It is the first time in the 85-year history of the tournament that an outfit from the fourth tier has reached the semi-final.
Saarbrucken, who spent the 2019/20 league season in the Regionalliga Südwest, disposed of two teams from the second division as well as top flight Koln and Fortuna Dusseldorf on their way to the last four.
They will start as underdogs at the Hermann-Neuberger-Stadion not only because of the distance between the sides in the footballing hierarchy.
Saarbrucken have not played a competitive match since German football was suspended in March as part of the country’s efforts to stem the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
Competition
Leverkusen have turned out five times since football returned to the top two divisions in Germany in the middle of May. Peter Bosz's men lie fifth and are in the hunt for one of the Bundesliga berths that lead to next season’s Uefa Champions League.
European club football’s most prestigious tournament operates in an alternate reality for Saarbrucken’s players who will feature in Liga 3 next season after they were anointed champions when the season in the minor leagues was declared over.
Saarbrucken boss Lukas Kwasniok said his players would have to accept the disadvantage stemming from the shutdown.
“For me and my squad, it’s just one of those things,” said the 38-year-old. “We have to look at the possibilities of what we have. The likelihood that we will go through something like this again is extremely low.”
Behind closed doors
As part of the resumption of football, players and coaches have to follow strict health guidelines and spectators have been banned from matches.
“Of course it’s really sad that our fans can’t be in the stadium for this,” said Saarbrucken skipper Manuel Zeitz who referred to the battle in the Bible between David and Goliath. “We know that our supporters and thousands of others will be hoping we can do something extraordinary.
“This is the game of a lifetime,” added Zeitz. “The match will be broadcast across the world so we’ve got to give everything we have. We’ve got to stay in the match for as long as possible.”
The winner will meet either cup holders Bayern Munich or Eintracht Frankfurt in the final on 4 July at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.
Kwasniok added: “Leverkusen are a really good team but we cannot stand around in awe of them. It will be about who shows up on the night.
"And we might just have an advantage … they haven’t been able to see us play so we might be able to spring a few surprises.”
