The cup final! For one side, it’s the first of three titles up for grabs. For the other, a last shot at glory in a disappointing season.
On Saturday evening Bayern München face off against Borussia Dortmund for the DFB Cup in the Berlin Olympic Stadium. And the circumstances under which the two teams take to the pitch could hardly be more contrasting.
Worlds apart
Even the respective coaches are currently existing on separate planes. For Ottmar Hitzfeld, the “dream final” against his former club is the latest leg of his farewell tour of Germany and Europe. For his opposite number, Thomas Doll, there could be grim times ahead if Dortmund fail to pull a victory out of the bag in Berlin.
Under the circumstances, Hitzfeld and his team captain Oliver Kahn are cautioning against overconfidence against a side they dismantled 5-0 just last week.
“Even greater self-belief”
“This will be a matched marked by drama and excitement, and a quite different and difficult affair”, said Hitzfeld, while adding that in terms of his side’s mind-set, “We have even greater self-belief.”
Kahn, who is hoping for his sixth victory in seven DFB Cup finals, warned that since the 3-1 midweek win at Frankfurt, the atmosphere in training had been almost, “too laid-back and happy-go-lucky…. that’s when the alarm goes off with me. It makes things more dangerous for us.”
“Stand up and be counted”
Anything other than a victory for Bayern, who are also gunning for the league and UEFA Cup titles, would be quite a surprise. Dortmund, who as finalists have already qualified for next season’s UEFA Cup, are, by Doll’s own admission, currently “down and half out. But now, it’s time for us to stand up and be counted.”
While stressing that everyone at the club was “greatly” looking forward to the final, Doll appeared to be on something of a short leash himself at the Friday press conference in Berlin when asked about his own future.
“We’ve earned our place in Berlin”
Such matters, the 42-year-old coach said, were the last thing on his mind with a final looming. The important thing “is for us to focus on doing a lot of things better than we have been lately.” Doll added that despite the club’s disappointing form this season, “no-one is going around with their head down. We’ve earned our place in Berlin.”
BVB with goalkeeper worries
On the personnel front, Borussia will be without Philipp Degen. The defender damaged a ligament in the midweek loss to Hannover. Goalkeeper Marc Ziegler remains doubtful with a bruised knee. With Ziegler himself the stand-in for injured first-choice keeper Roman Weidenfeller, that raises the possibility of 20-year-old amateur Marcel Höttecke forming the last line of defence.
For their part, Bayern have Kahn back following a neck problem. Hitzfeld says the players want to “Lay on a well-earned farewell” for the 38-year-old goalie, who is retiring at the end of the season. The coach will make a late call on the fitness of Mark van Bommel, Miroslav Klose and Marcell Jansen, with Lukas Podolski ready to step into the void for Klose.
A highlight for Hitzfeld
Hitzfeld says the game against the club where he really made his name is “an absolute highlight. I always felt very much at home in Dortmund. It was a chapter in my life, the current one is FC Bayern. This completes the circle, as I probably won’t be a coach at any other club now.”
On the subject of sympathy for his former employers, Hitzfeld summarised: “I can’t make room for any. I’m the coach of Bayern.”
Probable line-ups:
Borussia Dortmund: Ziegler (Höttecke) - Rukavina, Hummels, Wörns, Dede - Kehl - Blaszczykowski, Kringe - Tinga - Frei, Petric
Bayern München: Kahn - Lell, Lucio, Demichelis, Lahm - Schweinsteiger, van Bommel (Ottl), Ze Roberto, Ribery - Klose (Podolski), Toni
Referee: Knut Kircher
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