Tuchel’s 2017 Pokal winners – Where are they now?
Runners-up to Bayern in 2014.
Runners-up to Wolfsburg in 2015.
Runners-up to Bayern in 2016.
Borussia Dortmund reached a fourth successive DFB-Pokal final in 2017.
After a silverware drought followed the club’s golden era under Jürgen Klopp, ‘die Schwarzgelben’ weren’t short of heartbreak.
Star players leaving. The messiah manager following suit. Several final defeats.
BVB endured a tough few seasons after winning back-to-back Bundesliga titles and a Pokal from 2011 to 2012.
A Champions League final defeat to ‘der Klassiker’ rivals Bayern Munich in 2013 somewhat signalled the end of that truly iconic era.
After three seasons without a trophy (excluding DFL-Supercups), Klopp left Signal Iduna Park in 2015.
Another former Mainz boss followed the current Liverpool boss to the hot seat – Thomas Tuchel.
Tuchel’s Tenure
An immediate hit with the Yellow Wall, the German adhered to the philosophies upon which this club was built, utilising the top young talent at his disposal.
Tuchel led ‘die Borussen’ to a second place finish in the Bundesliga in his debut campaign and suffered a penalty shootout defeat in the Cup final at the hands of Pep Guardiola’s Bayern.
The following term, his Dortmund side reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League and closed out an inconsistent league season in strong style.
Four wins in the last six while going the whole year unbeaten at home, was perfect momentum for the club to take to the Olympiastadion once more.
Eintracht Frankfurt awaited.
In Berlin, an Ante Rebic goal cancelled out Ousmane Dembélé’s opener, only for talisman Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to win it from the spot in the second half.
That triumph in the capital sealed a fourth DFB-Pokal title for Borussia Dortmund – a first in five years.
But where is that side now?
Substitutes
Legendary goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller remains at Borussia Dortmund as a global ambassador.
Seasoned defensive midfielder/centre-back Sven Bender is back playing semi-professionally with his first ever club TSV Brannenburg, while he’s also assistant manager for the German Under-17 national team.
World Cup-winning full-back Erik Durm is currently playing for 2. Bundesliga side FC Kaiserslautern.
32-year-old midfielder Sebastian Rode has been playing for runners-up Eintracht Frankfurt ever since leaving North Rhine-Westphalia; he is now their captain.
Andre Schürrle called it a day on a glittering career while at BVB in 2020, citing mental health reasons for his retirement. He has since invested in numerous businesses and partaken in extreme sports.
‘Captain America’ Christian Pulisic shot to stardom in black and yellow but didn’t quite hit those same heights at Chelsea. He left Stamford Bridge in the summer to join AC Milan.
After his 2018 departure, midfield maestro Gonzalo Castro saw spells at VFB Stuttgart and Arminia Bielefeld, where he retired in 2022.
Roman Bürki
Swiss shotstopper Roman Bürki racked up 233 appearances in a seven year spell with Dortmund.
Bürki spent five solid seasons as the club’s number one ‘keeper before eventually losing his place in 2021.
Now 32, the former Freiburg and Young Boys man left Signal Iduna Park in 2022 to join new MLS franchise St Louis City on a free transfer.
The club’s first real big name recruit, Bürki still captains the high-flying Missouri outfit.
Marc Bartra
A graduate of the famous ‘La Masia’ Barcelona academy, Marc Bartra won the German cup in his debut year in the Bundesliga.
Well suited to Tuchel’s back three methods, the defender was quite the hit among the Yellow Wall.
But just halfway through the following term, Bartra returned to Spain to join Real Betis where he remains today, after a brief stint in Turkey with Trabzonspor.
Sokratis Papastathopoulos
Signed from Werder Bremen on the back of the 2013 Wembley heartbreak, Sokratis Papastathopoulos became an instant regular for ‘die Borussen’.
The Greece international was a terrific servant to the club and left with almost 200 appearances to his name.
A year after this Pokal triumph – his only title won as a ‘Borusse’ – the defender left to join Arsenal.
Having spent the past two years with Olympiacos, he is now without a club.
Marcel Schmelzer (C)
One club men are rare in modern football but the Black and Yellows struck the jackpot in finding a 17-year-old Marcel Schmelzer.
The left-back (he played this match as part of a back three) went on to spend the entirety of his professional career with Dortmund and became club captain in 2016 after the departure of Mats Hummels.
Schmelzer scored against Lotte en route to the Berlin final and would secure a major honour in his maiden term as skipper.
The German retired in 2022 after two years with no appearances. He is now the assistant manager of the club’s under-17s.
Matthias Ginter
Defender Matthias Ginter signed for Klopp’s BVB on the back of helping Germany win the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Arriving from Freiburg, Ginter served three years at the club, making over 100 appearances, signing off with a Pokal winners’ medal, playing in midfield for the final.
The 29-year-old then spent five seasons with Borussia Mönchengladbach before returning to Freiburg last summer.
He has since thrived there and is back in the national team picture.
Lukas Piszczek
Forming a formidable full-back pairing with Schmelzer in the golden days of ‘die Schwarzgelben’ was Lukasz Piszczek.
The Poland international’s 382 appearances across an 11-year spell rank eighth highest in the club’s history.
Piszczek was an icon of the club and this Pokal title was one of three in his trophy cabinet.
He also left having won the cup in 2021, returning to his hometown non-professional club Goczalkowice. Now 38, he is serving the club in a player-manager role.
Ousmane Dembélé
The man who opened the scoring that night was French winger Ousmane Dembélé.
Occupying a central role in Berlin, the former Rennes man grabbed a goal and an assist in the semi-finals against Bayern Munich, as his remarkable rise continued.
Ending that term with 10 goals and 21 assists, Dembélé thrived under Tuchel and was one of the most exciting talents on the planet at the time.
Such form garnered interest from some footballing giants, including FC Barcelona – who broke Dortmund’s sale record, bringing him to Spain for €135million.
He left Camp Nou in the summer to join PSG.
Shinji Kagawa
A club legend, Shinji Kagawa was into his second stint as a ‘Borusse’ when he lifted his second Pokal crown.
The attacking midfielder netted a brace in the first round on the road to the final away at Eintracht Trier.
Having been a key player for the club once again under Tuchel, Kagawa didn’t have such luck under the following managers.
He has since seen stints at Besiktas, Real Zaragoza, PAOK, Sint-Truiden and he is now back in his native Japan with Cerezo Osaka.
Raphael Guerreiro
The most recent player in this list to leave the club, France-born Portugal international Raphael Guerreiro was a key player for BVB from his debut season to his last.
A Tuchel signing, Guerreiro was integral to the German’s wing-back system, marauding up and down the left flank to great effect.
He went on to have a hand in 90 goals across 224 appearances for the club before letting his contract expire in the summer.
Having recently had fitness issues, Guerreiro is awaiting a full FC Bayern debut.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Of all the 10 clubs of his professional career, legendary striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hasn’t scored more goals or made more appearances for any club than he did for Borussia Dortmund.
The Gabon international went from strength to strength in black and yellow and enjoyed his finest spell in the 2016-17 campaign.
That year, ‘Auba’ took home the Bundesliga golden boot with a tally of 31 goals.
In the DFB-Pokal, meanwhile, the pacy frontman followed up his semi-final goal against Bayern with a winning penalty in the final.
Eight months later, Aubameyang left the club.
Leaving behind an incredible legacy, he made 213 appearances, netting 141 times across a four and a half year stint.
After spells with Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea, the 34-year-old is now plying his trade in his country of birth with Marseille.
Marco Reus
Finally, the only survivor remaining from this side could only be one man: Marco Reus.
A club legend in every sense of the word, Reus has always given 110% for his boyhood club.
Despite the 2016-17 season being another plagued by injury, this didn’t stop the playmaker from turning in some top performances.
That year’s ‘FIFA 17’ cover star, Reus scored 13 times, assisting a further eight in 22 appearances.
On the road to Berlin, the German took the round of 16 to penalties with his equaliser against Hertha, before opening the scoring and setting up the semi-final winner against Bayern.
Having signed a new contract earlier this year, Reus continues to show unbelievable loyalty to his club, while still showing his class on the pitch.
This was his first major honour with the club.
Hopefully he can add to that trophy cabinet in the near future.
A top team under Tuchel brought home a deserved trophy; it’s a shame his tenure had to end the way it did.
