Scene from the last meeting between Union and Stuttgart on April 1st, 2023: Aissa Laidouni (r) fights against Hiroki Ito for the ball Photo: dpa-Bildfunk
From BZ/dpa
FC Union has to travel in the second round of the DFB Cup, second division Hertha has a Bundesliga team as guests.
Shkodran Mustafi, world champion in 2014, drew the pairings on Sunday at the German Football Museum in Dortmund.
► The Köpenickers have to go to the current second place in the Bundesliga, VfB Stuttgart. A difficult lot.
“In Stuttgart we are facing a strong opponent. They have a long and successful tradition in the cup and have also started the current season strongly. We are expecting a difficult away game and, as always, we will have to prepare very well to master this task successfully,” said Oliver Ruhnert, Union managing director.
► Hertha is host to the current Bundesliga bottom team FSV Mainz 05.
“Mainz is a great opponent. We are happy to be able to play against a Bundesliga team at home,” said Hertha coach Pal Dardai. “You can certainly smile about the fact that we can now see our ex-captain Marco Richter again in the Olympic Stadium.”
The second round will take place on October 31st and November 1st, the final in the Berlin Olympic Stadium is scheduled for May 25th, 2024.
Union moved into the second round with a clear 4-0 win over the southwest regional league team FC Astoria Walldorf, while Hertha won 5-0 at the northeast regional league team Carl Zeiss Jena.