Bielefeld surprisingly knocked out of DFB-Pokal by Großaspach

Football-second division team Arminia Bielefeld's hopes for a DFB-Pokal fairytale were dashed in the first round after a surprising 0-3 penalty shootout loss to third-division newcomers SG Sonnenhof Großaspach. The 2025 semi-finalists struggled throughout the match, which concluded 2-2 after extra time.

In the penalty shootout, Bielefeld's Maximilian Bauer and Tim Handwerker had their shots saved by goalkeeper Maximilian Reule, while Roberts Uldrikis missed the target. In contrast, all three Großaspach penalty takers successfully converted their attempts. Bielefeld played the extra time with ten men after Joel Felix received a yellow-red card in stoppage time.

Earlier, Bielefeld had come back from a 0-1 deficit just before halftime with two quick goals from Stefano Russo (40th minute) and Joel Grodowski (42nd minute). Großaspach had initially taken the lead through Jan Elias Rahn (12th minute), and Fabian Eisele equalized with a penalty (55th minute). The underdog, playing in front of 5,719 spectators, showed a committed and courageous performance, at times appearing even slightly superior to the second-division visitors.

This victory marks Großaspach's first time advancing to the second round in their fourth DFB-Pokal appearance. The win is also a cause for celebration for the club's most famous supporter, pop star Andrea Berg. The "village club" from a community of 8,000, located about 50 kilometers northeast of Stuttgart, had achieved promotion from the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg through the Regionalliga Südwest to the third division in May. Bielefeld, who started their season with one loss and one win under new coach Oliver Kirch, found it difficult to get into the game, showing little sign of the class difference expected.