DFB Cup
In the first semi-final of the DFB Cup, the German football cup final will be played again on Tuesday (8.45 p.m.) between Freiburg and Leipzig. The people of Breisgau are looking for revenge at home after last year’s defeat in the final. “The hut will burn,” said SC captain Christian Günter. And RB coach Marco Rose added: “I don’t think I have to stoke emotions, the boys are hot, like Freiburg.”
Freiburg had lost the 2022 final despite a 1-0 lead. It went 1-1 to penalties, where Leipzig had the better end with 4-2. The duel therefore has “a certain explosiveness again,” says Günter, who wants to return to Berlin with his Austrian teammates Philipp Lienhart and Michael Gregoritsch. “We will do everything to take the next step.”
Rose didn’t want to add to the atmosphere surrounding the duel. “You don’t have to make less or more of it than it is. It’s a cup semi-final, both teams really want to go to the final. I don’t know why there should be more explosiveness in it because of last year’s final,” said the ex-Salzburg coach, who was aware, however, that “a lot of prestige was at stake”. ÖFB team player Konrad Laimer is also part of the game, while compatriot Xaver Schlager is injured following an ankle operation.
Rose expects a slugfest
Rose was full of praise for the opponent, after all, coach Christian Streich’s team is fourth in the championship, just ahead of Leipzig. “Freiburg are playing very efficiently. They defend passionately and work very well as a team. They are extremely intense, with and against the ball,” warned the 46-year-old, who was back in Freiburg with his team in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
In any case, the winner of this semi-final will – judging by the course of the season so far – be the favorite going into the final on June 3rd in Berlin. The winner of the duel between VfB Stuttgart and Oliver Glasner’s Eintracht Frankfurt, which will take place on Wednesday (8.45 p.m.), is waiting there.