Daniel Baier has already experienced a lot at FC Augsburg: promotion to the Bundesliga, staying up on the last day of the season as well as Europa League games against Athletic Bilbao and FC Liverpool. But there is one thing that the 32-year-old still wants to achieve with the Fuggerstädter: Reaching the DFB Cup final in Berlin. They face a tough task this season since they must take on current champions Bayern München in the second round of the competition.
Daniel Baier spoke to DFB.de ahead of this clash on 26th October about his thoughts on the draw, special matches in the DFB Cup and how much he would love to play against his brother Benjamin.
DFB.de: What were your first thoughts after the draw?
Baier: It could be a lot easier. We’ve had pretty much on that front in recent years. After two last-16 matches against Bayern and one against Borussia Dortmund, we now face Bayern again. But in the end it’s all a lottery so you can’t complain. Our goal remains to reach the final and to do that you’ve got to get through games like this.
DFB.de: You have lost your most recent cup games, partly due to bad luck, with Bayern. But your record is better in the Bundesliga…
Baier: Definitely, we’ve won both at home and in Munich over the past few years and had we not had a very harsh penalty given against us, we would have taken a point away from the game. But that is in the past now. It’s always a completely new game in the DFB Cup, so we have to go for the win. Our aim is to reach the final in Berlin.
DFB.de: The match against Bayern will be your 29th game in the competition. Do you remember the first time you played in it?
Baier: My first game as a professional was in the DFB Cup. I was playing for 1860 München away at Schwarz-Weiß Rehden. We were a Bundesliga side and they were a division below us, so unsurprisingly we comfortably won the game 5-1. It was of course a very special match for me.
DFB.de: What have been your best moments in the DFB Cup?
Baier: Without doubt both the semi-finals I played in. I came so far in the tournament with VfL Wolfsburg in 2008 and reached the same stage with Augsburg two years later. The tension was huge. You know completely that if you win, you’ll be travelling to Berlin for the final in a few weeks time. Unfortunately we were knocked out on both occasions. When you come so close to reaching your goal but just miss out, it makes you even hungrier to reach it.
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Daniel Baier has already experienced a lot at FC Augsburg: promotion to the Bundesliga, staying up on the last day of the season as well as Europa League games against Athletic Bilbao and FC Liverpool. But there is one thing that the 32-year-old still wants to achieve with the Fuggerstädter: Reaching the DFB Cup final in Berlin. They face a tough task this season since they must take on current champions Bayern München in the second round of the competition.
Daniel Baier spoke to DFB.de ahead of this clash on 26th October about his thoughts on the draw, special matches in the DFB Cup and how much he would love to play against his brother Benjamin.
DFB.de: What were your first thoughts after the draw?
Baier: It could be a lot easier. We’ve had pretty much on that front in recent years. After two last-16 matches against Bayern and one against Borussia Dortmund, we now face Bayern again. But in the end it’s all a lottery so you can’t complain. Our goal remains to reach the final and to do that you’ve got to get through games like this.
DFB.de: You have lost your most recent cup games, partly due to bad luck, with Bayern. But your record is better in the Bundesliga…
Baier: Definitely, we’ve won both at home and in Munich over the past few years and had we not had a very harsh penalty given against us, we would have taken a point away from the game. But that is in the past now. It’s always a completely new game in the DFB Cup, so we have to go for the win. Our aim is to reach the final in Berlin.
DFB.de: The match against Bayern will be your 29th game in the competition. Do you remember the first time you played in it?
Baier: My first game as a professional was in the DFB Cup. I was playing for 1860 München away at Schwarz-Weiß Rehden. We were a Bundesliga side and they were a division below us, so unsurprisingly we comfortably won the game 5-1. It was of course a very special match for me.
DFB.de: What have been your best moments in the DFB Cup?
Baier: Without doubt both the semi-finals I played in. I came so far in the tournament with VfL Wolfsburg in 2008 and reached the same stage with Augsburg two years later. The tension was huge. You know completely that if you win, you’ll be travelling to Berlin for the final in a few weeks time. Unfortunately we were knocked out on both occasions. When you come so close to reaching your goal but just miss out, it makes you even hungrier to reach it.
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DFB.de: You have already achieved a lot with Augsburg: promotion to the Bundesliga, succeeding in a relegation battle and qualifying for the Europa League. Did you think the club would develop that much when you first arrived there in September 2008?
Baier: The way the club has come on has been phenomenal. In my first season we were fighting to stay up in the 2. Bundesliga. We were still playing at the Rosenau at the time. The new stadium then came as a result of how quickly we achieved promotion. What has also been important is that the people in charge have kept calm in times of crisis. The fact that we now regularly play against top clubs like FC Bayern didn’t happen all by itself.
DFB.de: Are matches against Bayern particularly special for you as a former 1860 player?
Baier: No, I don’t get worked up by this rivalry. It’s been such a long time since I played for 1860 and I was only there for one season, when we had the derby in the Bundesliga. Nonetheless I am looking forward to the game in Munich, partly because I have lived in the city for a long time.
DFB.de: Are you still in touch with any players in the Bayern squad?
Baier: Not really since Bastian Schweinsteiger left the club. I used to always send him a message before our games. In the current squad, I am still in touch with Holger Badstuber. We’ll see whether he will play against us. Either way, I hope that he will be able to stay injury free after all the setbacks he has had.
DFB.de: Is there anything else you still want to experience in the DFB Cup apart from your dream of making the final?
Baier: I had been hoping for us to be drawn against Rot-Weiss Essen before the season started because my younger brother Benjamin plays there. We’ve said that we want to play against each other but we’ve not had much luck with that (laughs). But maybe it will happen next season. Now our job is to do everything we can against Bayern so that we are able to reach the final.
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