The DFB Cup is when even Arminia Bielefeld sets records. When a fourth division team advertises condoms. And if a player is his coach’s superior – everything you need to know about Tuesday’s games in the second round of the DFB Cup.
FC Homburg – SpVgg Greuther Fürth (Tuesday, 6 p.m.)
FC Homburg used to be a Bundesliga soccer team in the late 1980s. The club would have liked to advertise a condom manufacturer on the jerseys, but the DFB didn’t think that was funny at all. Homburg had to cover up the advertising – and was later proven right. The Frankfurt am Main regional court ruled that the advertising did not violate morals and customs.
As a regional league team, Homburg is now a long way from the big football stage, at least in normal weeks. But this week is not a normal one for the club. He’s being talked about a lot again right now. In the DFB Cup, coach Danny Schwarz’s team eliminated first division team Darmstadt in the first round, and now second division team Fürth awaits on Tuesday (October 31, 2023, from 6 p.m. in the audio live stream).
In Homburg they thought about something. Coach Schwarz has a plan, but of course he would rather not reveal it. He still gave an interview to the “Fussball.de” portal. He said: “We have to defend compactly, consistently and disgustingly.” His employer also has a plan, and it came together before the game. During the game against Fürth, FC Homburg advertised the “Billy Boy” condom brand on its sleeve, and not even the DFB had anything against it.
FC St. Pauli – FC Schalke 04 (Tuesday, 6 p.m.)
A few weeks ago both clubs met once, that was in the 2nd Bundesliga, FC St. Pauli won 3-1 against Schalke 04 in their own stadium. Since then, St. Pauli has won very often and they are first in the table there . Schalke has very rarely won, which is one of the reasons why the coach is no longer called Thomas Reis. His name is now Karel Geraerts.
Fabian Hürzeler, the coach of FC St. Pauli, has no such problems; his record in Hamburg is impressive. He may be more concerned about preparing for the game before the DFB Cup game on Tuesday (October 31, 2023, from 6 p.m. in the audio live stream). Schalke, Hürzeler observed, have changed the way they play under the new coach. He said: “We expect them to be more defensive, wait and see and then counterattack.”
VfB Stuttgart – 1 FC Union Berlin (Tuesday, 6 p.m.)
Times are changing, and who in football would know that better than the Bundesliga clubs VfB Stuttgart and 1. FC Union? At the end of last season, the Berliners qualified for the Champions League, while the Swabians only managed to stay in the league through relegation. Now Stuttgart are a surprise team and third, Union have lost ten competitive games in a row and are a club in crisis.
Urs Fischer has been the coach of 1. FC Union since 2018. He has often had success, but this season he has not had one. “We’ve experienced great things in the last few years, now it’s really storming”said Fischer. The question now is how storm-tested they are in Berlin-Köpenick. Whether the successful coach Fischer can also handle crises? The DFB Cup game at VfB Stuttgart on Tuesday (October 31, 2023, from 6 p.m. in the audio live stream) could provide the first indications.
VfL Wolfsburg – RB Leipzig (Tuesday, 6 p.m.)
It will be the sixth DFB Cup game between the two teams, but they could probably have done without it in Wolfsburg. Leipzig is something of a feared opponent for Wolfsburg; the club has only won one of the last twelve direct duels. And then there is also the DFB Cup, where VfL prevailed against RB for the first time. That was in March 2015 and Wolfsburg was a top German team, even runner-up in the end. Leipzig was a second division team, those were the times.
VfL Wolfsburg is not a top team at the moment, and coach Niko Kovac knows that too. Before the home game against Leipzig on Tuesday (October 31, 2023, from 6 p.m. in the audio live stream), the trainer Kovac even gave the philosopher. He said: “You can’t see the vastness somewhere in the distance, because that’s far too far away.” Well then.
Arminia Bielefeld – Hamburger SV (Tuesday, 8:45 p.m.)
In the first round, Arminia defeated the first division team VfL Bochum, and that was of course a surprise and somehow not. The decision was made on penalties, something they are proven experts in Bielefeld. For the seventh time in a row, the club won such a clash in the DFB Cup, something no other club has ever achieved.
They would probably have no objection to a penalty shootout against HSV in round two on Tuesday evening (October 31, 2023, from 8:45 p.m. in the audio live stream) in Bielefeld. Not against the continued existence of another series. East Westphalia won the last three competitive games. Coach Michél Kniat, who everyone in Bielefeld calls “Mitch,” says: “We don’t see this game as a bonus game. We want to win and advance.”
SpVgg Unterhaching – Fortuna Düsseldorf (Tuesday, 8.45 p.m.)
In the 3rd league, SpVgg Unterhaching is tenth in the table, which is not a bad position for a promoted team. The success obviously has to do with the work of coach Marc Unterberger, but certainly also with the work of the sports director. At Unterhaching his name is Markus Schwabl, he is the son of President Manfred Schwabl and he also has another job.
Schwabl is also the right-back at the Munich suburban club – and that’s a really interesting constellation. Where else is a footballer the boss of his coach? Schwabl will probably defend again in the DFB Cup on Tuesday evening (October 31, 2023, from 8:45 p.m. in the audio live stream), he actually always plays.
Josef Welzmüller could also play, he is a defender and has just made his comeback after a long injury. Welzmüller is also technical director. Another footballer with a leadership figure, at SpVgg Unterhaching that’s a thing.
Borussia Mönchengladbach – 1. FC Heidenheim (Tuesday, 8.45 p.m.)
The shared history of Gladbach and Heidenheim celebrated its anniversary a few days ago. Twelve years ago, on October 25, 2011, the two teams met for the first time. After 120 minutes, no goals had been scored in the DFB Cup, the decision was made on penalties. Marc-André ter Stegen was in the Borussia goal and saved two Heidenheim shots.
Last weekend we saw each other again, only without ter Stegen. Heidenheim was an outsider again, but no longer a third division team. They met in the Bundesliga, Borussia also won this game. The Heidenheimers didn’t even go home afterwards.
On Tuesday evening (October 31, 2023, from 8:45 p.m. in the audio live stream) they will play again in Gladbach, this time in the DFB Cup. The trainer Frank Schmidt says: “We have to defend ourselves.” And maybe we’ll get our first win against Borussia Mönchengladbach.
1. FC Kaiserslautern – 1. FC Cologne (Tuesday, 8:45 p.m.)
Breathe a sigh of relief in Kaiserslautern: FCK had a favorite opponent for many years, 1. FC Köln. Kaiserslautern has not won more often against any other team in the Bundesliga. Both teams haven’t played against each other in the first league for a long time and they’ve lost sight of each other a little. Kaiserslautern and Cologne last met in the 2nd league in March 2014 and no goals were scored. It’s been a long time.
Before the reunion in the DFB Cup on Tuesday evening (October 31, 2023, from 8:45 p.m. in the audio live stream), the class affiliation speaks for the first division team from Cologne, the form for the second division team Kaiserslautern. The “Red Devils” are sixth in the table, only three points separate them from third place in the relegation zone, currently underway.
You’ve rarely read that about FC lately: only four points, 17th place. Maybe an evening like this in the cup is just right. The trainer Steffen Baumgart says: “We want to move forward with all our might.”