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.
Read the full article here
