As president and financier, Hartmut Ostermann is hoping for another coup for his 1. FC Saarbrücken in the DFB Cup in order to eventually leave the 3rd football league behind.
“A return move would enable us to invest in the infrastructure, which is certainly the best way to get into the second division in the long term,” said the 72-year-old entrepreneur before the outsider’s quarter-final game against Borussia Mönchengladbach on Wednesday (8.45 p.m./ZDF and Sky) from the German Press Agency.
Make the fans happy
The Saarlanders had previously thrown FC Bayern Munich and Eintracht Frankfurt out of the competition. “The last semi-final in 2020 was a blessing for us because we were able to limit our losses from the Corona period. The team was a close-knit bunch, we were promoted to the 3rd league back then,” said Ostermann with reference on the successes of the FCS at the time, which only missed the cup final with the defeat against Bayer Leverkusen.
The DFB has already given around 1.72 million euros to the quarter-final participants. The four semi-finalists will receive 3.45 million euros, which is a sum of enormous value, especially for Saarbrücken.
“We are the blatant underdogs, as it cannot be assumed that Gladbach underestimates us. But like against Bayern or Frankfurt, there are days when you outgrow yourself,” said Ostermann before Saarbrücken’s next cup hit in the sold-out Ludwigsparkstadion.
“We try to make our fans happy year after year. We succeeded in the cup, and at some point it should work in the league too.” However, coach Rüdiger Ziehl’s team is currently only in 12th place in the table.
