There would be so much to tell.

The extra time against Hertha BSC, the "scandal game" on ice and snow against Werder Bremen, Oliver Kahn's grim face in the semifinals - it was not for nothing that NDR filmed a 45-minute documentary about FC St. Pauli's fantastic cup season.

Timo Schultz was in all five games in 2005/2006.

But he says, "I'm not going to bother the boys with how it used to be."

15 years and six months ago, Schultz came to the Millerntor as a player from Holstein Kiel's second team – St. Pauli was bogging down in the regional league and was facing bankruptcy.

"I noticed from my contract that the situation wasn't so good," says Schultz with a smile, now 44 years old and St. Pauli's head coach.

Six games, five wins later, FC recovered thanks to cup earnings of 2.7 million euros.

And had written club history.

“We were a blatant underdog”

Schultz cannot see any parallels to the present and thus to the round of 16 of the DFB Cup this Tuesday (8.45 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the DFB Cup, on ARD and on Sky) against Borussia Dortmund: “When I see the pitch now and myself If you remember the games against Hertha and Werder, it had nothing to do with a football pitch back then. As a third division team, we were the blatant underdog and had a team that wasn't really talented, but had an enormous will."

While that Pauli vintage used space, spectator support and the role of outsider to surpass themselves, Schultz' current team is even considered the strongest in the second division and goes confidently into the duel with the second in the Bundesliga - even if the 2-2 win against Aue at the weekend is sobering was. Looking back on 2005/06, Schultz allows himself a hint: "It's good to know that you can even beat opponents who are brutal favorites."

At that time everything started with a 3:2 after 0:2 against Burghausen.

This was followed by a 4-0 win against Bochum and a 3-2 win against Berlin after extra time, before the north duel with Bremen was due.

Schultz recalls January 15, 2006: “It was pure ice with a bit of snow on it.

As referee Dr.

Brych came to inspect the course, we tried to prepare the course.

As soon as he left the facility, we threw the snow shovel aside.”

Werder slipped out of the competition at 1:3, St. Pauli later fought a tough fight with Bayern, but were eliminated in the semifinals (0:3).

In the NDR Schultz says: "I will tell my grandchildren about this cup series."