Friedhelm Funkel was in the cup finals so many times that he no longer knows exactly how many times. Now the FCK coach is traveling to Berlin again at the age of 70 – he is threatened with an emotional balancing act.
Friedhelm Funkel remarked how full a footballer’s life can be when he was actually asked whether he knew how many times he had been in the DFB Cup final. “I have no idea,” said the tired but happy coach late at night, who had dutifully put on one of those cup final T-shirts after his 1. FC Kaiserslautern’s 2-0 win against 1. FC Saarbrücken, which despite all assertions of modesty are always pre-produced. Somewhere deep in the Ludwigsparkstadion, a sad employee had to pack the unopened box with the Saarbrücken version back into a car. You’ll never know what they looked like.