The current German Cup has surprised its fans a lot with the early departures of teams that were considered the main contenders for the title.
The main hegemon of German football, Bayern Munich, suddenly capitulated to the modest Saarbrücken back in the 1/16, and at the same time the current winner of the trophy, Red Bull, laid down his arms, losing to Wolfsburg.
After this, all eyes turned to the traditionally strong Borussia Dortmund, but they also left the chat in the 1/8, skipping ahead to Stuttgart.
This means that the trophy will go to a team that is not too spoiled by titles – the current draw is worth watching if only for this reason.
For each of the participants who are still in business, this is a unique opportunity to update the trophy room, where there are not many exhibits.
If you like betting, go to Pin Up Skachat, and we will look at the chances of the main contenders, based on the bookmaker’s odds for their victory.
Bayer 04 – 1.66
With five players still in the Cup (one of the quarter-finals was postponed a month due to bad weather on the day of the match), such clear favoritism for one team seems inappropriate.
On the other hand, who can be called a serious competitor for “Pharmacists” if the other favorites have long since fallen out?
The only serious argument against the team from Leverkusen is perhaps this very trend, in which strong teams do not shine in the current Cup.
In the championship, Xabi Alonso’s team is gradually getting closer to a historic achievement – Leverkusen are ahead of Bayern and have a real chance of winning the first championship in history (this is after winning the UEFA Cup 87/88 and the Champions League final in the 01/02 season).
As the group winner, Bayer continues to fight in the Europa League, but starts from the 1/8, bypassing the 1/16, so the opponent is still unknown. “Pharmacists” are considered the second most likely winner of the “junior” European Cup – that is, one should not be surprised if they stay in it.
A fight on three fronts could theoretically interfere with the guys, but, mind you, it hasn’t interfered so far.
And giving up the Cup for other purposes is also somehow wrong, considering that in its entire history the team has won it only once.
Finally, the opponent in the upcoming April semi-final is only Fortuna from Dusseldorf, who plays in a lower division and has not yet been very successful in the fight for promotion.
In short, Leverkusen must at least reach the final.
Borussia Mönchengladbach – 4.5
The Mönchengladbachers have many more titled than the Pharmacists – in their history they have been champions of West Germany five times and won the Cup three more times (the last time after the unification of the country), plus two UEFA Cups in the mid-70s.
But in the new millennium, the Stallions have no trophies, and this season they are still solving problems opposite to Leverkusen’s – they have a handicap above the relegation zone, but it can still be squandered.
Mönchengladbach has no other fronts besides the Bundesliga and the Cup.
Purely theoretically, Borussia can even press on – due to the high density in the standings, the gap from the European Cup zone is not much greater than the advantage over the team that will play transition matches with a lower-league opponent.
However, I don’t believe in a big breakthrough for the Stallions – it’s easier and more logical for them to protect themselves from relegation and focus on the cup tournament, which can bring both a trophy and a ticket to the Europa League.
At the same time, Borussia still has not played the quarter-final that was postponed due to bad weather – that is, it is one step further from the trophy than Leverkusen.
On March 12, Mönchengladbach will still try to knock out the sensational Saarbrucken from the Cup – the modest middle peasant of the Third (!) League, which previously scalped such self-confident thugs as Bayern and Eintracht Frankfurt.
It is possible that the rather high quote for the passage of the “Stallions” is due precisely to the fact that their opponent is far from being as harmless as it might seem.
Kaiserslautern has already been waiting for the winner of the confrontation between Borussia and Saarbrücken in the semi-finals.
Fortuna Dusseldorf – 8.0
For a lower league club to be the third most likely winner of your country’s Cup is already a success.
But Fortuna is not without a glorious history – it has two triumphs in the West German cup competitions at the turn of the 70s and 80s, and even a European trophy – the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1979.
In addition, even before World War II, Düsseldorf won the German championship (it wasn’t even the Bundesliga – the winners of individual regional tournaments qualified there).
Fortuna in its Second Bundesliga is desperately fighting for the right to promotion, and who knows – perhaps next season it will replace Mönchengladbach in the elite.
Even if you fail to advance, you can try to get into European competition next season by winning the Cup, but then in the April semi-finals you will immediately have to eliminate the main favorite in the person of Bayer.
Our forecast
Bayer really looks like the most obvious winner of the tournament – a well-played team that knows what to do with the ball should easily eliminate the opponent from the lower league and reach the final, and then the motivation of the club with a minimum of trophies will go through the roof.
Borussia looks like the only real competitor, but they still have problems in the form of an extra match with the very unpleasant Saarbrücken and worrying thoughts about a possible relegation.
