After both Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund were eliminated from the UEFA Champions League last week, they still have a chance to claim cup glory this season in the DFB-Pokal. Both teams want to join Eintracht Frankfurt in final.
Last year, the Bavarians edged the Ruhr side to win the trophy after a penalty shoot-out. This time, Thomas Tuchel’s team will want to take their revenge and win a title after four losses in the final since 2012.
In Munich, everyone was convinced that the team could win the Champions League this year. But plagued by injuries, dominated by Real Madrid, and being subjected to mistakes from the referee, the dream was over. On Wednesday evening, at the Allianz Arena, the goal is simple - to go to Berlin in order to complete yet another double.
Though if they repeat the same mistakes as against 1. FSV Mainz 05 last Saturday, it might be difficult. Bayern have only won one of their last six games, and will have to be extremely careful of another defeat. Reproducing another low-level performance would be problematic against a determined Dortmund side.
After the last few weeks and the difficult times they went through, Borussia Dortmund just want to move forward. Despite the elimination in Monaco, they quickly bounced-back by defeating Borussia Mönchengladbach with a last-minute goal.
This factor could be extremely precious in the battle to beat Bayern Munich, as both a mentality and physically good performance are required to be successful against them. The Schwarzgelben will undoubtedly give their best to reach Berlin once again, and finally win something after many close calls.
Carlo Ancelotti wants to go to Olympiastadion
The Italian manager spoke to the press ahead of the semi-final and outlined the desire of his team: “The cup is very important, we want to get to Berlin and we need to win." Though he did not forget to warn everyone of their opponents, “Dortmund are a very dangerous team.”
Then, the head coach showed his determination: "We are ready. Tomorrow is an important game - everyone is fit."
Thomas Tuchel confident in spite of the last defeat in Munich
Dortmund’s head coach faced the press on Tuesday afternoon where he didn’t hesitate to show the motivation of the away side: “This is a big dream for us. We want to get there again – and we want to win when we get there. But in order to do that we have to overcome the biggest hurdle there is.”
Following that, he expressed his feelings about what happened to the club since the start of April, such as the 4-1 defeat and the attack on the team bus: “We didn’t have any chances then. However, this 8th April feels like ages ago. They haven’t had the results that they are used to."
He added, "There is a different set of cards in the table now. We have a few key players back compared to when we played them in the league, we have been and have learned our lesson”. Especially the young players who never played there did it according to the him."
Moreover, the momentum seems to be on their side if we are believing the coach.
Few players should miss the clash
Manuel Neuer is out due to a long term injury, and only David Alaba is doubtful with muscular problems. Otherwise, everyone is fit for the home side.
The situation is similar for Dortmund who have been missing Mario Götze and Andre Schürrle for several weeks already. Only Sebastian Rode, Marco Bartra and Nuri Sahin ,who suffered an ankle injury against Gladbach, have to be added to that list.