DFB-Pokal, 1st round: Rot-Weiss Erfurt 3 - 4 FC Bayern München

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German Cup 1st round
Holders Bayern handed Rot-Weiß Erfurt task

Bayern have been handed a trip to Thuringia and a tricky tie against third division Rot-Weiß Erfurt in Sunday’s draw for the first round of the 2008-9 DFB German Cup. The match will be played in the fixture window between 7 and 10 August.

“Excellent, it’s a chance to go and play in the former east Germany,” commented Jürgen Klinsmann following the draw made by 2011 Women’s World Cup Organising Committee president Steffi Jones. The new FCB boss warned his men not to underestimate Erfurt. “Rot-Weiß play in the lower leagues, but teams like that are always good for an upset. However, we’ll never pretend we’re not favourites.“

Spectre of Burghausen

Rot-Weiß finished seventh in the third division north last season, comfortably qualifying for the newly-established national third division this term. The team coached by former pro Karsten Baumann, once of FC Köln and Borussia Dortmund, meet the Bayern reserves in the new league on 15 or 16 November.

Mark van Bommel’s initial reaction to the draw was to recall last season’s travails against Burghausen, where Bayern came within one penalty of an embarrassing exit at the first hurdle. “Erfurt are another of the teams for whom the first round of the Cup will be the match of the season. I hope it’s less nerve-shredding for us and for our fans this time,” Van Bommel grimaced.

Steigerwaldstadion named as venue

Klinsmann and his men are certain to face a baying full house at the 17,500 capacity Steigerwaldstadion, in a useful warm-up for the Bundesliga opener at home to Hamburg the following week. “It could have been worse, and it could have been easier,” declared Michael Rensing. “I think we’re well advised to concentrate 100 percent when we go there. We’re the holders, and we want to go as far as possible again this season.“

The second round of the Cup will be played on 23/24 September 2008, with the third round on 27/28 January 2009. The quarter-finals take place on 3/4 March 2009, the semi-finals on 21/22 April 2009, and the Final on 30 May 2009 in Berlin.

DFB German Cup 1st round draw:
(Clubs outside first and second divisions automatically drawn at home)

Rot-Weiß Erfurt - Bayern Munich
FC Ingolstadt - Hamburger SV
FC Heidenheim - VfL Wolfsburg
FC Wegberg-Beeck - Alemannia Aachen
Rot-Weiss Ahlen - FC Nürnberg
Hansa Lüneburg - VfB Stuttgart
Chemnitz - TSG Hoffenheim
SC Paderborn - FC Augsburg
Eintracht Trier - Hertha BSC Berlin
FSV Frankfurt - VfL Osnabrück
Offenbacher Kickers - Greuther Fürth
VfB Fichte-Bielefeld - Borussia Mönchengladbach
SV Darmstadt 98 - SV Wehen-Wiesbaden
TSG Neustrelitz - TSV 1860 München
ASV Durlach - Arminia Bielefeld
Hallescher FC - Hannover 96
Rot-Weiss Essen - Borussia Dortmund
Rot-Weiß Oberhausen - Bayer Leverkusen
FC Erzgebirge Aue - FC St. Pauli
FC Oberneuland Bremen - TuS Koblenz
SC Preußen Münster - VfL Bochum
SV Babelsberg 03 - FSV Mainz 05
Holstein Kiel - Hansa Rostock
Carl Zeiss Jena - Kaiserslautern
Unterhaching - SC Freiburg
Tennis Borussia Berlin - Energie Cottbus
ASV Bergedorf - MSV Duisburg
SpVgg Ansbach - Karlsruher SC
SC Pfullendorf - Eintracht Frankfurt
FC Homburg - Schalke 04
SV Niederauerbach - FC Köln
Eintracht Nordhorn - Werder Bremen

Cup holders Bayern handed Rot-Weiß Erfurt task

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ERFURT PONDER STADIUM SWITCH

German third division side Rot-Weiss Erfurt are considering switching venues for their DFB-Pokal first-round clash with giants Bayern Munich.

The minnows have been drawn at home against the Bundesliga champions but may opt to cash in by playing the fixture in nearby Leipzig.

"The World Cup Stadion would provide great conditions," Erfurt general manager Stephan Beutel told Sport Bild magazine.

"This possibility has been presented to us and we now have to decide on it internally."

Erfurt's Steigerwald Stadion holds 19,000 spectators whereas the arena in Leipzig, which was built for the 2006 World Cup, would offer 45,000 seats.

Moving the fixture 93 miles further east would not only boost finances, but Beutel is also keen to show Germany what his team can do.

"We are all delighted about Bayern," he said. "We have nothing to lose against the best team in Germany and we want to play a good game and present ourselves well."

SportingLife.com

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The match will be played in Erfurt, however.

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ERFURT TO KEEP HOME ADVANTAGE

German third-tier outfit Rot-Weiss Erfurt have decided against switching venues for their home DFB-Pokal first-round tie with Bayern Munich.

Erfurt had toyed with the idea of moving the fixture to Leipzig's Zentralstadion, 90 miles away, which would have allowed up to 44,300 fans to watch the reigning Bundesliga champions in action.

However, Erfurt have decided to keep the fixture at their own 19,400-capacity Steigerwald Stadion after meeting with resistance from fans to the proposed switch.

"It was a tough decision, but in the end the emotions of a whole region made the difference," Erfurt's general manager Stephan Beutel told fcbayern.de.

The club's vice-president Detlef Goss added: "The decision to stay in Erfurt came from the heart.

"The fans would not like to travel to Leipzig and if we are to have any chance of beating Bayern, then it would be here in Erfurt and we want to take that chance."

The first round of DFB-Pokal matches take place on August 8 and 9.

SportingLife.com

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The DFB has set the kick-off date and time for the first round Cup match: 10 August 2008, at 20.30h.

Good news is that ZDF will televise the match live, and for free.

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Great .. I Have ZDF Channel In My TV .. But The Problem That I Cannot Understand The Language
Most Important That we can see it live on free channel

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Who cares about the language man..

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Who cares about the language man

Lol :P yes who cares .. we Just want to watch FC BAYERN

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Rot-Weiß Erfurt - Hannover 96 0:0

They Draw In Freindly Match Against Hannover Today ...

[Tomori]

The DFB-Pokal is the most unpredictable competition. The lower the division a team is from, the hardest to beat. Hopefully Bayern beats the crap our of this team , whatever it's name is.

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Well, it's hard to beat them, because they give their maximum in those matches.

[Tomori]

Yeah, I guess they prepare for this match the whole year. It's their only chance to shine.

[Vargas_4]

The players, coaches and officials all looked smarter than smart in their new Hugo Boss outfits on Thursday. This year’s formal collection will get its first public showing when Bayern travel to face Erfurt in the Cup on Sunday, but one or two of the men modelling the gear may be slightly unfamiliar to all but truly die-hard fans.

Jürgen Klinsmann saw the total of stars unavailable for the first competitive fixture of the new term rise to eight on Thursday. “It’s too early for Luca,” the head coach announced, as the Italian conceded defeat in his battle to recover from a calf problem. The other definite non-starters are Franck Ribéry (ankle ligaments), Martin Demichelis (calf), Willy Sagnol (Achilles), Hans Jörg Butt (sprain), Tim Borowski (knee), Jose Sosa and Breno (both at the Olympics).

Determined to win

Klinsmann refused to be ruffled despite the long injury list ahead of the meeting with the third division side. “The large number of injuries is uncomfortable,” the Bayern boss acknowledged, “but we’re not under pressure and we’ll make the best of the situation. We’re still looking to get the result we want.“

The Cup holders are clearly determined to win in Erfurt, although the injury roster means the coach lacks options in terms of his formation. “I can’t play 3-5-2 without Demichelis,” advised Klinsmann. The coach has experimented with the formation in pre-season as an alternative to the preferred 4-4-2.

Help from the reserves

Klinsmann is in no danger of not fielding a full squad, however, as talented reserves Thomas Müller, Holger Badstuber and Deniz Yilmaz are poised to help out in Erfurt. Furthermore, Bastian Schweinsteiger played a full part in Thursday training after shaking off a dose of the flu.

Toni loses race to be fit for Cup clash

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Shock defeats and a record victory

"The magic of the Cup," is a phrase often heard when the minnows hand out a shock defeat to one of the established names. The DFB German Cup, featuring seeded early rounds and guaranteeing lower division sides a crack at the big boys, has traditionally thrown up a clutch of surprise results. Even mighty Bayern have not been immune to a Cup upset or two over the years. fcbayern.de has been looking back at the 13-times Cup winners' highs and lows in the competition, uncovering one or two unwelcome memories.

4 August 1990: FV 09 Weinheim 1 Bayern 0
Munich fell embarrassingly to Weinheim in the 1990-91 first round proper as the fourth division amateurs handed their star opponents a 1-0 defeat. The man with his name in lights was Thomas "Schwechi" Schwechheimer, scorer of the decisive spot-kick past keeper Raimond Aumann.

17 August 1991: Bayern 2 FC Homburg 4 (aet)
Bayern set out the following season bent on revenge as second division Homburg visited the Olympic stadium. With the home support in full voice, no-one expected the Saarland outfit to pose insurmountable problems, but the Reds fell flat on their faces for the second season in a row. A closely-fought match went into extra time before the home side trudged off smarting from a 4-2 defeat. Brazil star Mazinho claimed a brace for the Bavarians.

14 August 1994: TSV Vestenbergsgreuth 1 Bayern 0
Two seasons later, early in the 1994-5 campaign, Bayern and new boss Giovanni Trapattoni travelled to the Nuremberg Frankenstadion, not to face their Bavarian arch-rivals but rather the minnows of TSV Vestenbergsgreuth. The lower division men humbled the world-class ensemble from the state capital as observers at the game detected no genuine difference in class between the teams. Roland Stein's winner saw the Bavarian regional league outfit safely through to the second round.

1 November 2000 – 1 FC Magdeburg 5 Bayern 3 (aet)
The last Cup upset at the hands of a lower league outfit hit Bayern in the 2000-2001 season. The Cup holders, away to third division Magdeburg in front of a sell-out 26,000 crowd at the Ernst Grube Stadium, came under pressure early on and fell behind in the 66th minute to an Adolphus Ofodile strike. Hasan Salihamidzic scored the equaliser shortly after coming on as a substitute, sending the game into extra time With no further goals in the additional 30 minutes, the game went to penalties. Magdeburg keeper Miroslav Dreszer was in outstanding form, saving penalties from Jens Jeremies and Giovane Elber to seal a shock 5-3 triumph for Magdeburg. The bitter and embarrassing defeat was Bayern's fourth in ten years against rank outsiders in the early stages of the Cup.

Record victory against Waldberg

As well as these setbacks, the Reds have chalked up a number of clear-cut victories in the Cup first round proper, including a 10-1 success against SV Östringen (25 August 1979), 8-0 against SC Jülich (29 August 1981) and an 11-2 romp against second division Blau-Weiß Berlin (6 August 1988).

The ultimate misfortune befell sorry DJK Wallberg, who must still be shuddering with horror at the memory of their Cup tie against the men from Munich on 18 August 1997. After 90 one-sided minutes, the score stood at 16-1 for Bayern, still the men from Munich’s record margin of victory in the DFB German Cup.

Cup memories: Shock defeats and a record victory

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'We’re Bayern, so we’re favourites’

The gruelling pre-season period comes to an end on Sunday when Bayern contest the first official fixture of the new campaign. “You sense we’re looking forward to it,” reported Jürgen Klinsmann ahead of his first competitive match in charge, although the coach had a warning for his men: “We’ll be measured on results from now on.“ Rot-Weiß Erfurt provide the opposition in the first round of the DFB German Cup, evoking memories of FCB’s almighty scare away to Burghausen at the same stage last term.

“We want to avoid the drama we went through in Burghausen,” Klinsmann admonished. Munich were one penalty kick away from elimination to the third division side a year ago. “We’ve been warned,” insisted Philipp Lahm, “we know what’s at stake.“

Professional preparation

Bayern are taking Sunday’s match extremely seriously. “We’ve approached it professionally. We’ve done our homework,” said Klinsmann, who sent Michael Henke to observe Erfurt in third tier league action. “They have three or four very good individuals,” reported Miroslav Klose after viewing the minnows on DVD.

Bayern would travel to the Thuringia state capital “with lots of respect“, Klinsmann remarked. Nevertheless, declared Hamit Altintop, “we’re Bayern, so we’re favourites, and we’ll play like favourites.” Lahm agreed: “I’m assuming we’ll wrap it up in 90 minutes.“

High tempo and taking risks

The 13-times winners know the home side will emulate Burghausen and make life as difficult as possible. “It won’t be easy. Erfurt know full well how to beat a team like Bayern,” warned Franz Beckenbauer. Erfurt boss Karsten Baumann watched Munich’s defeat to Inter at the Allianz Arena, and his side is likely to adopt the ultra-defensive stance successfully deployed by Jose Mourinho last week.

Klinsmann called on his team to break down the home team “with even faster passing. We need to try our luck in one-on-one situations and use the wings.“ Klose hoped for “more courageous balls through the middle“ than against Inter, although it is highly unlikely to be a smooth ride on Sunday. “You can’t expect it all to work perfectly yet. It wouldn’t be normal,” argued Lahm.

Eight stars sidelined

Klinsmann feels his men will effectively still be in pre-season shape until early September. Apart from the late arrivals caused by Euro 2008 call-ups, meaning some of the players have only been training for three weeks, the club is struggling with a host of absentees.

Eight seniors are unavailable to Klinsmann in Erfurt: Luca Toni, Franck Ribéry, Martin Demichelis, Willy Sagnol, Hans Jörg Butt and Tim Borowski are injured, with José Ernesto Sosa and Breno away at the Olympics. Reserves Deniz Yilmaz, Thomas Müller and Holger Badstuber will ensure the Bavarians field a full matchday squad on Sunday.

Erfurt keeper prepared

The lower league outfit are naturally hoping to cause a major upset. “We’ll give it everything against Bayern,” promised coach Baumann, “it’s perfectly possible to beat them – although that can only happen if we have a very good day and they have a stinker.“

Rot-Weiß keeper Dirk Orlishausen has been informed about Bayern’s penalty-taking preferences by assistant coach Heiko Nowak. “I’ve made a mental note of it. We want to do better than Burghausen last year,“ the shot-stopper observed.

Cup preview: 'We’re Bayern, so we’re favourites’

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Bayern will face Rot-Weiss without 8 players

Toni (Wade), Ribéry (Syndesmoseband), Demichelis (Unterschenkel), Borowski (Knie), Sagnol (Achillessehne), Butt (Muskelverletzung), Sosa und Breno (beide bei Olympia).

My Possible line up for today :

Rensing; Lell, Van Buyten, Lucio, Lahm; van Bommel, Zé Roberto, Altintop, Kroos; Klose, Podolski