DFB Pokal Quarterfinals and Tennis Balls

Stuttgart supporter protest and more at Quarterfinals of DFB Pokal and more

Related to the quarterfinal fixture between Stuttgart and Borussia Dortmund was a protest from Dortmund fans in relation to the high ticket prices for the away allotment. Germany is widely praised by those in the UK and around the world for  cheap ticket prices for a match that could demand high prices. Thats what happened on a Tuesday night in Stuttgart as the VfB played host to Dortmund.

The ticket allotment was a total of 6,000 places, with 1,200 of them standing, priced at nearly 20 euros. The cheapest seats were nearly 39 euros with 1,500 priced at 70 euros.

In defense of the price, Stuttgart stated that Dortmund fall into the highest price category, along with Bayern Munich. While Dortmund placed an official complaint the rebuttal was that the tickets have remained unchanged since the 2012-13 campaign.

In reaction, the Dortmund fans boycotted the first 20 minutes, missing their first goal, and when they got to their seats they threw tennis balls onto the pitch demonstrating how the prices were similar to those of tennis matches. The amount of balls caused a short pause in the match as both players and officials removed them from the playing field.

Dortmund went on to win 3-1. More on that later.

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Bayern cruised to a comfortable 3-0 victory against 2 Bundesliga side VfL Bochum in North Rhine-Westphalia.

The Bavarian’s didn’t ever need to get out of first gear against the second division side, with Robert Lewandowski and Thiago providing the goals.

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Werder Bremen provided its fans with an enjoyable night as the northern club defeated Bayer Leverkusen 3-1 to earn themselves a visit to the Allianz Arena against the 17 time winner Bayern Munich.

The match was kicked off by the hosts as Javier Hernandez converted his first half penalty. The Grun-Weissen responded with two goals in the first half, first from Sergio Garcia and then from Claudio Pizzaro. Twenty year old Florian Grillitsch finished off the match with a late second half goal to ensure passage to the semifinals.

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1 FC Heidenheim has been a club on the rise for a while. In 2003-04 Heidenheim was in the fifth tier of German football, and this is the first year in the second division, so the added bonus of playing host to a quarterfinal was a monumental step for this club. Hertha Berlin allowed the lower division hosts the hope of getting into extra time with a penalty conversion from Marc Schnatterer in the 82nd minute, but the capital city club came away with a 3-2 win against the plucky underdogs.

 

Huub Stevens steps down from Hoffenheim 

Huub Stevens coaching career looks to be done, as the coach will have a life-saving heart operation. The club has been woeful all season and is destined for relegation.

But at 62 years, Stevens has had an excellent career with tenures at more than half a dozen Bundesliga clubs. A 1997 UEFA Cup with Schalke, along with two DFB Pokals and a Bundesliga runner-up in 2001-02 got him named manager of the century by the Royal Blues fans. He had two stints at Roda JC in Holland, and won a second division title with FC Koln.

In the latter years he became known for handling crisis clubs, steering Stuttgart safe from relegation twice and with HSV once.

 

Julian Nagelsmann Takes over Hoffenheim Earlier than Planned

Appointed manager this past October 27, Nagelsmann was set to begin his tenure at the beginning of the 2016-17 season, but with the sudden resignation of Huub Stevens has forced the manager to take 0ver the reins earlier.

At 28 he is the youngest manager in Bundesliga history.

After calling it quits on a playing career killed off by persistent knee injuries, he went to study Sports Science and returned to Augsburg to start his coaching career. He moved to Hoffenheim for the 2012-13 season, where he coached the u-19s until being called upon to take up the mantle of manager-ship.