Mike Tullberg was disappointed after the 3-0 defeat in the Westfalenpokal semi-final against FC Schalke 04, Norbert Elgert attested to his team’s great season.
FC Schalke 04’s U19s won the Revier derby in the Westfalenpokal semi-final against their rivals Borussia Dortmund 3:0.
BVB coach Mike Tullberg relied on some talents from the U17s in the match and also saw the importance of the game as rather low, as he explained again afterwards: “In the end, it was all about nothing for Schalke, of course they will say they want to win the Westphalia Cup. For us, the cup has also been an important competition for years and we use it to develop our players.”
A view of Tullberg’s that certainly won’t be shared by everyone. The coach experienced an outstanding season with his U19s despite the elimination, but it ended without a real title. In the final of the German championship, the Dortmund team lost to Mainz, in the Youth League it was all over in the quarter-finals against Hajduk Split, in the DFB Cup they were knocked out in the last 16 against St. Pauli, and now their last chance of winning the title is gone.
Nevertheless, Tullberg thinks his team celebrated a great title: “We won the best title of all: West German champion you are for one year. We did it for the second time in a row without losing. BVB did it three times in 17 years before me, now we did it twice in a row, that’s what it’s all about.”
Means translated: despite everything, BVB’s U19s can look back on a successful 2022/23 season.
Elgert also happy about great season
Meanwhile, BVB winners Schalke can also look back on a similarly good season. Even before the Westfalenpokal final against SC Paderborn, which is still to be played, coach Norbert Elgert draws a first conclusion: “It was a very good season. We missed the finals by just one point and the West German championship by three points. We played an outstanding DFB Cup final, just without a title.”
Ahead of the final game of the season, the final of the Westfalenpokal, Elgert raves about the opponents there, Paderborn, but also has a clear goal: “Now it’s also not about whether the Westfalenpokal can replace anything. This is a title in itself and we are the defending champions. We would like to win it again. But we know that a similarly strong team awaits us in the final. Paderborn have developed fantastically and caused a sensation in the special round of matches. A tough opponent and anything but a foregone conclusion. “
*** Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version) ***