Football sensations
These third division clubs wrote cup history in front of Arminia Bielefeld
As a third division club, Arminia Bielefeld moves into the DFB Cup final. Three other teams already managed this in front of the East Westphalia. The stories behind it in pictures.
Arminia Bielefeld against VfB Stuttgart-if you had typed for this DFB Cup final before the season, you would have been declared crazy. Especially with a view of the tournament tree: The Bielefelder threw four first division clubs from the competition – Union Berlin (2: 0), SC Freiburg (3: 1), Werder Bremen (2: 1) and Bayer Leverkusen (2: 1). The latter was even a German champion and cup winner in the previous season.
The East Westphalia are for the first time in their club history in the final for the DFB Cup. Arminia fans will have dreamed of this day. Even the most optimistic follower should not have expected that he will come, while the club is playing in the third division. The Arminen were also allowed to celebrate the championship and promotion to the second division.
From Bielefeld’s point of view, this season is already a football miracle. And the move into the cup final as a (still) third division club-but not unique. Because in the history of the competition it was already three other teams.
Arminia Bielefeld had three teams in the DFB Cup beforehand
Hertha BSC II was the first team from the third division to the DFB Cup final. The first team of the Berliners had already left 0: 1 against Leverkusen in the round of 16. Curiously, the Hertha amateur team also met the Leverkusener in the final – and also lost 0-1. Something like this is no longer possible today, second teams have been excluded from the trophy since 2008.
Four years later, in 1997, the second third division team made its way into the final with Energie Cottbus. With FC St. Pauli and Karlsruher SC, the Lausitzer threw two first division clubs and met VfB Stuttgart in the DFB Cup final, also the first division. Cottbus, however, had to give up 0: 2’s team’s team.
After that, it only took four years before the next club from the third division moved into the final of the DFB Cup: Union Berlin played against the first division club FC Schalke 04 in 2001, which had dramatically lost the so-called “four-minute championship” in the previous week. The Gelsenkirchener in the cup final then lived up to their favorite role and beat third division Union with 2-0.
It lasted almost 24 years before the next club from the third division, Arminia Bielefeld, made it into the final.
In this photo gallery, see the DFB Cup story of all third-party soccer teams in pictures.
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Source: Stern
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
