German Football Association (DFB): player's case escalates into legal dispute - Petersen scores desirable matchup between Jena and RB Leipzig in Essen.
Nils Petersen has provided his previous club FC Carl Zeiss Jena with a fantastic matchup in the DFB-Pokal. The Thuringians will play against Bayer Leverkusen, the unbeaten German champion and current cup holder, in the initial phase of the cup competition. "It's a captivating and formidable matchup that wouldn't have been possible against a double-winning team like Bayer Leverkusen," said sporting director Stefan Böger.
Trainer Henning Bürger remarked after the draw at the German Football Museum in Dortmund, "This is an amazing opportunity for our team to test ourselves against these players." Jena had won their state cup for the 15th time overall and the fifth time consecutively. This marks the third meeting of the two teams in the DFB-Pokal. The match will occur on August 27 or 28.
RB Leipzig, two-time cup winners, will face third-division Rot-Weiss Essen. Sporting director Rouven Schröder stated, "We're facing determined challengers, but our aim is to advance to the second round. We aim to make it to Berlin for the fourth time in five years."
Second division 1. FC Magdeburg will visit Regionalliga Kickers Offenbach, where they will encounter former sports coordinator Christian Hock, now the managing director there. "We're in for a challenging environment at the Bieberer Berg," commented sports chief Otmar Schork. Magdeburg won 1-0 and 3-1 in the emotional promotion playoffs of 2015 and returned to professional football against the Kickers.
Third division and Saxony Cup winner Dynamo Dresden will take on Fortuna Düsseldorf, who narrowly missed their return to the top flight in the promotion playoffs against Bochum. In 1995, the teams also faced each other, with the Rhinelanders triumphing 3-1 in the initial round at the Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion.
Third division relegated and state cup winner FC Erzgebirge Aue will host Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach, just like in the 2010/2011 season, when the Saxons lost 1-3 in the first round.
FC St. Pauli, a Bundesliga newcomer, will compete against state cup winner Hallescher FC. The first round of the DFB-Pokal will take place from August 16 to 19, one week before the Bundesliga starts.
Press release - DFB-Pokal draw - DFB-Pokal 20245/2025 RBL-Homepage FCM-Homepage Dynamo-Homepage Aue-Homepage HFC-Homepage Jena-Homepage
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- Nils Petersen, during his time at FC Carl Zeiss Jena, helped set up an intriguing encounter against Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the DFB Cup, a team he would later face as a player in Dortmund.
- In the same DFB Cup, veteran striker Nils Petersen's former club, now in the third division, had a chance to challenge Red Bull Leipzig, a team he played against during their Saxony days.
- Henning Bürger, the coach of FC Carl Zeiss Jena, expressed enthusiasm about their cup clash, a sentiment shared by Bayer Leverkusen's sporting director, both teams representing Germany and its soccer scene.
- Meanwhile, in Saxony-Anhalt, 1. FC Magdeburg prepared to take on Kickers Offenbach in the DFB Cup, facing an opponent they had previously faced during their promotional campaign, with former sports coordinator Christian Hock also being part of the matchup.
- The club from Düsseldorf, who nearly secured a spot in the Bundesliga against Bochum in the promotion playoffs, would face Dynamo Dresden, another third division team with a strong cup tradition, in the DFB Cup.
- FC Erzgebirge Aue, another third division champion and Saxony Cup winner, looked forward to hosting Borussia Mönchengladbach, a Bundesliga team they had faced in a previous cup encounter, trying to flip the result this time around.
- Saarbrücken, which had just reached the Bundesliga for the first time in its history, was scheduled to meet third division side Preußen Münster in the early rounds of the DFB Cup, providing an exciting clash for German fans across the country.
- In Leipzig, RB Leipzig, who had previously won the DFB Cup twice, would test its mettle against Red-White Essen, a third division outfit, aiming to reach the second round and ultimately Berlin for the cup final, just as they had in recent years.
