Rare feat
© Imago
When the DFB Cup final between Arminia Bielefeld and VfB Stuttgart rises on Saturday (8 p.m.), three players have the chance to follow in the footsteps of Willi Neuberger. DSC professional Joel Grodowski (27) as well as the VfB duo Finn Jeltsch (18) and Jacob Bruun Larsen (26) could be on the pitch and win the title, even though they previously left the competition.
Grodowski flew out of the cup in the 1st round in the service of Prussia Münster – 0: 5 against the Stuttgart. At the end of January he was drawn to the Arminia, with which he could now take revenge. For Jeltsch, the 1st FC Nürnberg ended in the 2nd round against TSG Hoffenheim (1: 2) and Bruun Larsen, who failed in the round of 16 at VfL Wolfsburg (0: 3). In winter, both moved to VfB, with which they are now the title favorites.
To date, the feat of Bundesliga legends Neuberger. In 1974/75, the defender with the Wuppertaler SV left the 1st round at SV Darmstadt 98 (1: 2), two months later the move to Eintracht Frankfurt took place. He completed every minute for the SBU until the title win, in the final the MSV Duisburg was narrowly defeated 1-0. It was the second triumph in a row for the SGE.
Another sextet was also able to win the DFB Cup after an early end, but was not on the pitch itself. Jürgen Rische was in 1996 in the contingent of the 1st FC Kaiserslautern against the KSC (1-0), but the striker, previously obliged by VfB Leipzig in winter, was not used. Six years earlier, Bjarne Goldbaek had won the trophy with the FCK after the end, but was no longer in the squad after the quarter -finals.
Dirk Weetendorf belonged to Werder Bremen’s winning team in 1999, who was only in the squad in the semi -finals. Previously, the striker had left HSV as a bank player in the round of 16. Petar Jelic (2006/07) and Marinus Best (1993/94) share the same fate. Both were loaned in the first half of the season and returned to their regular clubs 1. FC Nürnberg or Werder, who won the DFB Cup in winter. The duo was not even in the squad.
Uwe Stöver is a special case. In 1992/93 today’s Wiesbaden sports director flew in the 1st round with the Leverkusen amateurs from the DFB Cup, in the semi-finals he was on the pitch for 90 minutes for the Bayer professionals. In the final, however, he was outside.
