Bayern Munich reached the semi finals of the DFB-Pokal (Germany’s equivalent of the FA Cup) on Wednesday with a 1-0 win over Schalke 04, but the story is all about who they could meet there on the 21st of April.
1. FC Saarbrücken currently play in the fourth tier of German football or the Regionalliga Südwest as it is called locally and caused a massive upset by beating Fortuna Düsseldorf of the Bundesliga 7-6 on penalties. Canadian midfielder Kianz Froese was an 18th minute substitute for Boné Uaferro and had a hand in Tobias Jänicke’s 31st minute goal to put Saarbrücken 1-0 ahead. Froese, speaking exclusively to Vendetta Sports Media, called the win “a dream come true” for him and his teammates.
“At the start we couldn’t have imagined such a run, it’s honestly surreal but we knew we had a small chance to win each game. We took it game by game. We believed and trusted in one another and this has been the result. It truly means the world to us.”
It looked like FC Saarbrücken were going to hold on for the win in the original 90 minutes until Mathias Jørgensen equalized in the last minute for Fortuna. Extra time couldn’t separate them and goalkeeper Daniel Batz, who saved a penalty in the 83rd minute from Rouwen Hennings, became the hero with four penalty saves, including the most important last one from Jørgensen. Froese also took and scored a penalty for FC Saarbrücken. “There were some thoughts” he said when asked where there any nerves. “No big nerves though. I wanted to take one and when I stepped up everything became calm and quiet in my head. So I think that was helpful” he said, smiling.
Fortuna Düsseldorf weren’t the first Bundesliga side the underdogs knocked out of the cup either, having eliminated 1. FC Köln in the second round 3-2 at the end of October. It’s stories like this that make Cup competitions so special and reminds me of the F.A. Cup run Luton Town made in the 1993/94 season before losing to Chelsea in the semi finals.
Despite the news on twitter that it was Bayern Munich they would meet in the Semi Finals the draw itself doesn’t happen until Sunday and Froese is hoping it doesn’t end up being the German juggernaut.
“I personally prefer any team except Bayern” he says with a smile. “I think Bayern would be cool to play against but It’s quite clear that whoever draws Bayern will have the toughest odds to advance.”
No matter who they face it’s clear Saarbrücken will have the neutral fans behind them as they continue to show the magic of cup competitions.
Just so you are up to date come April, here are a few things to know about 1. FC Saarbrücken.
They were one of the inaugural teams in the Bundesliga when it was created in 1963 but were relegated in their first year. They returned to the top league twice more for short stints before a financial crisis in 1995 saw them denied a license and sent down to the Regionalliga West/Südwest (at that point the third tier of German football).
Former Bayern Munich coach Felix Magath played for the club between 1974 and 1976 scoring 29 goals in 76 games before joining Hamburg and former USA International Eric Wynalda also played for two seasons from 1992-94 scoring 21 goals in 51 games before joining VfL Bochum.
To show your support you can purchase official merchandise from their Website. But beware it is in German and currency is in euros. I know who I’ll be cheering for on April 21st, do you?
