DFB Pokal Semifinal Draw: Bayern Munich To Host Schalke 04

The clash that produced one of the best goals of the 2009-10 season in Germany will be repeated in the 2010-11 DFB Pokal -- Bayern Munich will face Schalke 04 once again in the semifinals. The spectacular Arjen Robben strike that sent Bayern through to the final last year will live long in the memory of fans in Munich and Gelsenkirchen, but this year’s match will not be at the Veltins Arena, but Bayern’s Allianz Arena.

Bayern reached the semifinals with a 4-0 victory away to Alemannia Aachen, while Schalke came from behind twice at home to Nürnberg before seventeen-year-old Julian Draxler came off the bench to score the winner with a minute remaining in extra time. The other semifinal is an all-2.Bundesliga clash of west against east between MSV Duisburg and Energie Cottbus, which will be held at the Schauinsland-Reisen-Arena in Duisburg; both defeated top-flight opposition in their quarterfinal matches.

This is Cottbus’ best ever performance in the DFB Pokal, while Duisburg have been runners-up three times, most recently against Bayern Munich in 1998. The Bavarians are the record Pokal winners and cup holders, with last year’s 4-0 final victory over Werder Bremen their fifteenth triumph in Germany’s biggest cup competition. Schalke are four-time cup winners, most recently in 2002, but lost to Bayern in their last final appearance in 2005. The semifinals will be played on March 1 and 2, with the winners facing off at the Olympiastadion in Berlin on May 21.