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While victory in Saturday’s German Cup final would confirm Stuttgart’s return to the Bundesliga elite, for opponents Arminia Bielefeld it would represent a sensational breakthrough. Stuttgart, five-time league champions and three-time German Cup winners, have rebounded from years in the wilderness under coach Sebastian Hoeness. Bielefeld, meanwhile, are chasing the first major trophy in their 120-year history just days after sealing promotion from the German third tier. Only once has a team from outside the top flight won the German Cup: second-division Hannover in 1992.<\/p>\n
Stuttgart ‘elevated’<\/strong><\/p>\n Even though their youth academy continued to churn out talent, Stuttgart had fallen away after winning their last Bundesliga title in 2006-07.<\/p>\n Stuttgart sat dead last in the Bundesliga and were staring at a third relegation in a decade, when they appointed Hoeness in April 2023.<\/p>\n Hoeness, the son of former West Germany international Dieter and the nephew of Bayern Munich powerbroker Uli, kept Stuttgart in the top flight via a relegation playoff.<\/p>\n A season later, he guided the club to second place — 40 points better than the previous season — and back into the Champions League.<\/p>\n This season, Stuttgart finished in mid-table as they juggled European commitments and their German Cup run, but the future remains bright.<\/p>\n The sought-after Hoeness extended his deal to 2028 in March. Last year, local car giant Porsche pledged to take a 10.4 percent stake in Stuttgart, bringing 100 million euros ($112 million) into the club coffers.<\/p>\n On Thursday, five Stuttgart players were named as part of Germany’s 26-man Nations League squad, a number which only Bayern could match.<\/p>\n Hoeness said Stuttgart had a chance to “really elevate our season” on Saturday, saying it was a “dream come true” to coach his first cup final.<\/p>\n Stuttgart striker Nick Woltemade is a perfect example of the impact Hoeness has had.<\/p>\n Warming the bench at Werder Bremen a season ago, Woltemade was called up for Germany duty for the first time on Thursday.<\/p>\n The 1.98-metre forward, nicknamed the ‘Two-Metre Messi’ for his deft touch and dribbling, called Saturday’s final “the biggest match of my career… I can’t quite grasp it yet.”<\/p>\n ‘Simply everything’<\/strong><\/p>\n Like their most recent cup triumph in 1997, Stuttgart’s path to glory is blocked by a third-division opponent.<\/p>\n On that day, a Joachim Loew-coached Stuttgart beat Energie Cottbus 2-0 in the final.<\/p>\n Bielefeld have never before made the German Cup final and are just the fourth side from the third division to qualify for the occasion.<\/p>\n Since their first Bundesliga season in 1970-71, the club have bounced between the first and third tiers of German football. Their last spell in the top flight was followed by successive relegations in 2022 and 2023.<\/p>\n Bielefeld overcame four Bundesliga sides in their run to the final, including cup holders Bayer Leverkusen in the semis.<\/p>\n “Bielefeld is not in the final for nothing,” Stuttgart striker Deniz Undav said Wednesday. “We’re not underestimating them. You can get lucky once, maybe twice, but not four times.<\/p>\n “We’re approaching the game as if we’re playing Bayern or Real Madrid.”<\/p>\n Berlin’s Olympic Stadium holds 74,000, even so around 100,000 Arminia fans, roughly a third of Bielefeld’s population, are expected in the German capital.<\/p>\n Club legend Ansgar Brinkmann told AFP subsidiary SID there would be “no one there” in Bielefeld on Saturday, saying “you could probably break in anywhere in broad daylight.”<\/p>\n Coach Michel Kniat said a German Cup win would mean “everything, simply everything,” to the club, fans and supporters.<\/p>\n “I’m often told to relax and enjoy Berlin. I’d love to,” Kniat told Die Welt, but added: “I can only do that if we actually win the cup.”<\/p>\n (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)<\/p>\n Topics mentioned in this article <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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