Stuttgart survive late Bielefeld scare to win German Cup
Goals from Nick Woltemade, Enzo Millot and Deniz Undav had Stuttgart three up inside 28 minutes and cruising against Bielefeld, just the fourth third division side to make the final in the competition's 82-year history.
Millot added a second with 66 minutes and Stuttgart looked to have the job done, but a Julian Kania strike and a Josha Vagnoman own goal with the clock ticking down made Stuttgart sweat.
They however held on to claim their fourth German Cup and their first since 1997, when the then Joachim Loew-coached side again triumphed against third-flight opponents Energie Cottbus.
"I'm completely exhausted. The emotions are running high. I can't even put it into words," Stuttgart defender Maximilian Mittelstaedt, who was born and raised in Berlin, told TV network ZDF.
"I think this is the most wonderful feeling you can have. I'm overwhelmed."
Undav echoed the sentiments, saying "the feeling is undescribable. We threw everything into it."
The win means Stuttgart, who finished ninth in the regular season, will join Freiburg in next season's Europa League.
Stuttgart's Angelo Stiller shone in the middle of the park, setting up goals for his Germany teammates Woltemade and Undav, showing the passing prowess that has him earmarked as Toni Kroos' replacement.
Bielefeld coach Michel Kniat said: "When I look in the faces of the lads, I see some tears. Of course we're disappointed, but we can be proud, very proud, of our season."
The trophy is also just rewards for Stuttgart coach Sebastian Hoeness, who took over with the club sitting dead last in April 2023 before guiding them to second place and a return to the Champions League last season.
Bielefeld rode an underdog wave into the German capital, having beaten four first division sides on their way to the final including defending champions Bayer Leverkusen in the semis.
Bielefeld however spurned a golden chance to open the scoring with 11 minutes played when unmarked Sarenren Bazee blasted his shot against the crossbar with an open goal beckoning.
Stuttgart made Bazee and Bielefeld pay just four minutes later. Stiller threaded the ball to Woltemade, who shed his defender and guided it home.
The goal rattled Bielefeld and Stuttgart took advantage, scoring again in the 22nd minute through Millot.
Stiller kickstarted a counter in his own half and Undav took advantage of a defensive mishap, collecting the ball on the halfway line and marching goalwards before finding Millot to tap into an empty net.
Stiller again created Stuttgart's third, sliding a ball to the feet of the onrushing Undav, who placed the ball in the bottom corner.
With the red and white half of the 74,000-strong Olympic Stadium already celebrating a pending cup victory, Stuttgart took their foot off the pedal as Bielefeld tried to limit the damage.
When Millot scored his second with 66 minutes played, the France midfielder removed his shirt, jumped a fence and ran towards the crowd at the Stuttgart end, knowing victory was surely theirs.
Bielefeld gave their supporters something to celebrate when Kania scored with 82 minutes gone; the goal was the first scored by a third-flight side in a German Cup final.
Three minutes later, Bielefeld pressed Vagnoman into an own goal, which silenced the Stuttgart fans. Bielefeld pushed and won repeat corners deep in injury time but were unable to cut the gap further and Stuttgart held on.
Stuttgart now have four German Cups. Only five sides – Bayern Munich, Werder Bremen, Eintracht Frankfurt, Borussia Dortmund and Schalke – have won more. - AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Soccer-Spain's Bonmati keen to add Euro crown to glittering medal haul
Soccer Football - UEFA Women's Euro 2025 - Semi Final - Germany v Spain - Stadion Letzigrund, Zurich, Switzerland - July 23, 2025 Germany's Selina Cerci looks dejected as Spain's Aitana Bonmati and Spain's Patri Guijarro celebrate after the match REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY LAUSANNE, Switzerland (Reuters) -Aitana Bonmati is hoping to add another piece of silverware to her bulging trophy cabinet when Spain play their first Women's Euro final, taking on holdersEngland in Basel on Sunday. The 27-year-old playmaker has won six league titles and three Champions League crowns with Barcelona and taken home the Ballon d-Or Feminin in 2023 and 2024, as well as a World Cup and Nations League title with Spain. "It would close the circle a little bit -- this, together with the Olympic Games," she told reporters at the team's base in Lausanne on Friday. "We want to add the only tournaments that we are missing. For me personally, it would be very nice in the future to have the memory of having won the great tournaments at the highest level in football." Spain's best finish to date in the Euros came in 1997 when they came third, and their only appearance in the Olympic tournament led to an agonising fourth-place finish at the Paris Games in 2024, where they lost the bronze-medal match to Germany. Sunday's final -- a repeat of the 2023 World Cup final -- promises to be a tight affair, with six of the last seven games between the two sides decided by a single goal and the seventh a scoreless draw. "The game on Sunday is unique, very one-on-one, where things are decided by the smallest margins. Anything can happen, no matter how experienced or knowledgeable you are," Bonmati explained. "They have it too, they have lived through many finals. It is going to be a very equal match in that respect." Bonmati and her teammates are very conscious of where the game will be won and lost. "When we talk about our game, we talk about a possession game, and we, in the vast majority of games, have had possession. So if we don't have it, something bad will happen, so I hope we have it more than England," she said. (Reporting by Philip O'Connor, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
New Straits Times
2 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Spain's Bonmati keen to add Euro crown to glittering medal haul
LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND: Aitana Bonmati is hoping to add another piece of silverware to her bulging trophy cabinet when Spain play their first Women's Euro final, taking on holders England in Basel on Sunday. The 27-year-old playmaker has won six league titles and three Champions League crowns with Barcelona and taken home the Ballon d-Or Feminin in 2023 and 2024, as well as a World Cup and Nations League title with Spain. "It would close the circle a little bit – this, together with the Olympic Games," she told reporters at the team's base in Lausanne on Friday. "We want to add the only tournaments that we are missing. For me personally, it would be very nice in the future to have the memory of having won the great tournaments at the highest level in football." Spain's best finish to date in the Euros came in 1997 when they came third, and their only appearance in the Olympic tournament led to an agonising fourth-place finish at the Paris Games in 2024, where they lost the bronze-medal match to Germany. Sunday's final – a repeat of the 2023 World Cup final – promises to be a tight affair, with six of the last seven games between the two sides decided by a single goal and the seventh a scoreless draw. "The game on Sunday is unique, very one-on-one, where things are decided by the smallest margins. Anything can happen, no matter how experienced or knowledgeable you are," Bonmati explained. "They have it too, they have lived through many finals. It is going to be a very equal match in that respect." Bonmati and her teammates are very conscious of where the game will be won and lost. "When we talk about our game, we talk about a possession game, and we, in the vast majority of games, have had possession. So if we don't have it, something bad will happen, so I hope we have it more than England," she said.
The Sun
4 hours ago
- The Sun
Arensman wins Tour de France 19th stage as Pogacar approaches final triumph
THYMEN Arensman claimed his second victory in this year's Tour de France when he benefited from the top guns' waiting game to prevail in the 19th stage, the last mountain trek of the race on Friday, as Tadej Pogacar took a giant stride towards a fourth title. The Ineos Grenadiers rider, whose team have been facing doping questions related to their glorious days as Team Sky, went solo in the final climb to La Plagne before crossing the line two seconds ahead of Jonas Vingegaard and Pogacar, who were second and third respectively. 'I'm absolutely destroyed. I can't believe it,' Aresnman said. 'Already one stage on the Tour was unbelievable, from a breakaway, but now from the GC (general classification) group, against the strongest riders in the world, it feels like I'm dreaming.' Slovenian Pogacar retained the overall leader's yellow jersey and leads Vingegaard by 4:24 going into the final two stages and is widely expected to win a fourth title if he avoids a major incident. German Florian Lipowitz took fourth place on the shortened stage to cement his third place overall, stretching his advantage over fourth-placed Oscar Onley of Britain by 41 seconds to 1:03. It would have taken a colossal coup from Vingegaard to topple Pogacar on the final mountain test in the Alps, but the Visma-Lease a Bike rider only tried within the last 100 metres to take two seconds off of the Slovenian's lead, with Pogacar emerging as the puppet master of the peloton. A leading trio featuring France's Lenny Martinez and Valentin Paret Peintre as well as former Tour runner-up Primoz Roglic, reached the Col du Pre with a small gap of a chasing group after a brutal 12.2-km ascent at 7.7%. The peloton, controlled by Pogacar's UAE Emirates-XRG, trailed by less than a minute. With two kilometres left in the climb up to the Cormet de Roselend (5.9km at 6.9%), Paret Peintre and Roglic shook off Martinez, but only briefly as the Bahrain-Victorious rider clawed his way back. Roglic went solo in the descent into Bourg Saint Maurice, dropping Martinez and Paret Peintre, who were quickly caught by the bunch. Roglic was then swallowed two kilometres before the final climb and spat out immediately. Austrian Felix Gall, gunning for a top five finish in Paris, accelerated 14.5km from the finish with Arensman, Pogacar and Vingegaard reacting. Pogacar made his own move 14km from the top with Vingegaard and Arensman the only riders able to get into his slipstream. Pogacar eventually let Arensman go and seemed content with setting a decent tempo to keep the Dutchman within reach, but the Slovenian eventually did not make the effort to go for a fifth stage win this year -REUTERS
