1. FC Saarbrücken is the surprise team of the DFB Cup. The third division club knocked FC Bayern, Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Mönchengladbach out of the competition one after the other, thereby creating three cup sensations in a row. This has probably never been achieved in this form before.
In general, the competition this season is dominated by outsiders. In addition to Saarbrücken, there are two second division clubs in the semi-finals, Fortuna Düsseldorf and 1. FC Kaiserslautern, and only one representative from the Bundesliga, Bayer Leverkusen. The underdogs rock the trophy and football romantics see their longing for David versus Goliath successes satisfied.
Whether the unusual constellation is proof of the weakness of the Bundesliga, or rather an expression of the fact that the performance difference between the 1st and 2nd leagues is narrowing, or whether it is due to chance – only the good football gods can answer that. We look back at some of the biggest underdog successes.