Nuremberg stop Stuttgart to win German Cup

FC Nuremberg captured its fourth German Cup on Saturday with a 3-2 extra-period win against VfB Stuttgart that also spoiled the Bundesliga champion's chance at a double.

Jan Kristiansen's 109th-minute rising shot from well outside the area flew just under the crossbar for the winner against Stuttgart, which played short-handed after Brazilian forward Cacau was sent off the field with a 31st-minute red card.

decisive

"It was a great, great match from both teams and in the end we deserved to win," Kristiansen said. "Surely, though, it was a different match after Cacau's red card."

An penalty conversion from Pavel Pardo, one of Stuttgart's two Mexican players, sent the match into overtime on a rain-soaked field at Berlin's Olympic stadium, the site of last year's World Cup final.

Marco Englehardt's 47th-minute header for Nuremberg off a corner had put his team up 2-1.

Cacau in the 20th and seven minutes later Marek Mintal tied it at 1 for Nuremberg, which booked a UEFA Cup berth with its first German Cup win since 1962. The club also won the trophy in 1932 and 1935.

Stuttgart the surprise winner of the Bundesliga with the league's youngest team and management said before the game the season was still a success even if the club didn't claim a fourth German Cup.

"The disappointment isn't so big," Stuttgart goalie Timo Hildebrandt said. "We fought so hard even with 10 men."

Stuttgart's team earned numerous chances against Nuremberg in the early minutes, but a defensive lapse leveled the match.

Mintal, left unmarked, volleyed in a cross in the 27th minute.

After Cacau's ejection there were still plenty of missed chances for both teams, although Nuremberg grew passive in the final minutes trying to hold a 2-1 lead.

Stuttgart the game into an extra period with the penalty when Thomas Hitzlsperger slipped a through pass to forward Mario Gomez, forcing goalie Raphael Schaefer out to upend the forward.

Nuremberg the only Bundesliga team to beat Stuttgart both times in the season.

vindication

The German Cup win was vindication for Nuremberg coach Hans Meyer, who was a top coach in the former East Germany, but still couldn't get a coaching job in the Bundesliga for 10 years.

Meyer now the only man to win the German Cup in both the former East Germany and unified Germany. He is now regarded as one of the Bundesliga's best coaches.

Another watched the game on giant screens in Berlin's downtown.