In Germany the ball rests on Christmas Day. That was not always so. Almost 50 years ago, FC Schalke 04 met Fortuna Düsseldorf in the DFB Cup. Do you still know?
In England, football is as much a part of Christmas as the Christmas tree or presents. The ball traditionally rolls in the Premier League on Boxing Day, the second public holiday. This year there will even be a game on Christmas Eve.
Things are different in this country – at this point in time, operations in the professional leagues are at a standstill and the players are on vacation. But that wasn’t always the case: in 1977 there was a German Boxing Day. FC Schalke 04 was a guest at Fortuna Düsseldorf. Do you still know?
The western clubs faced each other on the occasion of the DFB Cup quarter-finals. Background: A few days earlier, the duel in the Gelsenkirchen Parkstadion had not found a winner even after extra time. And so, as was usual at the time, the decision about the semi-finals was to be determined by a replay.
This was scheduled for Boxing Day – and was met with great interest among fans. 50,000 spectators came to the Rheinstadion. But the hosts clearly underestimated the crowds and printed too few cards.
In order to avoid major chaos at the entrance, the security staff ultimately opened the stadium gates and, according to media reports, spectators without valid tickets also streamed in.
As a result, entry was delayed so that not all fans were in their seats when the first highlight of the game came: Schalke’s record goalscorer Klaus Fischer missed a penalty and thus had a great chance to take the lead (34th).
That was to take revenge in the second half: Egon Köhnen (69th) scored 1-0 for Fortuna. S04 couldn’t find an answer to this, the Düsseldorf club legend’s goal was enough to get them into the semi-finals.
Düsseldorf: Daniel – Brei, Zewe, Zimmermann, Baltes – Köhnen, Schmitz (40. Szymanek), K. Allofs – Lund, Hickersberger, Seel
Schalke: Maric – Suurbier (74th Lander), Rüssmann, Fichtel, Schipper – Lütkebohmert, Bittcher, Bongartz, Dubski – Abramczik, Fischer
Goal: 1-0 Köhnen (69th)
So the Royal Blues suffered a dampener in their mood at the end of the Christmas season, while the victory was supposed to take Fortuna a long way: initially to the final, in which they lost 2-0 to 1. FC Köln.
However, the state capitals qualified for the European Cup Winners’ Cup. Düsseldorf also made it to the final there, only losing to FC Barcelona in May 1976 after extra time. Maybe Fortuna would have had better luck at Christmas.
2023-12-25 07:41:24
#Schalke #thrown #DFB #Cup #Christmas
