The Regensburg are aiming for a place in the round of 16 against Rostock. It’s about prestige – and a lot of money.
From Heinz glasses
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Jahn keeper Alexander Meyer (right; against the Hanoverian Lukas Hinterseer) was the celebrated cup hero in the preseason. Photo: Andreas Nickl
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Regensburg.Werder Bremen and Hamburger SV once took it to the extreme. In spring 2009, the northern clubs dueled each other four times in three competitions within 19 days. It doesn’t get that far in the case of SSV Jahn Regensburg and FC Hansa Rostock. But if the two teams face each other this Wednesday (8.45 p.m.) in the second round of the DFB Cup, we are guaranteed to see each other again soon. In one and a half weeks, the Rostock team will again start the 700-kilometer journey from the Baltic Sea to the Upper Palatinate, then it will be all about points in the 2nd Bundesliga. First, however, the move into the cup round of 16 is at stake – on an evening that causes slight displeasure in the family of Jahn head coach Mersad Selimbegovic.
# Fresh memories
# In the camp of SSV Jahn, the anticipation of the cup match fluctuates between “mega” (goalkeeper Alexander Meyer) and “super” (Carlo Boukhalfa). The memories of the hussar ride in the past season, which only Bremen put an end to in the quarter-finals, are still fresh for the Regensburgers. “We have a home game. Now with fans again. And we saw how much such a cup season can push, how nice it was when we were able to make history, ”says Meyer looking back. “I hope that we can repeat that a bit,” added Selimbegovic.
# The Jahn has undoubtedly tasted blood, the cup, which in previous years had often proven to be a “nightmare” for the Regensburg people with embarrassing first-round bankruptcies, according to Selimbegovic, promises the chance of another dream trip. The foundation stone was laid with the 3-0 win in the first round at Rot-Weiß Koblenz.
# As a hero in three penalty shoot-outs, goalkeeper Meyer had a decisive role in the advance into the round of the last eight in the preseason. Against Rostock he expects a “great game, a typical cup fight under floodlights. It’s a knockout game, fifty-fifty, so much can happen, “says Meyer – and sets the direction:” Our goal is definitely the round of 16. ”
# The Hanseatic people, who are unanimously assigned to the category “very unpleasant opponents”, stand in the way of this project. “Rostock is compact, hard-working, disciplined, very well organized, difficult to play on, brutally dangerous when winning the ball and can hurt any opponent,” said Selimbegovic ascribing a whole range of qualities to the second division climber. Ergo: “It will be a duel at eye level.”
# In the league, the table runners-up Jahn and 13th Rostock currently separate eleven points. But – to feed the phrase pig for once – what does that mean in a competition that is known to have its own laws? “The cup is always something special,” said Carlo Boukhalfa, who was celebrated goalscorer in the 3-1 win against Hannover on Sunday, in a nutshell.
# In the English week, the Derby in Ingolstadt will follow for Jahn on Sunday. Since the aim is to save “strength and grains” (Selimbegovic), personnel changes can also be considered. The Jahn coach is not inclined to major changes in his early self. “I rotate when I need to. But I’m not a fan of bringing in seven or eight new ones, ”says Selimbegovic.
# Striker Joel Zwarts, who contributed a goal after coming on as a substitute against Hannover, should have recommended himself for the starting lineup. Selimbegovic meanwhile rejects the exercise popular with many colleagues of creating time in goal in the number two cup. Thorsten Kirschbaum has to be content with the reservist role despite good performances in the test matches. Kirschbaum was told that when he was signed in the summer. Selimbegovic: “Cherry knows that.”
# There is a lot of money involved. The association pays out half a million euros in bonuses to each round of the last sixteen. And of course successes in the cup put a club at the center of nationwide perception, as Jahn himself experienced. For Selimbegovic, both are of secondary importance. “We are traveling completely without pressure. The league is much more important. It is still a priority, ”he emphasizes. Nevertheless: “I want to win every game.”
# He can probably fall back on his entire squad except for Scott Kennedy. Aygün Yildirim struggled with a cold, but would be ready to go.
# Rostock had suffered the biggest defeat of the season with a 4-0 defeat at FC St. Pauli last weekend. “We weren’t at 100 percent, that’s the annoying thing,” said head coach Jens Härtel afterwards and demanded: “Now we have to act.” One of the trumps in Härtel’s team is the Dutchman John Verhoek, who has already scored six goals this season in the league has achieved.
# Overshadowed by provocations
# The game at Millerntor was overshadowed by provocations from the hostile fan camps. They culminated in the fact that pigs’ heads were hung on a motorway in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and provided with anti-St. Pauli slogans. The organized Hansa fan scene boycotted the game in Hamburg because of the 2G rule that applies there.
# The SSV Jahn expects around 1000 supporters of the guests on Wednesday evening. Tickets for the cup game are still available, and the box office will also be open, as the Regensburg team announced on Tuesday.
Further articles from this section can be found at SSV Jahn.
