A LAW UNTO ITSELF
Wednesday night delivered plenty of Cup drama around Europe. In the Carling, there were a couple of notable upsets – West Ham beat a soggy burrito of an Arsenal side lacking Rice in the middle, while Manchester City’s reserves stunned former Premier League winners Blackburn, and plenty of their own fans, with a 2-0 home win. And that was about it. No, we said upsets. The biggest shock of all, however, came in Germany’s DFB-Pokal, where the third-tier side sent Bayern Munich crashing out in the second round. The fact they did so despite going a goal down, then fighting back and scoring an added-time winner on the break as Harry Kane sat dumbfounded on the bench, only makes their victory more impressive/amusing.
“It’s a very bitter defeat for us but we win together and lose together,” whimpered Thomas Tuchel as shadowy Bavarian suits circled behind him. “Now it’s all about digesting this loss.” Matthijs de Ligt’s knee-knack and Kim Min-jae’s error to set up the equaliser added to the sour taste of defeat, and Tuchel must hope this performance doesn’t repeat on him when Bayern play Dortmund in Der Klassiker on Saturday. “This is a brutal blow for us,” added Thomas Müller, who has seen Bayern go out at this stage three times since they last won the Cup in 2019-20. “We have to congratulate Saarbrücken, [but] a bit of luck is also part of it – we were hit on the break in the 96th minute.” We’re no experts, but conceding on the counter at the end of a match heading for extra-time isn’t really what we would call unlucky. Next they’ll be blaming it on Kane – left on the bench due to a tight hamstring – and the online conspiracy theory that one of the world’s best forwards is somehow cursed to never win a major trophy. Ridiculous? Oh. Hmm.
Anyway, while Bayern and Dortmund prepare to trip over one another and allow Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen to cruise to the title, Saarbrücken march into a last-16 draw that looks wide open. They’re joined by local rivals FC Homburg – who play in the regional fourth tier – along with eight second-tier sides and just six from the Bundesliga. The double defending champions Leipzig are also out, leaving Dortmund and XAL as a pair of historically flaky favourites. Saarbrücken reached the semi-finals as a fourth-tier side in 2020 and will fancy their chances of adding further to a chequered history. Die Molschder have played in the European Cup, the French second division and made up most of Saarland’s national team, who had a bash at World Cup qualifying in 1954 while the region was still a post-war French protectorate.
Before Wednesday night though, Saarbrücken’s most famous day of all came in 1977, when they bashed a Bayern side featuring Gerd Müller and Franz Beckenbauer 6-1 in a Bundesliga scoreline for the ages. Fans at the Ludwigspark unfurled a tifo commemorating that result – and it clearly had the desired effect as Bayern capitulated. The scoreline was not quite so eye-catching but this was an even bigger statement, given the massive financial disparity in modern football between the biggest clubs and the rest. As they say in Germany, though, Der Pokal hat seine eigenen Gesetze – the Cup has its own laws.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I see it as a challenge. I am a fighter and I am in that fight and I have to make sure that I share the responsibility with my players and that we stick together and fight together, and get better results” – Erik ten Hag is ploughing on through the seven stages of Manchester United manager, with their Milk Cup reign-ending 3-0 gubbing at home to Newcastle leaving him at ‘Defiance’. The next stage might be closer, though, given this latest update.
FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS
Re: Ian Wright receiving the Freedom of the City of London (yesterday’s News, Bits and Bobs, full email edition). Nothing snarky, just how amazing is Ian Wright?! Even when I was booing him as a player (think he was going to miss a cup final and the whole crowd reminded him), I loved him. One of the good guys. And freedom of the city is nothing new to him; that very afternoon we certainly gave him the Freedom of Villa Park. Top bloke” – Antony Train.
Re: Jon Millard (yesterday’s Football Daily letters) on the latest utter shambles that is Sheffield Wednesday, sadly I’m not even angry anymore, I’m just tired and broken. Still, I’m not so broken that I can’t correct the multiple errors in his missive. Firstly, Henderson’s is a relish not a sauce (the type of condiment mistake your predecessor would never have made); and secondly, he appears to have mixed up Birmingham’s finest rock musicians Judas Priest with Sheffield’s soft rock exponents Def Leppard (and who are, apropos of nothing, Blades fans). Right, I’m off to Lanzarote for a couple of weeks to forget about the footballing world and try to find my mojo (energy, not 1980s sweet or 1990s music magazine)” – Noble Francis.
Send your letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s winner of our prizeless letter o’ the day is … Antony Train.
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