Promotion was hardly in doubt for VfB Lübeck for the majority of the season – but the title was. For many weeks, the men from Lübeck were locked in a battle with the Hamburger SV reserves for the Regionalliga Nord championship. However, the Red Shorts had not applied for a licence for the 3. Liga. Despite promotion being set in stone, the final day of the season was a dramatic affair: Lübeck only scored the winning goal that lifted them up to first place in the table in the fourth minute of stoppage time, meaning they celebrated their return to the 3. Liga along with the title.
Now back in professional football, Lübeck immediately pulled off a remarkable result when they held SV Sandhausen, who were relegated from the 2. Bundesliga, to a (0-0) draw on the opening day of the campaign. Staying in the division is Lübeck’s big goal for the season, and that first point confirms that coach Lukas Pfeiffer is on the right track.
The tactician, who is only 32 years old, is hoping for another success for his team in the DFB-Pokal, having overcome Hansa Rostock in the first round of the competition a year ago. The only previous meeting with TSG Hoffenheim came at a significantly more advanced stage of the competition: Hoffenheim, then a third-tier outfit, played against the second-division side from the far north back in 2004. Lübeck won 1-0 and ended TSG’s wonderful cup run in the process, before succumbing (3-2) to eventual double winners Werder Bremen in the semi-final after extra-time.
Almost 20 years later, the two teams are now set for their second meeting – under very different circumstances.