The German Cup final opposed Werder to Kaiserslautern. Given their performance in the league, coaches and players, Werder had more than an edge. But on the field names and previous performances meant nothing and the underdog prevailed 3-2.
Werder (Bremen) lost the final and if somebody had to be blamed, then Rehhagel, Bode, Eilts, Wolter, Borowka, Bratseth, Freund, Votava, Burgsmuller, Riedle, Reck, had to blame only themselves.
1. FC Kaiserslautern – Cup winners for the first time! Standing from left: Karlheinz Feldkamp – coach, Marcus Schupp, Roger Lutz, Bruno Labbadia, Frank Lelle, Franco Foda, Grzegorz Wiezik, Kay Friedmann, Reinhard Stumpf. Crouching: Herbert Hoos, Axel Roos, Uwe Scherr, Michael Serr, Stefan Kuntz, Gerald Ehrmann, Demir Hotic, Thomas Dooley.
A rather modest squad… even the imports hardly rung any bell: Demir Hotic was not called to play for Yugoslavia for quite some time, Thomas Dooley was… American and Americans were hardly known, even their best. A triumph of the underdog for sure and that is always pleasing, although nobody expects future success of an underdog. But for 1. FC Kaiserslautern it was different – it was historic success: not only their first Cup, but first trophy since very distant 1953, when they won the West German title. And this seemingly accidental success was just a foundation on which to build – the right coach was already there, some good players, even if not first-rate stars, and with some right additions… but that was for the future.
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