extremely now because it doesn’t have to be that way,” said Saarbrücken coach Rüdiger Ziehl on ARD. Looking back, you will also realize what a journey it was. “We can be proud of it.” “Today we had the luck we needed,” explained Funkel: “But the team remained patient.” As a reward, the 70-year-old gave the players permission to celebrate for a few hours.
Driving to Berlin: the professionals of 1. FC Kaiserslautern after their victory in the semi-final against 1. FC Saarbrücken: Image: dpa
Reaching the final brings additional millions in income for the people of Palatinate. The final opponent of the “Red Devils” will be determined this Wednesday (8:45 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the DFB Cup, on ZDF and on Sky) between Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen and the second division club Fortuna Düsseldorf. The final will take place on May 25th in Berlin. With a win there, Funkel’s team can even secure their participation in the Europa League. It would be FCK’s third cup success after 1990 and 1996.
FCK threatens deadline stress
However, the last days of May could now become a stress test for the people of Palatinate. If the Palatinate team is still in 16th place in the relegation relegation zone after the 34th matchday of the second Bundesliga, as is currently the case, two more games would be added within a very short space of time.
“But that would still be better than being relegated straight away,” said Funkel about this possible scenario. In his opinion, it was “very important not to go to Berlin as a relegated player. I don’t want that. We want to prevent this by all means. Staying in the league is much, much more important than winning the cup,” he emphasized. Funkel assumes that this will also work.
The relegation games between the sixteenth in the second division and the third in the third division are scheduled for May 24th and 28th. The German Football League already said before the cup semi-final that alternative dates on May 22, 2024 (first leg) and May 29, 2024 (second leg) would be possible.
Andreas Erb, Kaiserslautern Published/Updated: Recommendations: 5 Frank Heike Published/Updated: Recommendations: 1 Published/Updated: Recommendations: 2
Saarbrücken, on the other hand, failed to qualify for the final as only the fourth third division club in the almost century-long history of the competition. So far, only the amateurs from Hertha BSC (1993), Energie Cottbus (1997) and 1. FC Union Berlin (2001) have achieved this feat.
