"I'm completely dead," said an ecstatic and relieved Thomas Tuchel in a post-match interview with ARD. The players were equally delighted in the wake of their DFB Cup triumph. "Now we're going to enjoy the moment, the night. At times like this, all you feel is a sense of pure joy," said Marco Reus.

Thomas Tuchel: "I'm dead, completely dead. That was a really tough task. It was not our best game, but that doesn't matter. We did it!! I'd like to pay a big compliment to my team. We made a good start and got the goal, but then we stopped playing football. We conceded that goal and were somewhat fortunate that we did not fall behind. The second period was almost a carbon copy of the first: we dropped off a little bit after taking the lead and played a lot of long balls. But no-one will be talking about that now because we won. That was an incredible goal by Ousmane Dembélé. And as for Auba's penalty, I can only say that it was a relatively sure thing. We analysed Hradecky's penalties before the match and he is unbelievably quick to get down into the corners, that's why he makes so many saves from the spot. It might have looked like he made a cocky choice, but it was a conscious decision. Ultimately, it was the safe bet, because we had discussed the topic in the build-up."

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Marcel Schmelzer: "It was undoubtedly not a spectacular affair. But that's of no importance in a final. We showed that we really wanted to win. Ultimately we have won the title and rounded off our season in style. We can be incredibly proud of that as a team. We knew that it would be important to get the second goal after they had equalised. The fact that we did so from the penalty spot makes little difference to us."

Marco Reus: "Every footballer wants to win titles, so I'm delighted beyond measure that we finally managed it today. It was a long time coming. If we put the performance under the microscope, then in all honesty you'd say it was a poor game from us. But that doesn't matter now, we've brought the Cup back to Dortmund. It was a season with a lot of ups and downs. But we always got back up again, we grew together – and that's simply incredible. Everyone deserved to win this title. Everyone. Right down to the kitman. Throughout the season we had a lot of injuries but we always bounced back. The final was pretty much our season in microcosm. Now we're going to enjoy the moment, the night. At times like this, all you feel is a sense of pure joy."

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Roman Bürki: "We're ecstatic. It was a tougher task than we thought. I said right from the very beginning that we weren't necessarily the favourites. We made a strong start but then we dropped off a bit. But it doesn't matter, all that counts in the end is that we won. We've managed to bounce back a lot recently. This title is the crowning conclusion to our season. I have never experienced so much as I have this season – both on and off the pitch. The team have come together in an incredible way. It hasn't been easy. This team have continued to grow together with every single experience. We can feel proud."

Dr. Reinhard Rauball: "After the equaliser it was an even match, but the coach made the right changes when he was forced into them at the break. Then we made a very strong start to the second half and in the end we really deserved to win this final. The team put in an excellent performance and really deserve this title. The same goes to the coach, of course."

"Leave with our heads held high"

Nico Kovac (Eintracht Frankfurt coach): "I'd like to pay a big compliment to my team. It wasn't to be today, sometimes you just have to accept that and walk off the pitch with your heads held high. Many congratulations to BVB."

Lukas Hradecky (Eintracht Frankfurt goalkeeper): "I'd hoped to be able to save another penalty but it didn't work out at all. Nonetheless, we put in a good performance. A big compliment to our fans, they supported us brilliantly." (djg)