Dresden braced for potent German Cup clash

Holder Bayern Munich aims to hit top gear in its bid to reach the German Cup quarterfinals, while the authorities brace themselves for Borussia Dortmund's trip to Dresden on Tuesday.

Third-division Dynamo Dresden hosts Jurgen Klopp's Dortmund in the cup's third round against the backdrop of the riots which blighted its 2011 second-round clash.

Borussia beat Dynamo 2-0 on Oct 25, 2011, amidst ugly scenes as Dresden fans rioted and clashed violently with Dortmund police.

Both groups of supporters have a notorious reputation in Germany.

The German Football Association (DFB) initially threw Dresden out of the competition for a year for the violence in Dortmund, then reduced the punishment to a hefty fine and a game behind closed doors on appeal.

But the DFB banned Dresden entirely from the 2013-14 cup competition after Dynamo fans rioted after losing a penalty shootout at Hanover 96 in October 2012 in a second-round clash.

On its first season back in the cup, Dresden in particular needs to be on its best behavior, especially with the game to be televised.

"Dynamo is a cool draw," said Dortmund coach Klopp. But the DFB and police will be paying close attention.

Dortmund routed Schalke 3-0 on Saturday in the Ruhr Valley derby to move up to 10th in the Bundesliga after four straight wins having started the month bottom of the table, while Dresden is eighth in Germany's third tier after relegation last season.

Holder Bayern hosts second-division Eintracht Braunschweig on Wednesday having scored 20 goals with just one in reply in its last four league games.

Coach Pep Guardiola is set to rotate his squad for the third-round clash at Munich's Allianz Arena with one eye on its Champions League clash next week.

Bundesliga leader Bayern is at Hanover 96 on Saturday, then hosts Shakhtar Donetsk the following Wednesday after the last 16, first-leg clash finished scoreless in Ukraine.

"We are on the right path, but we have to get back to staying focused for 90 minutes and put in a top display," said defender Jerome Boateng after Bayern conceded during a lull period in Friday's 4-1 win over Cologne. "Then I'm confident we can progress in the cup and Champions League."

The only all-Bundesliga tie of the round sees struggler Freiburg hosting Cologne, which put in a battling display at Bayern.

"It's a 50-50 chance, because Freiburg is in a similar situation to us, but the cup is a different ball game," said Cologne's Nigeria striker Anthony Ujah, who scored its consolation in Munich.

"There have been surprises right from the first round so we will try to go through to the next. The cup is very important to our fans and we want to give them something to cheer about."

(China Daily 03/03/2015 page19)