Stress, chaos and ping pong: How Bielefeld can pull off a shock today | OneFootball

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Arminia Bielefeld has the chance today to pull off a major coup in the DFB-Pokal in their duel with VfB Stuttgart. For the DSC and its supporters, it would be the perfect ending to a fairy tale that at times also provided good material for a horror story. Over the past four seasons, Bielefeld was relegated from the Bundesliga down to the 3rd division and only narrowly avoided dropping to the Regionalliga.

This season, however, the team from the Alm has enjoyed significantly more sunny days. Promotion, the championship in the 3rd division, and now the big chance to win the DFB-Pokal and thus qualify for the Europa League next season.

But what does it take against VfB Stuttgart to ensure that all of this doesn’t remain just a castle in the air? Of course, Bielefeld is the clear underdog, but they were in every previous round as well. The team led by Mitch Kniat fully embraces the role of the underdog. That approach has served them well against Hannover, Union Berlin, Freiburg, Werder, and most recently, defending champions Leverkusen.

"We’re not watching this on vacation or at a barbecue. No, we’re there live. That’s pretty crazy. But also very well deserved," said Arminia’s coach to 'kicker'. "Just like in all the games before: We have no chance, and we have to take it. We didn’t just win, we deserved to win. That gives us courage. We’ll have to go to the absolute limit again against a Champions League participant, but we’re ready for that," said the 39-year-old optimistically.

You can watch the cup final between Bielefeld and VfB Stuttgart live in the OneFootball app for 4.99 euros. Just click on the match card and then on Stream. Enjoy cheering along!

Bielefeld has repeatedly proven their willingness to leave everything on the pitch, round after round. On average, according to 'Statista', DSC ran 3.4 kilometers more than their renowned opponents in the DFB-Pokal. In the quarterfinal against Werder Bremen, it was even six kilometers.

In contrast, VfB Stuttgart was among the teams with the weakest running performance in the past Bundesliga season (3911km). Only Wolfsburg (3895km) and Bochum (3834km) covered fewer meters on the pitch.

While the differences in running performance could still be explained by longer or shorter phases of ball possession for the two finalists, the comparison in tackling behavior also speaks volumes.

Bielefeld won an average of 53 percent of their direct duels in the cup, while VfB managed just 48 percent over five games leading up to the final in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium. Looking at aerial duels, the pendulum swings even more clearly in Bielefeld’s favor.

What’s different compared to other lower-league clubs?

It’s mainly the basic virtues that the third-division side, with a budget of around seven million euros, will rely on. As a Bundesliga club with a budget about ten times larger, VfB naturally has much more quality in their squad. But what sets Arminia Bielefeld apart from all the other lower-league clubs that rely on these basic virtues, but usually bow out by the quarterfinals at the latest?

Instead of parking the so-called bus and getting comfortable in their own penalty area, Kniat’s team showed attacking spirit and, above all, courage by using their enthusiasm for running to put their opponents under pressure early and often forced them into clearances. Thanks to their enormous aerial presence, this constant harrying was repeatedly rewarded with winning the ball.

Especially in the semifinal against Bayer Leverkusen, it was noticeable that Bielefeld went to great lengths to challenge the defending champions for control of the game. They aimed to take away Leverkusen’s strengths in structured build-up and combination play by constantly creating chaos on the pitch. At times, it looked more like a game of ping pong than a well-played football match. One statistic in particular shows how successful Arminia was in disrupting Leverkusen’s order: Alonso’s Bayer team had a shockingly low pass completion rate of just 63 percent.

Since there are quite a few parallels in playing style and philosophy between Leverkusen and Arminia’s final opponent Stuttgart, a similarly huge effort at the Olympic Stadium could be one of the keys to a cup sensation. Because nothing less would a victory by the underdog from East Westphalia be.

DSC captain Mael Corboz knows this too. With their current form and fairy-tale run, the team is heading to the final in Berlin "full of confidence," but the opponent is "an absolutely top team that played in the Champions League this season." "As a third-division team, you definitely have to be not just at 100, but at 120 percent," emphasized the 30-year-old in an interview with 'sid'.

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