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THE DFB-POKAL FINAL
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The Borussen Derby is one of the fiercest rivalries in German football. Though "Der Klassiker" normally takes the headlines between perennial title contenders Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, der BVB have another strong enemy in the form of Borussia Moenchengladbach. Die Fohlen finished an admirable third place this season, and though they finished 26 points behind Dortmund, they know this is their final chance to upstage their rivals this year.
Gladbach have had to fight quite hard to reach this stage of the tournament. They've had to take on Bundesliga sides Hoffenheim in penalties, Wolfsburg, and Hoffenheim. Dortmund have had it easier in most other rounds, cruising past Homburg, Stuttgart, and Eintracht Braunschweig in a flood of goals. Brian Laudrup's men, however, had the sternest test in the form of Bayern Munich in the semifinals, who they shocked by hammering 3-0 at the Westfalenstadion.
Laudrup made a number of changes to his usual side for this final. Mathias Ginter was given the nod in central midfield, Shinji Kagawa replaced star Henrikh Mkhitaryan underneath the striker, and Kevin Volland was started up top over Ciro Immobile and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Ex-Gladbach superstar Marco Reus made the lineup, however, in a big talking point before the match. The full team news was as follows:
Borussia Dortmund Team News
Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Weidenfeller; Piszczek, Papastathopoulos, Subotic, Schmelzer; Ginter, Gundogan; Bellarabi, Kagawa, Reus; Volland
Substitutes: Langerak, Umtiti, Sahin, Jojic, Mkhitaryan, Aubameyang, Immobile
Borussia Moenchengladbach Team News
Starting XI (4-4-1-1): Sommer; Johnson, Schulz, Dominguez, Wendt; Hahn, Nordtveit, Kramer, Herrmann; Raffael; Kruse
Substitutes: Heimeroth, Stranzl, Traore, Hrgota, Xhaka, Korb, Hazard
Against all the odds, it was Lucien Favre's men who got off to the lightning start. Eleven minutes into the match, Andre Hahn put himself into acres of space on the right wing with his electric pace. The midfielder swerved a delightful cross into the box for Cristoph Kramer to attack and powerfully head into the back of the net to give Gladbach a stunning 1-0 lead.
Dortmund did not stay dormant for long, though. Eleven minutes later, they struck back through a rather unlikely source. Marcel Schmelzer had delivered a great cross to the top of the box for Kevin Volland to audaciously volley toward goal with his amazing technique. Yann Sommer parried the ball out, but the rebound fell straight to Shinji Kagawa to tap home to equalize, only the Japan international's 4th goal of the season that has mainly been spent on the bench.
There was little more action to report until late in the second half. Karim Bellarabi, who had been causing problems all game with his blistering pace on the right flank, sent in a rather poor cross straight to Yann Sommer. The goalkeeper, not quite paying attention, evidently, dropped the ball, allowing substitute Henrikh Mkhitaryan to jab the ball home to give Dortmund a 2-1 lead with his 22nd goal of the year.
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Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been Borussia Dortmund's top scorer this season and perhaps proved why he should have started with his late impact for der BVB.
Moenchengladbach were far from finished, however. With just moments left in the match, Die Fohlen threw everything they had forward, seeking an improbable late equalizer to send the match into a tense extra time. They found it through a bit of beautiful interplay from Kramer and Hermann to put Branimir Hrgota through on goal for a simple finish past Roman Weidenfeller to send the white-garbed half of the 75,000 packed into the Olympiastadion into raptures.
Dortmund nearly put their noses in front just two minutes into extra time. Shinji Kagawa ghosted his way past Havard Nordtveit and clipped a reverse pass in behind for Marco Reus. The Germany international sprang onto the pass and rifled into the bottom corner, but his celebrations were cut short by the offside flag. Later replays showed that he was, in fact, onside, and fans grew worried this call would cost them the DFB-Pokal.
Reus would not be denied that simply, however. Late in the second period of extra time, the left winger cut his way into the box but was brutally upended by Alvaro Dominguez. The defender was shown a yellow card, and Reus stepped up to the spot, knowing this penalty could win his side the trophy. The superstar made no mistake, sending Sommer the wrong way and sealing the victory for his side at 3-2.
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With his cup-winning penalty kick, Marco Reus scored his 20th goal of the season to add to his 20 assists, concluding one of his best years yet in a Dortmund shirt.
After 120 minutes of fierce battle, Borussia Dortmund's forces had prevailed in dramatic fashion. This was the second time in four years that der BVB had won the DFB-Pokal, and the fourth time in the prestigious club's history that the trophy has come home to Dortmund.
"It's a great feeling," Brian Laudrup told reporters after proudly watching Roman Weidenfeller hoist the historic trophy. "We endured a bit of a tougher time in the Bundesliga and in Europe this season, so I'm very glad to bring a trophy back for the fans at the end of the year. Next year, we will build on this great triumph!"
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