DFB Cup quarter-finals: Arminia Bielefeld is ready for the next coup

They are used to rollercoaster rides in Bielefeld. You would think so after 19 first-class, 24 second-class and 12 third-class years of DSC Arminia between 1970 and today. It is understandable that even passionate supporters of the traditional East Westphalian club react anything but calmly to the decades-long changeable form of the football professionals in the colors black, white and blue, given the ups and downs of their beloved club.

Around three weeks ago, there were whistles about the unexpected 1:2 home defeat in the third division match against Rot-Weiß Essen, and even calls for the sacking of coach Mitch Kniat. Arminia is now winning again, most recently twice in a row, and the previously abstinent new strikers Joel Grodowski and Roberts Uldrikis, who joined in January, scored in Friday's 3:0 win against TSV Munich 1860.

The statement on Grünwalder Straße has dispelled the meanwhile bad mood around the "Alm" and awakened new hopes of a return to the second Bundesliga next season. Just in time for the quarter-final duel in the DFB Cup competition this Tuesday (8.45 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker and on ZDF) against SV Werder Bremen, the belief of another coup in the third division team in the cup has also been strengthened.

The Bielefeld team reckon they have a good chance against the currently poor-form North German Bundesliga team, which suffered a 5-0 defeat at SC Freiburg on Friday and is currently stuck in the grey midfield of the table. This is understandable after their previous cup victories against the second division club Hannover 96 (2-0) and against the first division clubs Union Berlin (2-0) and SC Freiburg (3-1). "We don't want to enjoy this," said coach Mitch Kniat after the victory against the Munich "Lions", "we want to win the game."

The sometimes fickle, sometimes self-assured Bielefelders certainly do not lack the self-confidence to overcome class differences. This season's DFB Cup round, with protagonists such as the splendid goalkeeper Jonas Kersken, the stable central defender Joel Felix and the lively playmaker Marius Wörl, revealed just how much talent the young team already has.

What now looks quite coherent again was not even remotely apparent in the summer of 2023. Sports director Michael Mutzel began his reconstruction work after the free fall from the first to the second and third leagues without a team, as after the sudden fall into the third division, only Bielefeld club icon Fabian Klos had agreed to tackle the hardships of the level on the way back up for one last year in the black, white and blue jersey.

Under great time pressure and new economic constraints, the former Bundesliga professional from Eintracht Frankfurt, VfB Stuttgart and Karlsruher SC put together a team that was happy to have managed to stay in the league at the end of the 2023/24 season. The team, which was rebuilt again for this season and refreshed with eleven new players, has since improved significantly in quality. In order to be able to climb back up after years of relegation, the Bielefeld team must stabilize its top level.

Mutzel, who previously worked as sporting director at Hamburger SV, also points out, when looking at everyday life in the third division, that the probability of consistent success is greater when you play together for a longer period of time. "It was clear to us," emphasises the rather rational sporting director, "that we were not as solid as other clubs that went into the new season with a proven core of players."

He therefore points to the far from complete development process of a team that is destined for greater things but is still too unstable and that is "very willing to learn and hardworking". "We want to play attractive football," says Mutzel, "but that doesn't happen at the push of a button. It is a process that also includes setbacks and for which you need a bit of time and patience."

Unlike in the often tough duels with third division opponents, who know how to defend themselves effectively, the Bielefeld professionals enjoy the open exchange of blows with their Bundesliga colleagues in the cup duels. In the prestigious showdown with the higher-class competition, Kniat's team has always shown what it is capable of with first-class performances and professional cleverness. The Bielefeld professionals then develop a dynamic rarely seen in the third division, coupled with a lot of ball possession, which seems quite attractive overall.

With their sensational cup successes, the East Westphalians have earned a generous sum of 3.1 million euros to date, which is a generous sum for third division standards. Arminia wants to catapult itself into the semi-finals against Werder for the fourth time after 2005, 2006, when it was a Bundesliga club, and 2015, where the East Westphalians' dream journeys have always ended.

Ten years ago, the Bielefeld team, as a third division club, achieved the feat of reaching the last four - only to fail with a 4-0 defeat to VfL Wolfsburg. If history repeats itself, it could also be a good omen. In 2015, DSC Arminia was promoted again a few weeks later: to the second Bundesliga, which is now once again the desired place.