Teams | August 10, 2015 at 02:41 AM
Division two force to be reckoned with
Division two force to be reckoned with
Hertha BSC face Arminia Bielefeld away in round one of the 2015/16 DFB Cup.
Berlin - As was the case last season, Hertha BSC face Arminia Bielefeld in the early stages of the 2015/16 DFB Cup. Whereas last season the sides met in round 2, this time around they clash in the opening round on Monday (10.08.15, 6.30 pm). "A hammer draw" was the way Hertha commercial boss Michael Preetz decribed the meeting after the draw had been made live on German TV. The former Hertha striker told us at the time: "We want revenge for last season." In October 2014, the capital city side exited the competition 2-4 on penalties after 90 goalless minutes of regular time. That must not happen again this time around.
Arminia Bielefeld impressively showed last season that they are certainly a force to be reckoned with. The team under coach Norbert Meier caused jaws to drop, especially in the DFB Cup competition. They did not only knock Hertha out, but claimed two further Bundesliga scalps, beating Werder Bremen (3:1) and Borussia Mönchengladbach (6-5, pens.). In the end the third division side astonishingly reached the semi-finals of the competition. It took eventual winners VfL Wolfsburg to put a stop to their wonderful run, as the Wolves beat them 4-0.
Cup semi-final and promotion as third division champions
Arminia made a poor start to their 2014/15 division three season after going down from division two. They managed to stabilise things and began a steady rise up the table. A 2-2 draw against SSV Jahn Regensburg on the penultimte matchday of the season saw Meier's side promoted at the first time of asking. A week later Bielefeld were crowned division three champions, returning to division two at the first time of asking. Arminia have begun their 2015/16 division two campaign with two steady goalless draws so far.
It is hoped that long term, Bundesliga football will return to Arminia's Schüco Arena. After all is it not all that long ago that they were an integral part of the German top flight. Bielefeld spent a total of 16 years in the Bundesliga, the last time was from 2004 until 2009. They hold the record (alongside Nürnberg) for the most promotions to the top flight. Despite the cup disaster last term, the capital city club has a positive record against Bielefeld. In 31 meetings between the two sides, Hertha have won nine - Bielefeld seven. Almost half of the games (15) ended in draws. There will be a couple of familiar faces in Bielefeld's team on Monday too, with former Hertha men Peer Kluge and Christian Müller hoping to put one over on their former club, and in doing so cause another cup upset like last season.
(rd,mf/HerthaBSC)
Arminia Bielefeld impressively showed last season that they are certainly a force to be reckoned with. The team under coach Norbert Meier caused jaws to drop, especially in the DFB Cup competition. They did not only knock Hertha out, but claimed two further Bundesliga scalps, beating Werder Bremen (3:1) and Borussia Mönchengladbach (6-5, pens.). In the end the third division side astonishingly reached the semi-finals of the competition. It took eventual winners VfL Wolfsburg to put a stop to their wonderful run, as the Wolves beat them 4-0.
Cup semi-final and promotion as third division champions
Arminia made a poor start to their 2014/15 division three season after going down from division two. They managed to stabilise things and began a steady rise up the table. A 2-2 draw against SSV Jahn Regensburg on the penultimte matchday of the season saw Meier's side promoted at the first time of asking. A week later Bielefeld were crowned division three champions, returning to division two at the first time of asking. Arminia have begun their 2015/16 division two campaign with two steady goalless draws so far.
It is hoped that long term, Bundesliga football will return to Arminia's Schüco Arena. After all is it not all that long ago that they were an integral part of the German top flight. Bielefeld spent a total of 16 years in the Bundesliga, the last time was from 2004 until 2009. They hold the record (alongside Nürnberg) for the most promotions to the top flight. Despite the cup disaster last term, the capital city club has a positive record against Bielefeld. In 31 meetings between the two sides, Hertha have won nine - Bielefeld seven. Almost half of the games (15) ended in draws. There will be a couple of familiar faces in Bielefeld's team on Monday too, with former Hertha men Peer Kluge and Christian Müller hoping to put one over on their former club, and in doing so cause another cup upset like last season.
(rd,mf/HerthaBSC)