DFB Cup: When Andy and Ulf beat Eintracht

There was a clear favourite in the semi-final on 30 March 1993: Hosts Frankfurt were not only at home in front of 35,000 optimistic spectators at the Waldstadion but they were also one of the best teams in Germany. From goalkeeper Uli Stein, sweeper Manfred Binz, dynamo Rudi Bommer, pass specialist Uwe Bein through to bustling striker Anthony Yeboah – the team under coach Dragoslav Stepanovic were well worth watching. “We definitely didn’t want to face Eintracht,” said goalkeeper Rüdiger Vollborn at the time. And midfielder Ioan Lupescu added: “Frankfurt played the most attractive and best football in the league back then.”

Stepanovic: Clash with next employer

There was a special edge to the game with Stepanovic set to become the new coach at Bayer 04 in the following season. Reinhard Saftig was the Werkself coach on the night and he witnessed a memorable performance by his team. Leverkusen had struggled through the earlier rounds against ASV Bergedorf (3-1), FC Kaiserslautern (1-0), VfR Heilbronn (2-0), Hertha Berlin (1-0) and Carl Zeiss Jena (2-0). But the Bayer 04 players were really looking forward to the game at Frankfurt. The ball was in the back of the hosts’ net on six minutes. Ulf Kirsten reacted in a flash when the ball was won in midfield and he perfectly picked out teammate Andy Thom who struck an accurate shot into the goal at the far post to open the scoring early on.

“We mounted a perfect counter-attack,” Heiko Scholz is full of enthusiasm today looking back. Thom, the outstanding Leverkusen marksman with six goals in the cup that season, also reaches for superlatives looking back: “Frankfurt were actually the top team at the time. But it went like a dream for us and produced a sensational display.”

Surprise resignation after cup exit

The rest of the story is quickly told. A red card for Frankfurt’s Bindewald ten minutes after half-time and the Werkself settled matters within three minutes with a double whammy. Firstly, Ulf Kirsten scored from a corner with a bicycle kick from close range to make it 2-0 (72’) and then he went on to pinch the ball from the keeper Stein and square it to his teammate Thom who had a simple tap-in into the empty net for 3-0 (75’) – it was done and dusted.

There was also excitement off the pitch: Eintracht coach Stepanovic announced his resignation to the TV cameras immediately after the game. The irony of fate: Reinhard Saftig, the big winner on the night in Frankfurt, was sacked as the Leverkusen coach a few weeks later. ‘Stepi’ took the helm, led Bayer 04 to fifth place in the league with four wins from the last five games of the season – and the Werkself ended up as cup winners with 1-0 win in the final against the Hertha Berlin Amateurs.

This article is from the BayArena Aktuell. The matchday magazine covers both the Bundesliga home game against Werder Bremen (1-1) as well as the DFB Cup tie against Eintracht Frankfurt on Tuesday 12 January (kick-off: 20.45 CET) at the BayArena.