Crisis-club Kaiserslautern makes German Cup final
Reuters, Kaiserslautern, Germany
Crisis-club Kaiserslautern put its worries to one side by crushing Werder Bremen 3-0 on Tuesday to reach the German Cup final.
The four-time German champion, rooted to the bottom of the Bundesliga table and facing a struggle against not only relegation but also financial collapse, delighted its fans with a spirited display.
Brazilian midfielder Lincoln opened the scoring with a header from a Miroslav Klose cross in the eighth minute.
Germany striker Klose fired home from a Dimitrios Grammozis free kick to double the advantage on 52 minutes.
The home side then had defender Grammozis sent off for a dangerous tackle in the 63rd minute but still stayed on top, with substitute Christian Timm racing into the box from a swift counter-attack to wrap it up with 10 minutes remaining.
Kaiserslautern, German Cup winner in 1990 and 1996, goes on to meet either Bayern Munich or Bayer Leverkusen, which plays each other in the second semifinals on Wednesday.
Playing its seventh Cup final will bring a precious source of income to Kaiserslautern, which is over 30 million euros ($32.72 million) in debt and had to sell its stadium to escape ruin.
If it were to meet Bayern in the May 31 final in Berlin, Kaiserslautern would almost certainly play in the UEFA Cup next season as the Munich club is 10 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga and look set to qualify for the Champions League.
"We controlled the game for 90 minutes," said Kaiserslautern coach Eric Gerets. "I liked what I saw. It was a well-deserved victory."
Four-time Cup winner Werder, which has lost its last five league games to drop to sixth in the Bundesliga standings, made mistakes at the back and created few chances going forward.
"We were not combative enough and we made life easier for them by the way we played at the back," said Werder coach Thomas Schaaf.
In St Etienne, France, Olympique Marseille eased into the French League Cup semifinals with a 2-0 victory at St Etienne in a one-sided encounter which never reached the heights of past clashes between the two clubs.
Goals by Brazilian Fernandao and Lamine Sakho, one in each half, reflected the difference between the joint leaders of the first division and a team who are fighting to avoid relegation to the third.
Despite constant support from their Geoffroy-Guichard crowd, St Etienne only retained some illusions for half an hour before Marseille took control of the meeting of France's two most celebrated clubs.
A swift counter-attack in the 31st minute allowed defender Manuel Dos Santos to cross for Fernandao, who nodded home from close to the penalty spot.
The Greens fought back late in the first half to keep their 35,000 fans hoping but Sakho, set up by Fernandao in the 49th minute, made it two from close range.
Marseille took it easy later in the game to keep some strength for the highly-anticipated first division clash with arch-rivals Paris St Germain at home on Sunday.
In Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Utrecht eased into the semi- finals of the Dutch Cup with a convincing 3-1 win over Excelsior Rotterdam on Tuesday.
Last season's losing Cup finalists took control from the start, going ahead on five minutes when Arco Jochemsen converted Dave van den Berg's cross.
Utrecht, beaten 3-2 by Ajax in the final last year, doubled their lead 12 minutes before halftime when van den Bergh netted with a deflected effort.
Danny Buys pulled a goal back on 53 minutes with a free kick from 25 meters but Alje Schut restored Utrecht's two-goal advantage just three minutes later.