Then the double. Bayer Leverkusen is heading into the unequal DFB Cup final against second division side 1. FC Kaiserslautern on Saturday (8 p.m./ARD and Sky) with frustration and a now-more-than-ever attitude. After the bitter 0:3 defeat in the Europa League final against Atalanta Bergamo, the German champions are now hoping for a glorious end to a historic season.
“If not triple, then double. We still have the chance to play the almost perfect season,” said midfield strategist Granit Xhaka after Dublin’s title dream was shattered. Coach Xabi Alonso gave the slogan: “What’s over is over. I have the feeling that our hunger has become even greater. We have to use the pain and turn it into energy.”
Xhaka is taking his team, which had been unbeaten for almost a year until last Wednesday, to task. “Now we have to see what kind of character this team really has,” said the Swiss. “Of course it’s easier when everything is going well. When you don’t lose 51 games, it’s easy to stand together and laugh. Now is the time to see which players have character and can get back up quickly.”
Lautern’s old coach Friedhelm Funkel, however, admitted before his fifth cup final: “I have never been more of an outsider than in this game.” The 70-year-old had just saved the Palatinate team from relegation, his mission on the Betzenberg has been fulfilled, he has to make way for a successor who has not yet been named. In Berlin he gets the big stage again.
New situation for the Bayer professionals
As a player for the Red Devils, Funkel fought in the cup final 43 years ago, back then in Stuttgart and not yet in Berlin. The result was a 1:3 defeat against Eintracht Frankfurt. As head coach, he lost to FC Bayern (1:2) with MSV Duisburg in 1998 and again to Munich (0:1) with Frankfurt in 2006. But: With Bayer Uerdingen, the young Funkel managed a 2:1 final victory against Bayern Munich in the Olympic Stadium in 1985. “If it was a huge surprise and sensation back then, then we need a miracle now,” he said.
The Leverkusen team expressed themselves positively; they want to show a mix of self-confidence and defiance despite the disappointment in Europe. But there have been two small glimmers of hope for the people of Lauter since Wednesday. On the one hand, this Bayer team has to deal with a defeat for the first time as the first undefeated Bundesliga champions. “We haven’t had a situation like this before,” said Xhaka.
However, sports director Simon Rolfes emphasized that his team “has often shown within the games that they can get back up again.” In addition, the strength this season “came from the disappointment of the previous ones”.
Leverkusen wants to let out the anger
But in the back of one or two professionals’ minds, fears could arise that the mood at the end of this unique season would be spoiled in the final spurt and before the celebration on Sunday in Leverkusen with up to 80,000 fans expected. “It is clear to all of us that this season has to end on a happier note,” said captain and goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky, who is allowed to play for representative Matej Kovar on Saturday despite the previous cup guarantee and thus completes his fourth cup final: “That’s why we have to do this Process the shitty feeling and let the anger out on Saturday.”
Defense chief Jonathan Tah sees it similarly. “We can’t let this one defeat ruin everything for us,” said the national player. “We have the chance to make this season even more special than it already is.” And that requires a positive attitude. “It’s about the double and the almost perfect season. We can still achieve that,” said Jonas Hofmann: “If you don’t put your full focus on it, you can’t help it.”
A “real board” awaits the FCK
The FCK can win the cup for the third time after 1990 and 1996; it would be the Palatinate team’s biggest coup since the championship triumph in 1998 as a promoted team under Otto Rehhagel. The Fritz Walter Club relies on the inspiration of its experienced trainer Funkel and the vocal power of its fans: Up to 50,000 – some without tickets – are expected in Berlin. Bayer is currently expecting 30,000 followers. The ticket quota of 23,700 tickets was quickly sold out for both.
For the outsiders’ professionals, said Lautern’s captain Jean Zimmer, playing the cup final in Berlin was – perhaps with a few exceptions – a career highlight. “I see it quite realistically. We are playing against one of the best teams in Europe. We have a real challenge waiting for us. Our chances are rather slim. But we are incredibly proud. Three years ago we were eliminated in the association cup on a village square and now we are standing “We’re in the final here.”