Drama in the DFB Cup: Hannover 96 against Cottbus – old ghosts awaken!

Drama in the DFB Cup: Hannover 96 against Cottbus – old ghosts awaken!

Hannover 96 and Energie Cottbus are united by an eventful football history that goes back more than a quarter of a century. The first meetings between these two clubs took place at the end of the 1996/97 season. Hannover 96, then champions of the Regionalliga Nord, played against the champions of the Regionalliga Nordost, Cottbus. The original first leg in Hanover ended without goals (0-0), while the second leg in Brandenburg was marked by a power outage during a thrilling game that Cottbus ultimately won 3-1. The racist incidents that occurred during the game were particularly tragic; Players like Otto Addo and Gerald Asamoah were attacked with insults and objects like bananas. These shocking events remain unforgotten and continued into modern times, when they were discussed in the documentary “Black Eagles” in 2021. Hannover 96 recalled the incidents in a recent statement and expressed their dismay at an inappropriate tweet from Cottbus that recalled the events of that time. This tweet has since been deleted, but it caused considerable excitement among the people of Hanover, as Hannover96 reports.

When you look at the success stories of both clubs, it becomes an attractive duel. By 2009, there had been a total of twelve first and second division duels, the balance of which makes it clear that both teams have shown strong performances in the past: Hannover 96 celebrated five wins, while Cottbus was slightly in the lead with six wins. A memorable game was matchday 34 of the 2007/08 season, when Hannover won 4-0 and secured a place in the fans' memories. The two teams also met in the DFB Cup; In the 2004/05 season, after an exciting 2-2 draw in regular time, there was a penalty shootout, which Hannover ultimately won. This victory paved the way to the round of 16, which was won against Dortmund and the quarter-finals against Schalke.

Current encounters and racism debate

The last direct meetings between the teams this season took place in the Third League, with the 96-U23s finishing 0-0 in an initial encounter and a 2-2 draw in a later one. Nevertheless, the memory of the tragic incidents of 1997 remains present. The discussion about racism in football has repeatedly gained attention, not only because of the incidents in Cottbus, but also because of provocative public behavior. Before the relegation first leg between Cottbus and Unterhaching, Cottbus appealed to its fans and posted a tweet that was criticized as inappropriate. This referred to past games and portrayed the incidents in an inappropriate light. The club was forced to issue a statement and stated that it was never the intention to trivialize racist incidents. The declaration mentioned the initiative for diversity and tolerance as well as its own program called “RotWeiss instead of brown”, which is clearly against racism, as Sportbild reports.

The next encounter between Hannover 96 and Energie Cottbus is planned for the upcoming DFB Cup weekend from August 15th to 18th, 2025. The exact date is still to be determined, but the anticipation for another chapter in this exciting rivalry is already palpable. The hope for fans of both sides remains that the future will be characterized by fairness, tolerance and sporting ambition.