Tough draw for Bremen

Posted Monday, November 02, 2009 by PA

Werder Bremen will have to see off in-form Bundesliga rivals Hoffenheim if they are to stand a chance of successfully defending their DFB-Pokal title.

The northern Germany side were given a home tie with Hoffenheim in the quarter-final draw, which took place on Sunday

Coach Thomas Schaaf said: "Everybody knows that it is not going to be an easy task but we are the defending champions and we are self-confident enough to say that we want to prove ourselves in this game and get into the next round.

He added: "Recent games with Hoffenheim have always been something special so I am happy for our fans to be able to experience this game in Bremen."

A Bavarian derby was the other highlight of the last eight, with second division side Greuther Furth heading to Bayern Munich looking for history to repeat itself 15 years after their last meeting with the record German champions.

They defeated Giovanni Trapattoni's Bayern in the cup 1-0 in 1994 when the club was still known as Vestenbergsgreuth before, two years later, merging with SpVgg Furth.

Another Bavarian side will be confident of their chances of reaching the semi-finals and representing the second division in the last four, with Augsburg getting a plum tie at home to Bundesliga strugglers Cologne.

Finally, third division side Osnabruck, who have already accounted for both Hamburg and Borussia Dortmund in previous rounds, will be looking for their third major scalp at home to Schalke.

The quarter-final ties will be played on February 9 and 10 with the final in Berlin scheduled for May 15.