Bayern Munich vs. Borussia Dortmund: Winners and Losers from DFB Pokal Final
Bayern Munich won the DFB-Pokal on Saturday evening, beating Borussia Dortmund, 4-3, on penalties in Berlin's Olympiastadion.
The game was a typical cup final: a hard-fought, intense battle between two fairly evenly matched sides. As Deutsche Welle's Jonathan Harding put it, a "great final" that had the "right ingredients," namely "aggression and tension."
Bayern were closer to winning the game both in regular and extra time but failed to create too many clear-cut goalscoring opportunities, which always kept Dortmund in the game. The Black and Yellows themselves had only a few chances to score that one precious goal, with almost every shot coming from counter-attacking situations.
With energy levels sinking—Dortmund head coach Thomas Tuchel had to make two substitutions because of injury, while Pep Guardiola curiously only made one change—penalties felt somewhat inevitable at some point.
Sven Bender and Sokratis Papastathopoulos missed for Dortmund before Roman Burki saved Joshua Kimmich's tame effort. Douglas Costa had the pressure of the last kick from the spot and almost crumbled, but Burki's hand wasn't quite strong enough to keep the Brazilian's effort out.
Bayern extended their record, having now won the cup 18 times in only 21 finals, whereas it's another disappointment for Dortmund, who've now lost a final four years in a row, including the DFB-Pokal in the last three.
Here, Bleacher Report picks the winners and losers from this tight affair.
Winner: Pep Guardiola
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Although one could argue that Guardiola's legacy was defined before the cup final, it was obvious how much this game meant to the Catalan manager.
The 120 minutes were a brilliant chess match between him and Tuchel, with both coaches making adjustments on the fly numerous times. Guardiola's side looked more dangerous over the course of the game and thus probably deserved to come away with the cup.
The poignant memory came after the game, however, with the Catalan holding his head for minutes, seemingly in disbelief over this one last accomplishment. His tears will be remembered for years, as will his three-year tenure at Bayern. His former player, Mitchell Weiser, now at Hertha BSC, called Guardiola "the best coach ever in Germany, probably in the world" after the game.
A sentiment many will share, especially once he's gone, as Germany national coach Joachim Low told German broadcaster ARD before the game.
Loser: Sokratis Papastathopoulos
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If someone who doesn't watch a lot of football wants to know why penalty shootouts are so cruel, they have to look no further than this match. Papastathopoulos was the tragic hero after a brilliant defensive performance over 120 minutes.
Per WhoScored.com, the Greece international accumulated six tackles, six interceptions and six clearances en route to a man-of-the-match performance over 120 minutes, only to put his penalty attempt wide of the goal.
He was the second Dortmund player to miss and put his team into a hole they couldn't climb out of. Calling him a loser might be harsh, since he "was outstanding" and "a warrior," as football writer Ross Dunbar put it, but such is the nature of penalty shootouts.
Winner: Franck Ribery
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Bayern's 33-year-old winger, Franck Ribery, was lucky to stay on the pitch late in the first half, when he stuck his finger in Gonzalo Castro's eye after a little skirmish on the sideline, as this picture provided by German broadcaster Sky shows.
Apart from that incident for which, curiously, both players were booked, the Frenchman was his side's best player by some distance. Running at defenders with pace and skill, Bayern's No. 7 was the most consistent source of danger on Dortmund's goal, whether it was through his setting up team-mates or his trying to fire away himself.
WhoScored.com have him down for four shots, three key passes and seven dribbles, which means Ribery lead both teams by four dribbles despite having to leave the field exhausted in the 107th minute.
Loser: Marco Reus
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Marco Reus, at Borussia Dortmund since July 2012, has never won a major trophy. Let that sink in.
The Germany international scored his penalty, Dortmund's last, to keep his team in the shootout, but it wasn't enough.
The 26-year-old had a difficult 120 minutes before that. One can't deny his effort, as he won the ball deep in his own half a number of times and accumulated no fewer than nine fouls, per WhoScored.com, but a few bad first touches and wrong decisions meant he never managed to create any real danger to Manuel Neuer in Bayern's goal.
In a way, the attacker personifies Dortmund's woes in finals, especially since he took over the captain's armband from Mats Hummels after 77 minutes.
Winner: Roman Burki
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Although he could only save one penalty in the shootout, Roman Burki emerged a clear winner from the cup final.
The Switzerland international has had a difficult first campaign as Dortmund's No. 1 goalkeeper, with a few glaring mistakes too many for a club of the Black and Yellows' stature. There are a few rumblings in the fanbase that call for a new 'keeper, but those should quiet down after Burki's performance in Berlin.
Bayern may not have created too many clear-cut chances, but those they did create forced the 25-year-old into a number of spectacular reaction saves. Burki kept his team in the game a few times, proving the occasion wasn't too big for him.
He was self-critical after the game, telling ARD that his performance didn't matter since he couldn't keep the final penalty out, but Burki shouldn't be too hard on himself. Without him, Dortmund wouldn't have made the shootout.
Lars Pollmann is a Featured Columnist writing on Borussia Dortmund. He also writes for YellowWallPod.com. You can follow him on Twitter.
