Cup outsiders dream big around Europe in year of surprises
If you're looking for cup magic, nowhere can match the Coupe de France in recent years. In the past three decades, Guingamp, in 2009, may be the only second-tier winners but 10 teams from outside Ligue 1 have reached the final since 2006, and five of those were from the third tier or lower. There could be another this year, with Cannes, who play in France's regionalised fourth tier, making it to the final four. They have played eight matches to get this far without facing a top-flight side, but have dispatched three Ligue 2 teams – Grenoble, Lorient and Guingamp – at home.
Cannes became this year's petit poucet ('little thumb', the title given to the Coupe's lowest-ranked team) after fourth-tier Stade Briochin were eliminated by Paris Saint-Germain. Two fifth-tier sides, Bourgoin-Jallieu and Dives-Cabourg, reached the last 16, the latter beaten 5-3 by Cannes. It hasn't been a typical cup run, and Cannes are not typical minnows. Winners in 1932, the team also shone in the late 80s and early 90s, with Zinedine Zidane and Patrick Vieira among their former stars. Having suffered financial meltdown in 2014, the club have been bought by The Friedkin Group, who also control Everton and Roma, and are planning to lead Cannes back up the pyramid.
Les Dragons will stay on the Riviera for their semi-final with Stade de Reims, thanks to a format that offers home advantage to lower-league upstarts. Reims, now struggling in Ligue 1, were once among France's biggest clubs, reaching the inaugural European Cup final in 1956 before a league and cup double in 1958. In between those highs, Stade were beaten by Algerian side El Biar in one of the Coupe de France's most stunning upsets. Could another be on the cards? 'It's like a casino – we put everything on the table,' said the Cannes coach, Damien Ott. 'We bet a lot, and at the moment it's working.'
The other semi-final features PSG – winners of seven out of the last 10 league titles – against Dunkerque, a second-tier side chasing a first-ever Ligue 1 berth. Like Cannes, they have been boosted by new investment, with minority owner Demba Ba steering the ship. Having scraped by sixth-tier Stade Béthunois on penalties in their first game, Les Maritimes have beaten Auxerre and Brest away from home on a run to a glamour tie in Lille that will test the Coupe's magical powers to the limit.
Coupe de France semi-finals: Dunkerque v PSG (1 Apr), Cannes v Reims (2 Apr)
Third-tier Arminia Bielefeld began their DFB Pokal campaign in August with a home win over second division side Hannover, and could make it all the way to the final without leaving their home town, a place that urban legend claims does not really exist. If that wasn't magical enough, this traditional yo-yo club have seen off Bundesliga sides Union Berlin, Freiburg and Werder Bremen to set up a home semi-final against the defending champions, Bayer Leverkusen.
Arminia – who were in the top flight only three seasons ago – have already matched their best DFB-Pokal run in 2015, which ended with a 4-0 defeat by eventual winners Wolfsburg. If they go one better, it could cause a fixture pile-up with Arminia chasing a promotion playoff spot and also being in the Westfalen Cup final. 'It would be a herculean task, but one we would gladly take on,' said club director Christoph Wortmann.
Leverkusen eliminated Bayern Munich in the last 16 and are expected to deny Arminia's dream and then face RB Leipzig (winners in 2022 and 2023) in the final. Leipzig's semi-final opponents are mid-table Stuttgart, who are hoping to finish a disappointing campaign with a historic flourish, and their first Pokal since 1997.
DFB Pokal semis: Arminia Bielefeld v Leverkusen (1 Apr), Stuttgart v RB Leipzig (2 Apr)
Porto were the defending Taça de Portugal champions but were dumped out by Moreirense in the fourth round, ending a three-and-a-half-year winning run in the competition. In the next round, O Elvas stunned top-flight Vitória de Guimarães – and then got a home draw against another fourth-tier side, Tirsense. O Elvas did not flourish as favourites, losing 2-0 at home as Tirsense became the lowest-ranked side ever to reach the cup semi-finals. Their captain, João Pedro, is sanguine about the team's historic achievement. 'The visibility is good for our young players, who can reach higher levels in the future,' he said before the quarter-final. 'Our secret is hard work and also some luck in the draw.'
That luck has run out, with a daunting two-leg battle against Benfica to come as Sporting face Rio Ave in the other semi-final. If a Lisbon derby final feels inevitable, Tirsense could take inspiration from their former neighbours in Santo Tirso, north of Porto. Back in 2018, Desportivo das Aves reached their first Taça final and shocked Sporting to win the trophy, before financial chaos set in. The club were dissolved in late 2020 and their trophy was auctioned online; now Tirsense have an unexpected chance to bring the Taça back to the region.
Taça de Portugal semis: Tirsense v Benfica (9 & 23 Apr), Sporting v Rio Ave (3 & 23 Apr)
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While the French format benefits lower-ranked teams, the opposite is true in Italy, where Serie A's top sides enter the Coppa Italia later and benefit from home ties. All of which means a distinct lack of magic – the last second-tier team to reach the final were Ancona in 1994, and they lost 6-1 on aggregate to Sampdoria. This year's semi-finalists are again all from the top flight, but Empoli have upset the established order through the great leveller of penalty shootouts.
Despite winning only four league games all season, the Tuscan side have eliminated neighbours Fiorentina and Juventus on spot-kicks to reach the Coppa semi-finals for the first time in their history. 'The lads wrote a page in the history books for this club,' said manager Roberto D'Aversa after the shock win over Juve. 'I won't lie, I wasn't expecting this.' Empoli's win was also another nail in the coffin for Thiago Motta, who was sacked a few weeks after a defeat he labelled 'shameful'.
Empoli's next opponents will be Motta's former club, Bologna, who last reached the cup final back in 1974, when they beat Palermo on penalties. Vincenzo Italiano's side are yet to concede in the competition, having beaten Monza 4-0 in the last 16 before upsetting Atalanta. The semi-final draw was kind to the outsiders – and neutrals – by pairing them together while Inter and Milan face off in the other game.
Coppa Italia semis: Empoli v Bologna (1 & 24 Apr), Milan v Inter (2 & 23 Apr)
The Netherlands' major cup competition has historically been dominated by the 'big three', with Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV winning 45 KNVB Cups between them. This season, AZ Alkmaar dumped Ajax out in the last 16, while PSV defeated Feyenoord 2-0 in the quarter-finals. The last eight also featured two third-tier teams, Quick Boys and Noordwijk, beaten by AZ and Go Ahead Eagles respectively.
PSV were expected to ease past Go Ahead in the semi-finals, but a classic one-two punch of a header and quick counterattack took Paul Simonis' outsiders to their first cup final since 1965. Heracles Almelo, another side who have never won the cup, missed a potential winning penalty in their semi-final shootout, allowing AZ to squeak through instead. Now, the teams currently sixth and seventh in the Eredivisie will meet in Rotterdam for a different kind of final.
KNVB Cup final: AZ v Go Ahead Eagles (21 Apr)
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