Sport Saarbrücken celebrates
“Panzer” Brünker – “I think I’m going to hit myself today”
As of: 2:06 p.m. | Reading time: 4 minutes
In the 93rd minute, Saarbrücken achieved a sensation
1. FC Saarbrücken continues its miraculous cup journey and is sensationally in the semi-finals. The third division soccer team also duped Borussia Mönchengladbach in the rescheduled quarter-finals on Tuesday evening and moved into the round of the best four teams after a 2-1 (1-1) win.
After the coup in the DFB Cup over Borussia Mönchengladbach, 1. FC Saarbrücken is celebrating a lavish party. The celebration continued until the early hours of the morning. The anticipation for the semi-finals is already huge.
After the exciting cup night against Borussia Mönchengladbach, the surprise team 1. FC Saarbrücken is looking forward to the derby in the semi-final against 1. FC Kaiserslautern. “It will be really awesome to play here at home against Lautern in the DFB Cup semi-final. It’s indescribable, you don’t have the words,” said coach Rüdiger Ziehl, visibly moved.
The 46-year-old’s emotions were visible after the sensational 2:1 (1:1) triumph in the quarter-finals against the Bundesliga club from Mönchengladbach. Like his exhausted players, there were tears in his eyes. Once again, the third division team had outgrown itself and, as before against Bayern Munich, had the game decided in stoppage time by Kai Brünker (90th + 3).
Ziehl no longer expected this on the deep and water-soaked grass and was already prepared for an extension. “Because it was so difficult to move forward again. “It was a pure effort of will, they were all knocked out standing up. “The pitch looked bad from the outside. If you lose it after the game, it’s a catastrophe,” said Ziehl.
Brünker praised the “mentality monsters” in the team. “Now we are aiming for Berlin, we want to go there. It’s awesome that the journey continues,” said the winning goalscorer, who was nicknamed “Tank” by English fans during his time as a player for third division club Bradford City in the 2018/19 season because of his gigantic stature. Previously, in front of 15,903 spectators in the sold-out Ludwigsparkstadion, Amine Naifi (11th minute) equalized the early deficit by Robin Hack (8th). Now the derby on April 2nd (8:45 p.m.) is about the final ticket in Berlin. “I’m so proud of each and every one of them,” said the exhausted Brünker and announced the immediate reward for what he had achieved: “I think I’m going to hit myself today.”
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It started right in the cabin, as BILD describes in a party report. The cabin party began at 11:20 p.m. with Ur-Pils. Later we continued in the “Fuchs-Bar” in the heart of the Saarland state capital.
Ziehls praise for the cup hero
Ziehl knows that expectations after the cup coup in Saarbrücken are skyrocketing. The realist therefore tries to dampen this down somewhat. Even before the quarter-finals, there was a prevailing opinion that Gladbach could be done. “I now know what will come from outside: Kaiserslautern is a second division team, we’ll win there anyway,” said Ziehl with a smile. “But we already know where we stand in the league and what we’re not doing so well. We’re just looking forward to the game and enjoying it,” said the coach of the ninth-place team in the third division.
After the victories against Karlsruher SC, FC Bayern, Eintracht Frankfurt and now against Gladbach, the cup wonder team only has one goal left: the final. But she knows about the special nature of the duel against FCK. “It’s a knockout game, everything is on the line. With the explosiveness of the derby, the game is a little more loaded. We’re looking forward to it and hope that we can advance in the round,” said midfielder Patrick Sontheimer.
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In the coming weeks, the game will be the main topic among sports enthusiasts in the region who are hungry for sporting success. “Progressing means a lot. You can see what’s going on here. People are up for it and I think the derby will create even more euphoria in the city. We’re living it right now,” Sontheimer said.
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Marcel Gaus is particularly looking forward to the duel with the Red Devils. The 34-year-old played for FCK for four years between 2013 and 2017. “It makes it even more special for me because I spent some time there. But we are not there yet. Now let’s enjoy it,” said the defensive player.
Gaus revealed what that looks like shortly after the final whistle. “You have to celebrate and enjoy the moment. Because when do you ever get to the semi-finals of the DFB Cup? If you don’t enjoy it, you can stop. I hope the football fairy tale continues,” he said. The bass could be heard in the cabin wing until well after the end of the game, after which the party continued elsewhere.