Erzgebirge Aue hopes for "small sensation" in "bonus game"

Third-division soccer club FC Erzgebirge Aue want to spring a surprise in the DFB Cup. "We may only have 20 percent, we have to concentrate on that," said Aue coach Pavel Dotchev ahead of the home game in the first main round against Bundesliga side Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday (13:00/Sky). "We worked well as a team in the first two games. I hope we can create a small sensation."

For the 58-year-old, the match is a bonus game, a reward for the past season. "We have a full stadium, an attractive opponent, what more could you want?" asked the Bulgarian. And with two wins from the first two league games against Hannover 96 II and relegated VfL Osnabrück, the underdogs are already in a certain rhythm, while Gladbach are contesting their first competitive game. The veteran coach is also reaching into history's bag of tricks. As coach of Preußen Münster, he had already pulled off a surprise on August 19, 2012 with a 4:2 win after extra time against Werder Bremen.

Memories of captain Männel

Martin Männel, who was in goal against the team from the Lower Rhine in the first round on August 14, 2010, has not quite as pleasant memories. The goalkeeper battled with the hair of Gladbach's Brazilian Dante on corner kicks and was unable to prevent the 3-1 defeat. "It was the result in particular that stuck with me," said the 36-year-old, "we didn't play a bad game back then and the result was a tad too high. We could have created a small sensation back then."

Männel also relies on the existing match rhythm and the games in preparation against Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig as encouragement. The captain is calling for the same courage as in previous games to ensure a more positive result this time than 14 years ago: "20 percent means it's not impossible."