Saarbrücken celebrates the next cup sensation and moves into the semi-finals. Will we even end up going to Europe?
Kai Brünker threw his arms up, ran towards his teammates – and disappeared a short time later in the middle of the cheering crowd of players. After 1. FC Saarbrücken’s coup against Borussia Mönchengladbach, there was no stopping the Ludwigsparkstadion in Saarbrücken (you can read more about it here).
And the 29-year-old striker, who became a cup hero with his late winning goal and shot the third division team into the semi-finals of the DFB Cup, also broke all barriers afterwards. “I’m so proud of each and every one of them,” said the exhausted Brünker after the 2:1 (1:1). “We knocked out Bayern, Frankfurt and Gladbach and are in the semi-finals, and I’d say we also have one foot in Berlin. We only have one hurdle left to jump over. That’s crazy.”
Berlin is only one step away – Europe is only two, some Saarbrücken fans have already been heard to joke. Because it is no longer a fantasy that the third division team could actually play in the European Cup next season. Two victories and Saarbrücken travels through Europe.
However, there is a limitation. If a finalist had previously qualified for the European Cup via the Bundesliga, then the finalist automatically moved up. This rule was abolished a few years ago, and now the Europa League place from the DFB Cup goes back to the Bundesliga. The sixth place in the league then plays in the group phase, the seventh in the table has to go to the playoffs for the Conference League.
A lot of “if, thens”, but two wins and it would really be done. “It’s a miracle, but also a bit of quality. Especially if you can strike again like that at the end,” said Saarbrücken coach Rüdiger Ziehl after the Gladbach game. The third division team knows miracles – maybe two more will work.