Until the final whistle: Can he pull off a double miracle today? | OneFootball

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Every bone hurts, the muscles burn, but it doesn't help. Noah Sarenren Bazee has to muster up the strength to sprint again. Stress the opponent, force a mistake and help his defensive colleagues somehow get this damn 2-1 against the reigning German champion over time. He hasn't played 90 minutes in any other game this season, but today he's too important to be substituted.

The DFB Cup final is in the eyes of the Arminia Bielefeld players. The biggest game any of them will play in their careers. So Sarenren Bazee keeps going and runs towards Jonathan Tah again to provoke another long ball. And that in a body that just doesn't seem to be made for playing football. Too often, the 28-year-old, who was said to have been of interest to FC Bayern and Arsenal in 2017, has let him down.

Countless knee injuries, various muscular problems, and several cruciate ligament tears have ensured that the former top talent, who once thrilled all of Hanover and half of the Bundesliga with his incredible speed, has ended up in the 3rd league instead of playing for some top club in the Champions League. After his move to Arminia Bielefeld, he wanted to "play football with joy again" in 2023, after feeling like he had spent more time in the hospital than on the football pitch at Hannover 96 and then at Augsburg.

The new start fails

But it also came to pass at the East Westphalians as Sarenren Bazee had known it from previous years: after just nine games for the new club, the familiar pain shot through his knee. Without any influence from the opponent, he had gotten stuck in the grass in the 2nd round of the DFB Cup.

Once again, the cruciate ligament was torn and the season was over for him. In the current season, the workload is therefore dosed and he is given breaks again and again. Sometimes he plays from the start, sometimes he comes on as a joker from the bench to outrun the tiring defenders with his still-existent speed. Nevertheless, he had to take a break twice this season due to muscle injuries.

"Every injury brings a certain challenge," he said to 'transfermarkt.de' in 2023. "You become a bit more humble because you appreciate how valuable it is to be healthy." It's a mental challenge to deal with these setbacks: "You're often put in the way, then it's about how you get them out of the way."

📸 Thomas F. Starke - 2024 Getty Images

He was also in the middle of the current cup sensation of the Bielefelders, thanks to this attitude, missing only the round of 16 against Freiburg. Now the VfB Stuttgart is waiting in the final and Sarenren Bazee wants to "perfect another sensation and finish the story", as he told the 'Celler Zeitung'.

A last chance?

A story where you don't know what's more improbable: that Arminia, as a third division team, is in the final, who would have almost been relegated to the regional league last year, or Sarenren Bazee, whose career seemed to be heading towards a sad end. A double miracle, so to speak.

Because suddenly it's back. The chance to win a title and, against all odds, still play in a European cup game. Just like it seemed predetermined almost ten years ago. Only one more stone needs to be removed from the way with the VfB.

To do this, Sarenren Bazee will run as long as his legs carry him. Stress the opponent and force mistakes. Maybe 90 minutes again, maybe 120. The only thing that's certain is that he won't give up. He's been through too much to get to this point. And for him and his body, it's too uncertain how often he'll get such a chance again.

📸 UWE KRAFT - AFP or licensors