Head coach Juergen Klopp of Dortmund is seen prior to the Bundesliga match between 1. FC Nuernberg and Borussia Dortmund. Dortmund play Holstein Kiel in the DFB-Pokal on February 7, 2012. (Photo by Lars Baron/Bongarts/Getty Images)
Borussia Dortmund face the DFB-Pokal's biggest Cinderella, while Bayern Munich face Stuttgart in the best match of the quarterfinals.
For the most part, the quarterfinals of the 2011-12 DFB-Pokal looks like it should. The country's two best teams, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, still remain in the competition. There are four other Bundesliga teams remaining, none of which are in the drop zone. There's one 2. Bundesliga side remaining, SpVgg Greuther Fürth. They're third in the second division with the best goal differential and they've been in the top half of the second division for a decade.
Then, there's Holstein Kiel. They're second in their region of the fourth tier of German football, sitting behind RB Leipzig in the Regionalliga Nord. Though there's no shame in sitting behind a rich team funded by a large soft drink company, the point still stands that this is a fourth division team. Not only a fourth division team, but one unlikely to get promoted to the third division this season. They have made it all the way to the quarterfinals of the German Cup.
On Tuesday, they host Borussia Dortmund, whose B side will probably beat the living tar out of them. They have done absolutely brilliantly to defeat Energie Cottbus, MSV Duisburg and Mainz consecutively -- all by multiple goals while keeping a clean sheet -- but the dream is likely over. They've worked miracles before, though, so it might be worth tuning in.
In Wednesday's early games, Hoffenheim and Borussia Mönchengladbach will be fairly heavy favorites to advance, though it will be interesting to see if they do treat this as an opportunity to win a trophy and play full-strength sides. The highlight of the round is the final game, in which Stuttgart host Bayern Munich.
Schedule
Holstein Kiel vs. Borussia Dortmund - Tuesday, 2:30 p.m. ET, 8:30 p.m. local
Hoffenheim vs. SpVgg Greuther Fürth - Wednesday, 1:00 p.m. ET, 7:00 p.m. local
Hertha Berlin vs. Borussia Mönchengladbach - Wednesday, 1:00 p.m. ET, 7:00 p.m. local
VfB Stuttgart vs. Bayern Munich - Wednesday, 2:30 p.m. ET, 8:30 p.m. local
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