Professionals, 31. March 2025
The excitement is building ahead of one of VfB’s biggest games of the season on Wednesday evening, when Sebastian Hoeneß’s side host RB Leipzig in the semi-finals of the DFB Cup (kick-off 20:45 CEST). The Cannstatt lads, who have reached this stage of the competition for the 12th time, have triumphed in six of their 11 previous last-four outings. We round up the most intriguing facts and figures surrounding the club’s semi-final appearances down the years…
12: Completing the dozen
VfB are appearing in their 12th DFB Cup semi-final on Wednesday evening. They first reached the last four of the competition in 1953/54, while their most recent semi-final appearance in 2022/23 ended in a 3-2 home defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt.
2: Mixed fortunes in extra time
Eighteen per cent of those semi-finals – or two, to be precise – have gone to extra time. In their first semi-final appearance in 1953/54, VfB were held to a 1-1 draw by TuS Neuendorf after an additional 30 minutes before triumphing 2-0 in the replay. They were not so fortunate in their last-four clash at 1. FC Köln on 2 April 1983, which ended in a 3-2 victory for the hosts after extra time.
6: Positive semi-final record
Six of VfB’s 11 semi-final appearances to date have ended in victory. The most emphatic of those wins were 4-1 triumphs at 1. FC Saarbrücken in 1958 and against Borussia Dortmund in 1985/86.
21: More goals scored than conceded
VfB also have a positive goal difference in DFB Cup semi-finals, scoring 21 goals and conceding 18. Legendary forward Rolf Geiger, who passed away in 2023, is VfB’s leading goalscorer in this round of the competition, with all three of his efforts coming in the 4-1 win over Saarbrücken in 1958.
3: All to play for in the final
If VfB make it through to the final, their chances of glory appear to be finely balanced. They have triumphed in three of their six appearances in the showpiece – in 1954, 1958 and 1997.