ERGO sales partner and former professional footballer Jörg Jung: “DFB Cup Final will be a thriller”

Saturday evening in Berlin will see a duel between German’s top two teams, Eintracht Frankfurt and RB Leipzig. It’s difficult to predict the outcome. So we asked someone who knows their stuff.

Jörg Jung used to lace up his football boots for Borussia Mönchengladbach and SC Freiburg in the Bundesliga. The ERGO sales partner played in a team with Jogi Löw and even played twice in the European Cup. So who at ERGO, if not him, should we ask about how the upcoming DFB Cup final will go?

Mr. Jung, we’re at a loss. The cup final in Berlin seems to be completely open. What, in your view, suggests RB Leipzig and what Eintracht Frankfurt?

For me, Frankfurt is the more consolidated team. The team’s coherence, their team spirit and the way they can push themselves as a team is already quite special. This could be decisive in such a special game.

What can Leipzig do to counteract this?

Across the board, Leipzig has more quality. Players like Christopher Nkunku, Emil Forsberg, Willi Orban or Timo Werner can individually tip the balance. They are players who can make a difference and can decide a great game at any time. We also saw this most recently in the Bundesliga match against Bayern Munich, which, as you know, they turned around. And very impressively. It will certainly be a fifty-fifty match. The spectators can expect a really thrilling cup final.

If their relative strength is roughly the same, what can tip the balance on such a day?

We still always talk about form on the day. It sounds a bit hackneyed at first. But I know from my time as a footballer that form really does matter – even from a purely psychological point of view. How are things looking as regards the key players’ self-confidence and the pressure they have to cope with? How is the team’s mood on that precise day? And, of course, are they all fit? A win is often the result of lots of small things and, above all, of clever moves that run through your own game and ultimately add up to a great performance.

Both teams have already won the DFB Cup. For the respective managers, however, it would be something new.

That’s right. So I’m really looking forward to it. Oliver Glasner is leaving Frankfurt and, after the team’s sensational Europa League win, could follow that by winning the DFB Cup, in which case no-one will forget him so easily in Frankfurt. Marco Rose could crown a top season for Leipzig with his first title in Germany. That would not only increase his reputation but also further strengthen his standing in Leipzig. Both are exceptional managers who I take my hat off to.

Ultimately, who needs to win more?

Actually, Frankfurt. In Berlin, they still have a chance as cup winners to get a ticket to the Europa League. So, in that respect, they’re under greater pressure. Leipzig, on the other hand, has already qualified for the Champions League. But, as the 2022 DFB Cup winners, the Leipzig players already know how wonderful it is to raise the Cup into the Berlin evening sky. And also in front of our ERGO billboards (grins).

Thank you very much, Mr. Jung.

The interview was conducted by Lothar Grimm.