Groundhog Day, but Make It Pokal: Revenge Served Werkself-Style

Well, there we go! While Dortmund are still scratching their heads wondering whether to defend against us with a bus or a bulldozer, our Werkself have made it into the DFB-Pokal quarterfinals for the third year in a row – a new club record. Maybe it’s that mythical Pokal DNA, or maybe it’s just solid footballing grit, sprinkled with a bit of Maza magic and the simple truth: you don’t win beauty contests in Dortmund – you win points. Or cup rounds.

If you were expecting a footballing firework show – something like a Grimaldo cross volleyed home by Tapsoba – you might have been a bit underwhelmed. But what we got was a team as solid as a vault. Not the local savings bank, but Fort Knox. Robert Andrich, reimagined as a libero with leadership swagger, cleaned up like he was getting free beer for every successful tackle. And as for the VAR cancelling Terrier’s would-be second goal – well, football’s not a wish concert, it’s an offside trap.

Revenge for the league defeat just three days earlier? Oh yes, and then some. Winning in Dortmund is never a given – not for the national team, and definitely not for clubs without the black-and-yellow referee bonus. But on this cold December night, Bayer 04 did what we fans have been begging for: grind out a dirty win, don’t crumble under pressure. And with Maza, we seem to have someone emerging who doesn’t just score goals but has his heart in the right place – somewhere between midfield and the penalty box, right where it hurts.

Sure, we’re far from done. Augsburg, Newcastle, the derby, Leipzig – December’s no walk in the park. More like a barbed-wire marathon. But if you march into Dortmund with your head held high, sweat three litres, grab a goal, and walk out with 7,000 ecstatic away fans behind you, then you’re allowed to say: We are Bayer 04 – and this year, the cup just might go red and black again.

Just one thing: cup or no cup – can we finally start beating Dortmund regularly? There’s hardly anything sweeter.