Saarbrucken head coach Rudiger Ziehl is confident the pitch for their DFB-Pokal semi-final against Kaiserslautern will be playable after recent fears.
Their quarter-final tie against Borussia Monchengladbach at the Ludwigsparkstadion was postponed before kick-off in February due to rainfall and more recently their game against Rot-Weiss Essen on Easter Sunday was cancelled by the DFB due to concern about the pitch’s playability for the semi-final.
Third-tier Saarbrucken are aiming to continue their incredible run in the competition on Tuesday against Bundesliga 2 side Kaiserslautern and Ziehl insisted the pitch will be ready for the tie.
“If things don’t get extreme, the pitch has a playable surface. Then it will work that we can play. I was surprised that the pitch was in good condition,” said Ziehl in quotes reported by Zeit Online.
“The pitch looked good on Saturday morning, especially the critical areas from the Gladbach game. It was a smart decision to put the tarpaulin on again yesterday.”
Saarbrucken are 11th in the 3 Liga table and have had an extraordinary run in the cup this year, claiming some huge Bundesliga scalps on their way to reaching the final four of the competition.
In the second round they beat reigning Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich 2-1 thanks to Marcel Gaus’ stoppage-time strike before earning a 2-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in the following round.
Their rescheduled quarter-final against Monchengladbach saw them snatch victory with another late goal, this time from Kai Brunker in the third minute of added time.
Kaiserslautern’s route to the final four included a 3-2 win against top-flight opponents Cologne in the second round before securing victories over Bundesliga 2 rivals FC Nuremberg and Hertha BSC.
The final takes place at the Olympiastadion in Berlin on May 25 and Kaiserslautern boss Friedhelm Funkel admits the competition has been a “great experience”.
“I associate the cup and Berlin with a feeling of happiness,” said Funkel in quotes posted on the official Kaiserslautern X account.
“This is an incredibly great experience. There is a tension, a tingling feeling that is very special. I would like to experience that again, but Saarbrucken also wants to go to Berlin.”
Ancelotti lauds Real Madrid goalscorer Vinicius after first-leg double
Carlo Ancelotti believes Vinicius Junior is constantly developing his attacking output, after the Real Madrid forward delivered again in the Champions League.
Vinicius scored twice as Madrid drew 2-2 with Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie on Tuesday.
Those strikes took Vinicius to 31 goal involvements (16 goals, 15 assists) in the Champions League since the start of the 2021-22 campaign, which is more than any other player in the competition in the same time period.
Vinicius' opener came when he cut inside and latched onto an exceptional pass from Toni Kroos, and Ancelotti pointed out how the Brazil international is beginning to change how he attacks.
Speaking to TNT Sports, Ancelotti said: "Vinicius is starting to understand how important it is for him to move inside the pitch and not only close to the line.
"He's learned really well how to move. It was a fantastic pass from Kroos but a fantastic run from Vinicius."
Reflecting on his team's performance, Ancelotti said: "It was an interesting game, an open game of course – as it has to be for a semi-final. I think we could play better, I don’t think we played our best and we had problems in the first half.
"We started to put pressure on in the second half to level the game – it was much better.
"We are comfortable with a low block but we didn’t play with intensity. With a low block you have to have intensity, you have to win duels, second balls. We were too low. We tried to change something.
"The game was difficult at 2-1 down, but then we had the energy and character to equalise – the second part of the second half was really good."
Al Ittihad 1-2 Al Hilal: Holders into King's Cup final
Al Hilal overcame Sergej Milinkovic-Savic's red card as Saud Abdulhamid's late goal sealed a 2-1 victory over Al Ittihad in the King's Cup semi-finals.
Without Karim Benzema, Al Ittihad ultimately lacked the firepower to make their numerical advantage count in Tuesday's clash.
Former Lazio midfielder, who joined Al Hilal as part of their spending spree last year, received a straight red card in the 42nd minute.
Al Ittihad's Abderrazzaq Hamed-Allah cancelled out Micheal's opener, but Abdulhamid popped up with the winner in the 81st minute.
Al Hilal are 10-time King's Cup winners, having won their 10th title last season.
The Saudi Pro League leaders, who are still without the injured Neymar, will now face either Al Khaleej or Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr in the final at the end of May.
Data Debrief: Malcom in the middle
Al Hilal might be missing their star Brazilian Neymar, but his compatriot Malcom is delivering when it comes to playmaking.
The former Zenit attacker set up both of Al Hilal's goals, creating three chances in total and registering a pass accuracy of 92.6 per cent, better than any of his team-mates.
Former Spain boss Del Bosque to oversee RFEF
Former Spain boss Vicente del Bosque will oversee a new committee supervising the RFEF.
Spain, which is due to be one of six host countries for the 2030 World Cup, announced the creation of a special committee until the federation holds elections to replace Luis Rubiales.
That is despite Pedro Rocha having this week been appointed as Rubiales' replacement, though he himself is under investigation amid a corruption probe.
Rubiales was dismissed following his unsolicited kiss on Jenni Hermoso during the Women's World Cup trophy ceremony in 2023.
The federation's former president was then arrested in early April as part of a corruption investigation.
Del Bosque led Spain to three consecutive trophies, winning the European Championships in 2008 and 2012, while also leading the team to their first World Cup success in 2010.
Prior to his time with the national team, he also won two Champions Leagues and two LaLiga titles while in charge of Real Madrid, where he made over 400 appearances as a player.
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