Wolfsburg soundly defeat Dortmund in DFB-Pokal to claim first cup title
BERLIN --
Jurgen Klopp's Dortmund era ends on a sour note as Wolfsburg takes their first German Cup with a 3-1 win.
Goals from Luiz Gustavo, Kevin De Bruyne and Bas Dost inside a window of a quarter of an hour succumbed Dortmund to defeat, bringing a damp close to Klopp's seven-year tutelage as Dortmund coach.
Dieter Hecking's side has asserted itself as Germany's second-force in the Bundesliga, securing a place in next season's UEFA Champions League. Wolfsburg finished 10 points behind Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga and has wrapped up their first-ever major domestic Cup -- their closest attempt was a final appearance in 1995. The Cup win is Hecking's first-ever triumph, while the club's sporting director Klaus Allofs collects his seventh career win including his time as a player.
But the attention was still on Dortmund who will open up a new chapter this summer with Thomas Tuchel confirmed as Klopp's successor. The current BVB boss couldn't become the club's most decorated coach outright -- he's level with Ottmar Hitzfeld on five titles -- as his side went down in the final. Klopp's last team selection as Dortmund coach included three new faces from the dramatic semifinal win over Bayern Munich last month. Neven Subotic, who extended his contract at the club until 2018 this week, came in at the back, Sebastian Kehl started in midfield, while Henrikh Mkhitaryan joined the attack.
Having lost a goal in the first 30 seconds in the last league meeting between the teams, Dortmund turned the tables, starting brightly. On four minutes, Erik Durm interchanged a few passes with Shinji Kagawa, the Japanese ace crossing deftly into the box where Aubameyang drilled the ball past Diego Benaglio from close range.
As predictably as their season so far, Klopp's men passed up some wonderful chances to put the game beyond Wolfsburg. On 17 minutes, Kagawa teed up Marco Reus whose first-time finish failed to hit the target. Dortmund would rue those missed chances, as the Wolves responded five minutes later, the start of a 16-minute period that would the trophy slip away from BVB's grasp. Naldo's well-driven free-kick was parried, crucially into the center of the box, by Aussie Mitch Langerak and Luiz Gustavo followed up to level the scores.
Just past the half hour mark, Wolfsburg landed a second blow as Dortmund struggled to regain their early momentum. A long, high-ball broke kindly to Wolfsburg's outstanding De Bruyne whose first-touch to control was perfect; his 30-yard half-volley into the bottom corner of the net even more so. Rounding off a chaotic period in the game, Wolfsburg made it 3-1 on 38 minutes -- Ivan Perisic, a former Dortmund player, cutting down the wing, lifting the ball into the box for the Dutch striker Dost to net his 17th goal of 2015 in all competitions.
Another smart move and another chance for Dortmund went a-begging -- but the referee Felix Brych was caught in two minds whether to award a spot-kick for Aubameyang who was tackled late by Ricardo Rodriguez. Dortmund's shooting boots appeared to still back at Signal Iduna Park with more chances squandered early after the break. On 50 minutes, Reus pulled the ball back across goal and Kagawa's slight touch at full-stretch saw the ball agonizingly clip the outside of the post with Bengalio rooted to the spot.
Reus, who has won just one title as a Dortmund player, looked eager to impress, but that blurred his decision-making in some situations -- his 30-yard volley was more in hope despite it clipped the top of the bar. Dortmund, to their credit, pushed on incessantly, but ran the risk of leaving themselves open at the back. On 65 minutes, Durm had to produce a last-ditch clearance on the goal-line to prevent Daniel Caligiuri from finishing off a quick counterattacking move.
And with Dortmund chasing, Kehl's 15-year association as a Dortmund player came to a frustrating end on 65 minutes when he was withdrawn in favor of Jakub Blaszczykowski. But Dortmund's late efforts were in vain with some inspired goalkeeping from captain Benaglio, a former league title winner at the Volkswagen Arena.
Wolfsburg's success caps off a wonderful season and marks the start of a potential challenge for the championship next season with the club looking to invest over the summer.
