A little hero on big feet: Janis' DFB Cup adventure in Berlin

A little hero on big feet: Janis' DFB Cup adventure in Berlin

Bielefeld, Deutschland - On August 8, 2023, the eagerly awaited Westphalia Cup game between the SG FA Herringhausen/Eickum and DSC Arminia Bielefeld took place in the Ludwig-Jahn Stadium. Arminia Bielefeld secured the foundation stone for the further course of the season with a 2-0 win. This success paved the way for the later triumph in the DFB Cup final against SC Verl, which was held in May 2024. The qualification for the main round of the DFB Cup promptly followed with a 2-0 victory in the first round game against Hanover.

In this context, ten-year-old Janis Hartwig, student of the Widukind-Gymnasium Enger, won the opportunity to be part of the DFB Cup final through a competition between the new Westphalian and Volkswagen. The news about the selection reached him during a visit to the hairdresser and provided great joy and excitement.

The way to Berlin

Janis plays in the E1 youth of the SG FA Herringhausen/Eickum and is supported by his father, Jan-Christoph Hartwig. He had promised him to go to Berlin if Arminia wins in the semi -finals against Bayer Leverkusen. In this crucial game in the Schüco-Arena, both experienced an emotional atmosphere that could go into the history of her club.

currently Janis has great hopes that Arminia will be victorious again. With a 2-0 tip for the final, he targets the possible qualification for the Europa League. Louis Oppie, Stefano Russo and Jonas Kersken are among his favorite players with whom he would like to enter the stadium.

Bielefeld on the way to the DFB Cup final

In the past games, Arminia Bielefeld showed a high willingness to perform. In the semi-finals against victories on April 1, 2025, Merveille Biankadi scored in the 85th minute of the game for the decisive 1-0 victory. Bielefeld took the game seriously and set up a strong formation, whereby they only changed slightly in the line -up. Her opponent Siegen presented herself as equal, but had previously prevailed in the rounds against Türkspor Dortmund and FC Gütersloh in penalty shootout.

Bielefeld took over the game control, but did not manage to play clear chances. The first half was characterized by an intensive fight in which the teams hardly came to any significant chances. In the second round, Bielefeld increased the pressure: a dangerous shot from Joker Nassim Boujellab crashed into the crossbar, and a misguided dropping of Siegen's goalkeeper Leon Klußmann was just saved by Florian Mayer.

The narrow victory over victories strengthens Bielefeld, which is now well in the race for both the Westphalia Cup final and the DFB Cup final. On May 25, 2025, the final day of amateurs is celebrated in parallel to the DFB Cup final when Arminia is in the spotlight again.