Latest news with #MariusWörl
Forbes
01-04-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
Arminia Bielefeld Shock Bayer Leverkusen To Reach German Cup Final
Arminia Bielefeld has shocked Bayer Leverkusen to reach the DFB Pokal final for the first time in club history. The 3. Liga side beat the German champion and DFB Pokal title defender 2-1 thanks to goals by Marius Wörl (20') and Maximilian Großer (45+3'). Jonathan Tah's early lead (17') would ultimately not be enough for Leverkusen. "I am so proud of the team," Bielefeld head coach Michel Kniat said. "The whole region is feeling this. No one will be sleeping tonight.' It is a historic club. Bielefeld becomes just the fourth third-division club to reach the DFB Pokal finale. The other third-division clubs were Hertha Berlin II in 1994, Energie Cottbus in 1997, and Union Berlin in 2001. All three eventually lost the final against Bundesliga sides. Hertha Berlin II, Hertha's reserve side, lost to Bayer Leverkusen (1-0), Energie Cottbus fell to Stuttgart (2-0), and Union Berlin was defeated by Schalke (2-0). Indeed, a lower division side hasn't won the DFB Pokal since Hannover 96 won it while in the 2. Bundesliga in 1993. Kaiserslautern, which reached the final as a second division club last year, won it in 1996 just a week after being relegated to the second division. In other words, Bielefeld could write history when they face the winner of Wednesday's semifinal between VfB Stuttgart and RB Leipzig on May 24, 2025, in Berlin's Olympiastadion. For the club, it is already a historic night. Founded in 1905, Die Arminia has never won a major trophy or reached the final of a major cup competition. How did Bielefeld overcome giants Leverkusen? "We defended with a lot of passion, and that was the key,' Kniat said. 'We worked extremely hard. It was great to go into the break with the lead, and in the second half, we kept up the pressure for what was a deserved win.' The data echoes Kniat's observations. Indeed, at times, it didn't feel like Bielefeld was a club playing two divisions below Leverkusen. The team in blue outworked Leverkusen and had the better chances, finishing the game with a higher xG (1.43 to 0.95) than the visitors. Leverkusen, which really struggled in midfield, also barely outplayed the 3. Liga side. The game would finish with a pretty even 48-52% split in possession and eight to 13 shots on goal. In terms of passes played, it was also even, with Bielefeld completing 226 of 360 passes versus Leverkusen's 243 of 382. With all that in mind, Bielefeld deserves the chance to play for the club's first-ever major title in Berlin. It would also qualify Bielefeld for a European club competition for the first time in club history. Even more critical are the financials. German magazine Kicker reported on Tuesday that Bielefeld's run to the semifinal has already earned the club €7.5 million ($8.1 million). Reaching the final guarantees another €2.88 million ($3.1 million), which would grow to €4.32 million ($4.66 million) should Bielefeld win the final. The two final participants also receive a share of the ticket sales. As a result, the income from the game could grow to around €12 million ($13 million). If Bielefeld wins the title, it will qualify for the Europa League league phase. According to Swiss Ramble, Hoffenheim earned €12 million ($13 million) from playing in the Europa League league phase last season. If Bielefeld reached the competition, it would see a similar revenue. Those are enormous sums for a club fighting for promotion from the 3. Liga. After matchday 30, Bielefeld is in fourth place, one point behind Saarbrücken, which occupies the promotion-relegation playoff spot, and five points behind second-placed Cottbus.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Arminia Bielefeld 2-1 Bayer Leverkusen
DFB Pokal PLAYER RATINGS | Arminia Bielefeld 2-1 Bayer Leverkusen The lowest ranked team left (Arminia Bielefeld) vs the highest ranked team left (Bayer Leverkusen), a city that doesn't exist (expect more of this) vs a city that solely exists to produce pharmaceuticals. That's right, Bielefeld vs Leverkusen in the DFB Pokal semi-finals. Advertisement To get to this point, Bielefeld have had to beat Union Berlin, Freiburg and Werder Bremen, while Leverkusen themselves have had a semi-difficult run, having beaten Bayern Munich and Köln. Leverkusen were pretty non-existent in the first half, a lot like the city of Bielefeld (2/2), it did not seem like that when they took the lead in the 16th minute after a corner was met by Jonathan Tah at the back post. Normal people would think against a third-tier side, but this was the beginning of the end of the tie, not this third-tier side. Bielefeld would reply soon after when a counter was eventually finished off by quarter-final hero Marius Wörl. After the equaliser, die Werkself struggled with the energy that the hosts brought with them. In defence, they were too easily pushed off the ball, then in attack, they were non-existent and were unable to create anything meaningful when they had the ball. Then just before half-time, Bielefeld are awarded a free-kick and after a great delivery from Louis Oppie, the ball is converted by Maximilian Großer. Things didn't get any better for Leverkusen in the second half. There was a distinct Florian Wirtz-shaped hole that was missing in their squad when it came to creating chances. On top of this, it wasn't a case of pure Leverkusen domination with no result; Bielefeld were easily going toe-to-toe with them. The hosts were just better in every aspect of the game; to put it basically, they wanted it more, a lot more. Advertisement Unbelievable, incredible, unfassbar, beyond belief, hard-to-believe, improbable, implausible. To be honest, I don't have words to really describe it any more, the DFB-Pokal today showed why it is the best cup competition in the world. This is why we all love football and competitions like this. Now please, join me in a ritual where we all hope that a certain energy drink team lose to VfB Stuttgart tomorrow. Football then wins, a real DFB Pokal final. (Speaking of rituals, Leverkusen losing may be the sacrifice they had to make to win the league). (This win may put Bielefeld on the map, literally) Arminia Bielefeld: Jonas Kersken (7), Felix Hagmann (7), Leon Schneider (7), Stefano Russo (7), Louis Oppie (7), Sam Schreck (6), Maximilian Großer (7), Mael Croboz (6), Noah-Joel Sarenren-Bazee (6), Joel Grodowski (6), Marius Wörl (7) Advertisement Others: Merveille Biankadi (-), Isaiah Young (-), Joel Felix (-) Bayer Leverkusen: Lukas Hradecky (5), Nordi Mukiele (5), Jonathan Tah (5), PIero Hincapié (3), Jeremie Frimpong (5), Granit Xhaka (5), Robert Andrich (5), Exequiel Palacios (4), Alejandro Grimaldo (5), Amine Adli (4), Patrik Schick (4) Others: Victor Boniface (5), Nathan Tella (5) GGFN Man of the Match: Arminia Bielefeld. Genuinely, I could give this to everyone on the Bielefeld side. They were all much better than their Bundesliga counterparts. People probably wrote them off, but they turned up today and will get a fun day in Berlin at the end of May and with the way they played today, they can probably even dream of winning the competition. 'Berlin, Berlin, wir fahren nach Berlin.' GGFN | Jack Meenan
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bielefeld stuns Leverkusen in German Cup upset, beats defending champion 2-1 to reach final
BIELEFELD, Germany (AP) — Arminia Bielefeld pulled off a major upset in the German Cup on Tuesday by defeating defending champion Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 in their semifinal match. The third-division team came from behind after Jonathan Tah gave the visitors a 17th-minute lead. Marius Wörl replied three minutes later and Maximilian Großer scored Bielefeld's second goal just before the break. The home team looked more likely to add to that tally as the Leverkusen players looked jaded. Patrik Schick went closest for the visitors in the 81st when his header struck the post. Leverkusen won the title last year as part of an unprecedented domestic league cup double without losing a game. Bielefeld is currently fourth in Germany's third division with eight rounds remaining. Only the top three have a chance of promotion with the top two going straight up to the second division. Stuttgart hosts Leipzig in the other semifinal on Wednesday with the winner going on to play Bielefeld in the German Cup final in Berlin next month. ___ AP soccer:
Associated Press
01-04-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Bielefeld stuns Leverkusen in German Cup upset, beats defending champion 2-1 to reach final
BIELEFELD, Germany (AP) — Arminia Bielefeld pulled off a major upset in the German Cup on Tuesday by defeating defending champion Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 in their semifinal match. The third-division team came from behind after Jonathan Tah gave the visitors a 17th-minute lead. Marius Wörl replied three minutes later and Maximilian Großer scored Bielefeld's second goal just before the break. The home team looked more likely to add to that tally as the Leverkusen players looked jaded. Patrik Schick went closest for the visitors in the 81st when his header struck the post. Leverkusen won the title last year as part of an unprecedented domestic league cup double without losing a game. Bielefeld is currently fourth in Germany's third division with eight rounds remaining. Only the top three have a chance of promotion with the top two going straight up to the second division. Stuttgart hosts Leipzig in the other semifinal on Wednesday with the winner going on to play Bielefeld in the German Cup final in Berlin next month.
