For the Hamburg regional football club FC Teutonia 05 Ottensen, the first round game in the DFB Cup against defending champions RB Leipzig is the biggest game in the club’s history. The downside: It will take place on Tuesday evening with an opponent who already seems overpowered.
There has certainly been no shortage of frustrating messages in the past few weeks. Only a few days ago, Teutonia lost its fifth venue because unknown persons had carried out a poison attack on the pitch of the Paul Greifzu Stadium in Dessau. In the city, 400 kilometers from Hamburg, the regional league team wanted to play their first round game in the DFB Cup against the defending champion. So now, as an absolute emergency option, on Tuesday evening (8:46 p.m., in the live center on NDR.de) the 47,000-seat opponent’s arena – a cup game in Leipzig.
“For us, it’s the greatest game in history.”
— Liborio Mazzagatti, President of Teutonia
With the underdog they have come to terms with it. There is even anticipation that they will be able to play a competitive game in such a large stadium. “We now have to detach ourselves from what happened and just look forward to the game in sporting terms,” said President Liborio Mazzagatti in an interview with NDR. “This is the current cup winner and Champions League participant – you can only enjoy the game there. Go in without pressure, just enjoy football and then just make Hamburg proud.”
As tiny as the chance of a miracle may be, everyone in the fourth division has the dream of it, including coach David Bergner. “We should have a sensational day and hope that RB Leipzig doesn’t have such a good day. But we don’t just want to enjoy the game, we also want to use one or the other opportunity that we get,” said the 48-year-old, who once played for Sachsen Leipzig and later was also a coach at RB Leipzig II.
He welcomes the move to the RB Arena: “It’s the best solution for the club because we really want to play the game now. And for the boys it’s a great experience to play in such a big stadium. They want to be there do everything you can.”
St. Pauli did not want to make the Millerntor Stadium available
The last league games in 2019 took place in front of around 70 fans on the local sports field at the Kreuzkirche. After promotion to the regional league, the club moved to the Hoheluft stadium. But there is artificial turf there that is not approved for DFB Cup games. Inquiries in Lübeck and Norderstedt were unsuccessful because the floodlights there are not sufficient.
The stadiums of Hamburg’s second division teams are oversized, and FC St. Pauli in particular didn’t want to offer a stage to RB Leipzig, but neither did Teutonia, in which the entry of the Russian oil company Lukoil had made new dimensions possible. After the invasion of Ukraine, the club from Ottensen distanced itself from the sponsor.
Teutonia players look forward to a great arena experience
After the tiresome search for a venue, the Teutonia players are already looking forward to the game of their lives: “Of course, the focus is now on the stadium. Being able to play in the big hut there. We hope that many spectators will come – simply the atmosphere enjoy,” said attacker Maik Lukowicz. Teammate Kevin Weidlich said: “We play the way everyone else plays, without pressure.”
“They cook with the same water. And who knows, anything can happen in football. We’re definitely not going there to get shot.”
— Kevin Weidlich of Teutonia Ottensen
Leipzig coach Tedesco criticizes dealing with Teutonia
Leipzig coach Domenico Tedesco found clear words about the opponent’s search for a venue. “We can play at home now, but that’s not the point. We would have liked to play away, as it should be in the first round of the cup,” said the 36-year-old. “Teutonia got the wrong guy. They didn’t get a place in Hamburg. Of course you can now go through the individual clubs, who said, no, not on principle. And then a small club books a hotel in Dessau and stays up sitting on the money. It’s actually a crazy story.”
Possible lineups:
Teutonia Ottensen: Zummack – Weidlich, Olayisoye, Jesgarzewski, Lopes – Steinwender, Siala, Istefo – Meyer, Berisha – Lukowicz
RB Leipzig: Blaswich – Simakan, Orban, Gvardiol – Henrichs, Schlager, Raum – Szoboszlai, Forsberg – Silva, Nkunku
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Hamburg Journal | 08/29/2022 | 19:30 o’clock
