Bundesliga outfit VfB Stuttgart head into Saturday’s DFB Cup final with third-tier champions Arminia Bielefeld as favourites – bundesliga.com gives you five reasons why the Swabians can lift a fourth domestic cup in Berlin.
1) History says so
Stuttgart handed then-Bundesliga 2 Bielefeld a 6-0 defeat – still Arminia’s heaviest cup loss of all-time – when the pair last met in a DFB Cup second-round tie in October 2022. But the record books read even better in the top-flight team’s favour.
In 73 participations – the third-most in German football history – Stuttgart have only ever lost three DFB Cup ties to third division clubs, most recently to Hansa Rostock in 2018/19, the last time they were knocked out by a lower league team. It compares very favourably to a team such as Werder Bremen, the second-most successful team in Germany’s cup, who have suffered 11 defeats to third-tier opponents.
Watch: All of Stuttgart’s DFB Cup goals so far in 2024/25
Also, on the three previous occasions a 3. Liga team has reached the final, they have lost every time and failed to even score a goal: Bayer Leverkusen defeated Hertha Berlin’s reserve side 1-0 in 1992/93, Joachim Löw’s Stuttgart team beat an Energie Cottbus that had also just won promotion 2-0 in 1996/97, and Schalke saw off Union Berlin 2-0 in 2000/01.
Löw, who is this year’s final ambassador, will be joined by a number of the 1997-winning team in the Olympiastadion to see if the current squad can make it DFB Cup number four in the club’s seventh final.
2) Hit form just at the right time
“After finishing runners-up last season, expectations were high,” said Löw, who was Stuttgart boss between 1996 and 1998. Germany’s FIFA World Cup-winning coach also said he has “had a lot of fun” watching Sebastian Hoeneß’s team this season, but a ninth-placed finish – albeit just two points off a European qualifying place in the top six – was not what most Stuttgart fans would describe as enjoyable.
But it could have been worse. A run of one win in 10 league games left the team in the lower half of the table, but they head to Berlin with some momentum having won their last three Bundesliga outings, including the thrilling last-day victory at Leipzig.
Watch: Stuttgart sign off the league season in style
“I see the overall development as positive – and we want to refine it in a week’s time at the DFB Cup final in Berlin,” said Hoeneß after seeing his team twice bounce back from a goal down to win 3-2 on Matchday 34. “The team has implemented many things very well in recent weeks, and now we’re simply looking forward to being able to focus our preparations on the cup final.”
“Our play over the past few weeks has been positive,” said Deniz Undav, who had four goal involvements in his last five league outings of 2024/25. “We have to keep it up. If we continue like this and stay clear-headed, I’m optimistic about the final.”
3) Scoring and keeping them out
In addition to the results, the underlying stats are impressive over those three matches too: xG of 10.0, 64 goal attempts, 62 percent possession and 90 per centpass completion, the best numbers in those categories of any team in the Bundesliga in that period.
Like Undav, Nick Woltemade ran into form late on, striking once in each of the last three matches, but his more defensive-minded teammates have also upped their game significantly in recent weeks.
After just one clean sheet in 13 league matches between mid-January and Matchday 31, Stuttgart registered two in their final three games. They allowed just 21 attempts at their own goal, restricting their opponents to an xG of 1.9, also Bundesliga bests over those matches.
They have also been consistently stingy in the DFB Cup this season, conceding just twice in their five ties through to the final.
4) Mentality and Motivation
How many times has the bigger team slipped up when facing a team they should beat? Stuttgart are determined not to fall into that trap.
“We’re in no way underestimating them,” said Undav, who pointed out Bielefeld have already beaten four top-flight sides, including holders Leverkusen in the semi-finals, en route to Berlin. “You can be lucky once, maybe twice, but not four times. We’re going into the game as if we were playing Bayern or Real Madrid.”
A UEFA Europa League place would also help give the season a gloss.
“We can do a lot of good by winning, because despite not having played a good season, we’d have qualified for Europe,” Undav added. “If it doesn’t work out, it wouldn’t be a good season.”
5) A close shave?
The Stuttgart players will have additional motivation in the hope of convincing their coach to follow Löw’s example of 1997. At the time, Löw promised he would allow his team to shave his head on Stuttgart town hall balcony if they won the cup, and he duly went under the shears in public amid the post-final celebrations.
Hoeneß has not come out publicly to say he will follow suit, but Maximilian Mittelstädt has opened the door to a potential repeat.
“You’ll have to ask him,” the Germany international full-back told the media. “My gut feeling is that it’s not totally out of the question… He’s got enough time over the summer to let it grow back.”
