The German Cup semifinals consist of three teams who are all outsiders in Stuttgart, Wolfsburg and Freiburg. The one team which towers above all of them is none other than Bayern München.
The net shook; the Allianz Arena crowd had just witnessed a special moment in the history of German football. And this time, it was Arjen Robben who had created rather than destroyed the moment. Robben’s blaster against defending champions Borussia Dortmund saw Bayern extract a measure of revenge for the 5-2 thrashing they were at the end of in last May in Berlin.
Standing in Bayern’s way to yet another Pokal final, which would be their third in four years, is VfL Wolfsburg. Wolfsburg has massively underachieved in the league. The Pokal is their last chance at a shot at Europe. They have not fared well against the Bavarians in recent times. In fact, in the previous meeting at the Allianz Arena, the venue of the semifinal, Bayern put three past Diego Benaglio.
The other two sides left in the competition are Stuttgart and Freiburg. Stuttgart’s spot in the last four is perhaps not to surprising as the draw largely favored them throughout the competition. St. Pauli, FC Köln and VfL Bochum were their opponents in the previous three rounds. Stuttgart made hard work of Köln as well as Bochum. Their first Bundesliga opponent in this season’s competition is SC Freiburg.
Freiburg is the real fairytale of this season’s competition. They started off with a narrow 1-2 win over Victoria Hamburg before beating Eintracht Braunschweig 0-2. A narrow win over Karlsruher SC followed before Freiburg took part in the best match of the competition so far. Mainz was the opponent in the quarterfinals; Thomas Tuchel’s boys went into a quick 2-0 lead. Shawn Parker and Niki Zimling scored even before the fifth minute!
And then, Freiburg turned the match around with the comeback of the competition. Ivan Santini scored in the 86th minute. Just as it seemed like Mainz would hold on to their lead, Daniel Caligiuri stole the show in the third minute of injury time with an equalizer. Both sides kept on going for the killer goal in extra time. Caligiuri eventually settled it in the 108th minute to send Freiburg into a historic first semifinal.
The three sides left in the competition all have an inferior record against Bayern. Stuttgart’s record is especially poor. Freiburg and Wolfsburg though both fought bravely against the Bavarians in their previous meetings. Wolfsburg was 0-1 down and almost got back into their most recent match against Bayern in the Bundesliga thanks to Diego. A powerful save by Manuel Neuer denied the Brazilian and eventually, Arjen Robben added to Mario Mandzukic’s goal to settle the contest. Freiburg also lost by two goals.
Finally, will Wolfsburg be able to cause the biggest shock of the competition by beating Bayern? Will Freiburg be able to reach a historic final? Or will Bayern and Stuttgart battle it out in the final in Berlin?
Let us hear your thoughts!
Standing in Bayern’s way to yet another Pokal final, which would be their third in four years, is VfL Wolfsburg. Wolfsburg has massively underachieved in the league. The Pokal is their last chance at a shot at Europe. They have not fared well against the Bavarians in recent times. In fact, in the previous meeting at the Allianz Arena, the venue of the semifinal, Bayern put three past Diego Benaglio.
The other two sides left in the competition are Stuttgart and Freiburg. Stuttgart’s spot in the last four is perhaps not to surprising as the draw largely favored them throughout the competition. St. Pauli, FC Köln and VfL Bochum were their opponents in the previous three rounds. Stuttgart made hard work of Köln as well as Bochum. Their first Bundesliga opponent in this season’s competition is SC Freiburg.
Freiburg is the real fairytale of this season’s competition. They started off with a narrow 1-2 win over Victoria Hamburg before beating Eintracht Braunschweig 0-2. A narrow win over Karlsruher SC followed before Freiburg took part in the best match of the competition so far. Mainz was the opponent in the quarterfinals; Thomas Tuchel’s boys went into a quick 2-0 lead. Shawn Parker and Niki Zimling scored even before the fifth minute!
And then, Freiburg turned the match around with the comeback of the competition. Ivan Santini scored in the 86th minute. Just as it seemed like Mainz would hold on to their lead, Daniel Caligiuri stole the show in the third minute of injury time with an equalizer. Both sides kept on going for the killer goal in extra time. Caligiuri eventually settled it in the 108th minute to send Freiburg into a historic first semifinal.
The three sides left in the competition all have an inferior record against Bayern. Stuttgart’s record is especially poor. Freiburg and Wolfsburg though both fought bravely against the Bavarians in their previous meetings. Wolfsburg was 0-1 down and almost got back into their most recent match against Bayern in the Bundesliga thanks to Diego. A powerful save by Manuel Neuer denied the Brazilian and eventually, Arjen Robben added to Mario Mandzukic’s goal to settle the contest. Freiburg also lost by two goals.
Finally, will Wolfsburg be able to cause the biggest shock of the competition by beating Bayern? Will Freiburg be able to reach a historic final? Or will Bayern and Stuttgart battle it out in the final in Berlin?
Let us hear your thoughts!
