All eyes are on Berlin’s Olympiastadion a week after the Bundesliga season has come to an end, as last year’s finalists Borussia Dortmund meet Eintracht Frankfurt in the DFB-Pokal final on Saturday (20:00 CEST). BVB will make their fourth consecutive appearance in the final as they look to win it for a fourth time. Eintracht’s last victory in the final came in 1988, which was their fourth DFB-Pokal won throughout their club’s history. DFB.de looks at the two finalists.
Borussia Dortmund
Personnel: Dortmund manager Thomas Tuchel’s worries ahead of the final will mostly be about Marcel Schmelzer, as the captain suffered a strain during the warm-up prior to the game against Werder Bremen. “It’ll be tight,” said Tuchel with regards to his availability for the final. Aside from that, Tuchel almost has a full squad at his disposal, with the exceptions of World Cup winner Mario Götze and Julian Weigl.
Form: Borussia Dortmund go into the game against Frankfurt on the back of a 4-3 victory against Werder Bremen that secured Tuchel’s men a third-place finish on the final day of the season, thus meaning that they will automatically qualify for the Champions League. Germany and Dortmund forward Marco Reus scored twice for BVB in the win. The reason why Dortmund were even locked in a tough battle for third came about due to two draws in the three games prior to their most recent one – a 0-0 against Köln and a 1-1 in Augsburg. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will no doubt play a part in the game if Dortmund are hoping to raise the trophy, as the Gabon striker has scored in each of their last three Bundesliga games, including a brace against Bremen. The 31 goals to his name were good enough to earn him the title of the Bundesliga’s top-scorer.
Quotes: “Securing Champions League football for next season was a high priority target,” said Tuchel after the game. “We never lost sight of this goal and for that the team and the staff deserve to be complimented.” Tuchel is eagerly awaiting their final game: “The season isn’t over yet. We can become champions in Berlin this weekend.”
Eintracht Frankfurt
Personnel: Frankfurt’s squad situation improved shortly before their final game. Jesus Vallejo celebrated a comeback from injury by playing 30 minutes against RB Leipzig, scoring his first goal for SGE in the process. It remains to be seen whether the Spaniard will start in Berlin. In addition, captain Alexander Meier came on to the field for Frankfurt for the first time since March 18th, and should see some minutes against Dortmund. Omar Mascarell, Slobodan Medojevic, Marc Stendera, and Makoto Hasebe are all still injured and will not be fit to play in the final on Saturday.
Form: Eintracht came away with a point against second-placed RB Leipzig on the final day of the Bundesliga season, coming off the back of three losses in a row. Manager Niko Kovac’s side found themselves 2-0 down, but salvaged a result and some momentum thanks to goals from substitute Vallejo (83’) and Danny Blum (90’). The draw meant that Frankfurt finished 11th in the table.
Quotes: Manager Niko Kovac is confident ahead of the climax of their season: “We want to keep the game open for as long as possible and make life difficult for Dortmund.” In order to do so, SGE will have to be “physical, aggressive, and play to the best of their ability.” Returning from injury, Meier said that “it’s better to go into the final having won rather than lost. We’ll prepare ourselves for the game as usual and are totally focused on what’s ahead of us. Berlin is something special for all of us. On top of this, his injury seems to no longer be an issue: “It was important for me to get a feel for playing in a game again. I wasn’t in any pain.” Bastian Oczipka is looking forward to Berlin just as much: “Next week’s game is definitely a highlight. I’d be ready to play tomorrow. We’re all raring to go and can hardly wait.”
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All eyes are on Berlin’s Olympiastadion a week after the Bundesliga season has come to an end, as last year’s finalists Borussia Dortmund meet Eintracht Frankfurt in the DFB-Pokal final on Saturday (20:00 CEST). BVB will make their fourth consecutive appearance in the final as they look to win it for a fourth time. Eintracht’s last victory in the final came in 1988, which was their fourth DFB-Pokal won throughout their club’s history. DFB.de looks at the two finalists.
Borussia Dortmund
Personnel: Dortmund manager Thomas Tuchel’s worries ahead of the final will mostly be about Marcel Schmelzer, as the captain suffered a strain during the warm-up prior to the game against Werder Bremen. “It’ll be tight,” said Tuchel with regards to his availability for the final. Aside from that, Tuchel almost has a full squad at his disposal, with the exceptions of World Cup winner Mario Götze and Julian Weigl.
Form: Borussia Dortmund go into the game against Frankfurt on the back of a 4-3 victory against Werder Bremen that secured Tuchel’s men a third-place finish on the final day of the season, thus meaning that they will automatically qualify for the Champions League. Germany and Dortmund forward Marco Reus scored twice for BVB in the win. The reason why Dortmund were even locked in a tough battle for third came about due to two draws in the three games prior to their most recent one – a 0-0 against Köln and a 1-1 in Augsburg. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will no doubt play a part in the game if Dortmund are hoping to raise the trophy, as the Gabon striker has scored in each of their last three Bundesliga games, including a brace against Bremen. The 31 goals to his name were good enough to earn him the title of the Bundesliga’s top-scorer.
Quotes: “Securing Champions League football for next season was a high priority target,” said Tuchel after the game. “We never lost sight of this goal and for that the team and the staff deserve to be complimented.” Tuchel is eagerly awaiting their final game: “The season isn’t over yet. We can become champions in Berlin this weekend.”
Eintracht Frankfurt
Personnel: Frankfurt’s squad situation improved shortly before their final game. Jesus Vallejo celebrated a comeback from injury by playing 30 minutes against RB Leipzig, scoring his first goal for SGE in the process. It remains to be seen whether the Spaniard will start in Berlin. In addition, captain Alexander Meier came on to the field for Frankfurt for the first time since March 18th, and should see some minutes against Dortmund. Omar Mascarell, Slobodan Medojevic, Marc Stendera, and Makoto Hasebe are all still injured and will not be fit to play in the final on Saturday.
Form: Eintracht came away with a point against second-placed RB Leipzig on the final day of the Bundesliga season, coming off the back of three losses in a row. Manager Niko Kovac’s side found themselves 2-0 down, but salvaged a result and some momentum thanks to goals from substitute Vallejo (83’) and Danny Blum (90’). The draw meant that Frankfurt finished 11th in the table.
Quotes: Manager Niko Kovac is confident ahead of the climax of their season: “We want to keep the game open for as long as possible and make life difficult for Dortmund.” In order to do so, SGE will have to be “physical, aggressive, and play to the best of their ability.” Returning from injury, Meier said that “it’s better to go into the final having won rather than lost. We’ll prepare ourselves for the game as usual and are totally focused on what’s ahead of us. Berlin is something special for all of us. On top of this, his injury seems to no longer be an issue: “It was important for me to get a feel for playing in a game again. I wasn’t in any pain.” Bastian Oczipka is looking forward to Berlin just as much: “Next week’s game is definitely a highlight. I’d be ready to play tomorrow. We’re all raring to go and can hardly wait.”
