Borussia Dortmund Vs. Bayern Munich, 2012 DFB-Pokal Final: Path To The Final
First Round - Eintracht Braunschweig
Thomas Müller dominated the first match of the season for Bayern Munich. The midfielder drew two penalties from the Braunschweig defense (One scored by Bastian Schweinsteiger, and the second scored by Arjen Robben.) and scored one of his own. The final score was 3-0 and Bayern cruised into the second round.
Second Round - Ingolstadt
Ingolstadt visited Bayern Munich in a Bavarian Derby, but the match wasn’t a contest for very long. Bayern steamrolled their opponents in a 6-0 route that even saw Takashi Usami find the back of the net. Oh yeah, Nils Petersen had a brace. This REALLY was no contest.
Third Round - Bochum
Bayern needed a goal in stoppage time from Robben to advance past Bochum and into the quarterfinals. A goal by Giovanni Federico sent Bochum into the break on top. A second half goal from Toni Kroos put Bayern back into the contest before Robben found the winner.
Quarterfinals - Stuttgart
While going through a rough patch in league play, Bayern was able to find the correct footing in a 2-0 victory over Stuttgart. Franck Ribery and Mario Gomez found the back of the net in the win. It appeared that everything was against Bayern at the beginning when Schweinsteiger went off with an injury after only 15 minutes, but Toni Kroos put in a excellent performance and aided his team to victory.
Semifinals - Borussia Mönchengladbach
It was Bayern's turn to go to penalties in the semifinals. The scoreless draw at the end of extra time between the two great defensive clubs wasn't all that unbelievable. The penalty shootout went Bayern's way after an even 2-2 split after two spot kicks each. Gladbach defender Dante (Who has since signed with Bayern Munich.) blasted his way over the crossbar after a Bayern score. After Kroos converted his penalty, Manuel Neuer came up with a huge save denying Havard Nordtveit and sending Bayern through to the final.
Borussia Dortmund
First Round - Sandhausen
Robert Lewandowski started his Bundesliga Player of the Year campaign early picking up two goals in BVB’s first competitive match of the season. The 3.Liga side were unable to competitively keep up with the champions, and they fell to BVB 3-0. Shinji Kagawa scored the other goal for Dortmund.
Second Round - Dynamo Dresden
Dortmund dominated Dresden in the second round, but they managed to only come away with a 2-0 victory. Lewandowski and Mario Götze scored the goals that saw Dortmund into the third round. The match was stopped several times as Dresden supporters threw flares onto the field. Dresden supporters also did an estimated €150,000 in damage to the bathrooms.
Third Round - Fortuna Düsseldorf
It took penalties for BVB to see off Fortuna Düsseldorf after a scoreless draw at the end of extra time. Roman Weidenfeller was the hero in the shootout making the save on Thomas Bröker’s penalty. The performance was a real gut check for Dortmund when a curveball was thrown their way in the 34th minute. Patrick Owomoyela was shown his second yellow card and sent off. Dortmund rallied and managed to make it to penalties and advance.
Quarterfinals - Holstein Kiel
BVB made light work of their quarterfinal opponent and dispatched of Holstein Kiel 4-0. After the scare in the third round, Dortmund found their scoring boots early and late. Lewandowski and Kagawa scored their goals in the first twenty minutes. Lucas Barrios and Ivan Perisic found the back of the net in the final ten minutes.
Semifinals - Greuther Fürth
After somehow avoiding a first division side through the first four rounds, BVB walked into a semifinal against another second division side. Fürth were up to the challenge and were the more dangerous side for long bouts of the contest. After a scoreless regulation, Ilkay Gündogan unleashed a shot that would strike the post and ricochet off of the Fürth goalkeeper’s back before going into the back of the net in the 120th minute. Dortmund’s victory sent them to the final where they have the opportunity to win their first DFB Pokal since 1989 and their first double in club history.
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