DFB Pokal Madness | Stuttgart reflect on ‘crazy and nasty’ opener against Eintracht Braunschweig | OneFootball

One day after the madness that was VfB Stuttgart’s DFB Pokal opener, there are plenty of humorous quotes from those involved to share. Stuttgart keeper Alexander Nübel and striker Ermedin Demirovic had their turn to drop some pearls in front of the post-match microphones and in the mixed zone. So too did Eintracht Braunschweig captain Sven Köhler.

In a separate interview for the Wednesday print edition of Sport Bild, VfB attacker Deniz Undav kept up his good-natured tradition of not taking himself too seriously. Nübel, Demirovic, and Köhler registered direct comments on the match itself. Nübel – completely unlike his female German international colleague Ann-Katrin Berger – proved the hero of the penalty shootout by sticking closely to his prepared “cheat sheet”.

Nübel found himself the unexpected winner of the “Man of the Match” award despite the fact that he conceded four goals and looked incredibly shaky on the first BTSV tally. The 28-year-old – who was stilled called by Julian Nagelsmann to the national team today – wasn’t in the mood to congratulate himself.

“I should have saved that,” Nübel said when referring to Köhler’s 1-0 in the 8th-minute. “100 percent. Period. I also conceded four goals again. That really annoys me. It was a crazy game. I’ll be thinking about this match for a long time.

“I don’t know who votes for this stuff,” Nübel said of his MOTM honor. “It’s crazy. Medo [Ermedin Demirovic] scored three goals. I would have probably given it to him instead. I stuck to the ‘cheat sheet’.”

Demirovic actually only scored two goals. Nübel can be easily forgiven for not knowing that Demirovic’s purported third tally (in the 92nd minute) was actually technically scored as an own-goal attributed to Braunschweig defender Sanoussy Ba. Demirovic himself did go the full 120 minutes and does deserve immense credit for converting his penalty in the sixth round of the shootout; the first of the “sudden death rounds”.

Demirovic didn’t allow himself to be placed on the initial shootout roster for good reason. It may have been over three years (and two clubs) since the Bosnian international missed the crucial penalty for Freiburg in the PSO loss against RB Leipzig in the DFB Pokal Final, but such things never leave a player’s head. Many were surprised to see Demirovic step up for the first non-scheduled take.

“Penalty shootouts are nasty and I don’t like them at all,” Demirovic said. “I’ve experienced them from all sides, missing or converting a decisive one. I’m glad the ball went in today. This was a big watch for neutral observers, but nerve-racking for us.”

Köhler could only reflect on how far his team had come. It wasn’t that long ago that Braunschweig were contesting the promotion-relegation playoffs against FC Saarbrücken. While the team that narrowly avoided the drop down to the 3. Liga arguably deserved a different outcome, Köhler wished to reinforce the work of his teammates.

“When I think back, eight to ten weeks ago, we were on the verge of the third division,” Köhler noted, “I think today we showed a completely different face. I don’t want to see anyone go home sad today. Everyone who supports Eintracht Braunschweig should go home with a smile on their face today. I think Stuttgart owes thanks to a loving God.”

Undav – who certainly wasn’t one of the better Stuttgart actors on the pitch – kept his trademark sense of humor in the Sport Bild interview. Last season’s form dip saw his estimated market value fall from €28m to €20m. A player who has traversed so much adversity in his career (and even overcame it late last year) made clear that he knew how to be his own harshest critic.

“Transfermarkt has me at €20m,” Undav said. “I’d put it more at €11m with plenty of room for improvement. Of course I dream of the 2026 World Cup, but the competition is fierce. If I score 17 goals and record ten assists again [like in the 2023/24 campaign], I can hopefully punch my ticket. I’m going to give it my all. I’ve set myself some big goals for this season!”

GGFN | Peter Weis