Marco Rose analyzed calmly on the outside, but you could hear with every word that the Borussia Dortmund coach was seething.

His team, second in the first Bundesliga, had just been eliminated from the DFB Cup by FC St. Pauli, first in the second Bundesliga.

In addition to the disturbing performance, especially in the early stages, which was the basis for the defeat in Hamburg, one thing bothered Rose above all: the missed chance for a title.

"The disappointment is huge, we can't defend the title." In the summer, BVB had won the title in the final.

Tobias Rabe

Responsible editor for Sport Online.

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This is no longer possible for Dortmund in the DFB Cup this season. And that, although all the remaining teams were allowed to have high hopes as rarely. The German football dominator FC Bayern failed in the second round with Rose's old team. After Bayern Munich's 5-0 loss in Mönchengladbach in the fall, some teams probably already saw a hand on the golden trophy after the big final on May 21 in Berlin. Hope lives on for some clubs that otherwise hardly win a title, but not for BVB. And it was mostly his own fault.

The signs were promising.

After the short winter break, Dortmund turned around the difficult away game in Frankfurt after a 2-0 defeat and won in a furious finish.

This was followed by the 5-1 win over SC Freiburg last Friday.

Nevertheless, the mood at Borussia was quickly clouded by the interview with Erling Haaland shortly after the gala, when the star striker accused the club that those responsible were putting too much pressure on him to clarify his future question.

“It wasn’t a cup game like that”

Hamburg's performance on Tuesday evening was not an argument for Haaland to want to wear a black and yellow jersey beyond the season. The Norwegian scored the only goal for Borussia with a hand penalty (58th minute), but things had already gone in the wrong direction. Etienne Amenyido gave St. Pauli the lead in the fourth minute, and shortly before half-time, Axel Witsel scored an own goal (40'). The beginning of Dortmund was particularly difficult for Rose: "The way we accepted the game, it wasn't a cup game."

The coach just didn't get it. "We're really disappointed, especially because we brought a lot of energy here after the last two games. But there was no sign of that energy in the first ten or fifteen minutes. It was a non-fight.” BVB cut a bad figure, especially when it came to the goal to make it 0-1. After Marcel Hartel's cross pass, attacker Marco Reus suddenly had to defend against goalscorer Amenyido and couldn't do it in an unfamiliar role. The captain was also extremely disappointed: "It's bitter to be eliminated as the top favourite."

The word "top favorite" in connection with Borussia Dortmund could only be brought into this context in theory. In the practical test, it looked different over long stretches. Reus quickly realized that. "Today was a bad day, we just woke up too late," he said on ARD. "St. Pauli did well, but it's very bitter for us that we're out. We have to let that sink in now. In any case, we missed a huge opportunity to win the cup again.” Goalkeeper Gregor Kobel then also recognized: “That was not enough.”

The performance got better in front of 2000 admitted spectators, who created a cup atmosphere, but in the end it wasn't enough. "If you look at the first 15 minutes of the game, with the way we approached the cup game, it makes sense that you can't always fix things at the back. St. Pauli fought and fought. We came back with the 1:2, but we didn't manage to finally turn it around," said Rose. His conclusion, which said it all: "It's bitter for us at best. That's silly. I'm pissed off."

After a promising start to the year, the good mood in Dortmund quickly faded – and is unlikely to return any time soon.

"We have to take whatever comes our way," Rose said.

And the tasks in the coming weeks will be difficult.

In the Bundesliga it's against Hoffenheim, Leverkusen, Union Berlin and Mönchengladbach.

Glasgow Rangers are waiting in the Europa League.

The international competition realistically seems to be the only chance for a title this year.

With performances like against St. Pauli, that's just a big illusion.