Altglienicke Exit DFB-Pokal on Penalties Despite Matchball
- VSG Altglienicke, a fourth-tier Regionalliga side, lost 8-9 on penalties to second-division VfL Wolfsburg in the DFB-Pokal despite leading three times and holding a match-winning
- Sporting director Torsten Mattuschka said progression to the second round would have earned the club €456,377, calling it a potentially transformative financial prize.
- Mattuschka praised his players' 'sensational' 120-minute display and said the club had long been underestimated, adding that the performance proved Altglienicke 'can play a pretty
VSG Altglienicke came within a single saved penalty of one of the DFB-Pokal's great upsets, only to exit 8-9 on penalties after 120 minutes of extraordinary endeavour against second-division VfL Wolfsburg — a result that leaves the Regionalliga side with pride intact but a potentially transformative prize beyond their grasp.
Three times in front, once from glory
The Berlin club, who compete in Germany's fourth tier, led on three separate occasions across normal and extra time and held a match-winning penalty in the shootout — what Mattuschka described as a Matchball — before the chance went begging. Wolfsburg star Fabian Reese also missed from the spot, but the second-division side ultimately converted the decisive kick to progress.
'We were always laughed at a little'
Torsten Mattuschka, Altglienicke's 45-year-old sporting director, was unrestrained in his admiration for his players despite the defeat. "First of all, I am incredibly proud of the team, the entire club — and also everything around it," he said. "What our players delivered over 120 minutes was sensational. Unfortunately it went unrewarded." Mattuschka acknowledged the emotional weight of the loss but was insistent that no one should leave the ground with their head bowed. "We always get laughed at a little with VSG Altglienicke," he said. "Today we showed that we can play a pretty good game of football."
Mattuschka, who appeared as a pundit on Sky television in the week before the tie, had publicly exchanged banter with Reese ahead of the fixture. He noted with wry acknowledgement that Reese then proceeded to miss his penalty on the night. "That's so typical of football," Mattuschka said.
Financial blow compounds sporting heartbreak
Progression to the second round would have earned the club €456,377 — a sum Mattuschka described as a "mega-Brett," or a massive windfall, for an organisation he characterised as a small club operating outside its usual comfort zone. The occasion also required Altglienicke to provide a VIP marquee and manage ticketing at a scale the club described as unprecedented. "Our people pulled it off brilliantly," Mattuschka said. "That is not normal for us as a small club." The cup run also drew comparisons with other lower-league sides who have caused significant upsets in the competition this season.
Altglienicke must now regroup quickly; Mattuschka confirmed the squad faces a Regionalliga fixture against Chemie Leipzig on Friday, leaving little time to process a defeat that, by any reasonable measure, need not have happened at all.
