DFB-Pokal

DFB-Pokal
Founded 1935
Region Germany
Number of teams 64
Current champions Bayern Munich (17th title)
Most successful club(s) Bayern Munich (17 titles)
Television broadcasters Sky, ARD, ZDF
2014–15 DFB-Pokal

The DFB-Pokal (IPA: [ˈdeː ʔɛf beː poˈkaːl]) or DFB Cup is a German knockout football cup competition held annually. Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered the second-most important club title in German football after the Bundesliga championship. The DFB-Pokal is run by the Deutscher Fußball-Bund (English: German Football Association). The competition runs from August until June. The winner qualifies for the DFL-Supercup and the UEFA Europa League unless the winner already qualifies for the UEFA Champions League in the Bundesliga.

The competition was founded in 1935, then called Tschammer-Pokal. The first titleholder were 1. FC Nuremberg. In 1937 Schalke were the first team to win the double. The Tschammer-Pokal was suspended in 1945 due to World War II and disbanded following the demise of Nazi Germany. In 1952–53, the cup was reinstated as the DFB-Pokal, named after the Deutscher Fußball-Bund and was won by Rot-Weiss Essen.

Bayern Munich have won the most titles, with 17 wins and being the most recent winner. Fortuna Düsseldorf hold the record for most consecutive tournament wins (18) between 1978 and 1981, taking the cup in 1979 and 1980.

Format

The trophy

The competition format has varied considerably since the inception of the Tschammer-Pokal in 1935.

Participation

The DFB-Pokal begins with a round of 64 teams. The 36 teams of the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga, along with the top four finishers of the 3. Liga are automatically qualified for the tournament. Of the remaining slots 21 are given to the cup winners of the regional football associations, the Verbandspokale. The three remaining slots are given to the three regional associations with the most men's teams. They may assign the slot as they see fit but usually give it to the runner up in the association cup. As every team is entitled to participate in local tournaments which qualify for the association cups every team can in principle compete in the DFB-Pokal. Reserve teams like Borussia Dortmund II are not permitted to enter.[1]

Seeding

The pairings for the DFB Cup are not entirely random as the teams are split into two pots of 32 teams each. One pot contains all the amateur teams including teams from the 3. Liga and the teams just being promoted to the 2. Bundesliga. The other pot contains the teams from the Bundesliga and the teams of the 2. Bundesliga who have not just been promoted. Therefore, in the first round of the cup each professional team plays an amateur team. Since 1982, the amateur generally plays at home when facing a professional team.

For the second round the teams are again divided into two pots according to the same principles. This time the pots don't have to be of equal size though, depending on the results of the first round. Amateur teams get paired with professional teams until one pot is empty. The remaining teams are then drawn from the nonempty pot with the team first drawn playing at home.

For the remaining rounds other than the final the teams are drawn from one pot. Since 1985 the final has been held in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin every year.[1]

Match rules

Extra time will be played if the scores are level after 90 minutes with a penalty shootout following if needed.[1]

History

Historically the number of participants in the main tournament has varied between four from 1956 until 1960 and 128 from 1973 through 1982 resulting in tournaments of two to seven rounds. Since the inception of the Bundesliga in 1963 all clubs from the Bundesliga are automatically qualified for the DFB-Pokal as are all clubs from the 2. Bundesliga since its inception in 1974. Reserve sides for most of the time were allowed to participate in the DFB-Pokal but have been excluded since 2008.

The final has been held at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin every season since 1985. Before 1985, the host of the final was determined on short notice. In the decision, the German Football Association took into consideration the ease with which supporters of both finalists could reach the site.

Originally the cup games were held over two times 45 minutes with two times 15 minutes extra time in case of a draw. If the score was still level after 120 minutes the game was replayed with the home field right reversed. In the 1939 Tschammer-Pokal the semi-final between SV Waldhof Mannheim and Wacker Wien was a draw three times before the game was decided by lot. The German Football Association decided to hold a penalty shootout if the replay was another draw after a similar situation arose in the 1970 cup, when the match between Alemannia Aachen and SV Werder Bremen had to be decided by lot after two draws.

In 1971–72 and 1972–73 the matches were held over two legs. The second leg was extended by two times 15 minutes if the aggregate was a draw after both legs. In case the extension brought no decision a penalty shootout was held.

When in 1977 the final 1. FC Köln vs. Hertha BSC had to be replayed this led to great logistic difficulties. In the aftermath the DFB decided not to let cup finals to be replayed in the future instead holding a penalty shootout after extra time. Eventually this change was extended to all cup games in 1991.

International qualification

Since 1960, the winner of the DFB-Pokal qualified for the European Cup Winners Cup. If the Cup winner qualified for the European Club Champions Cup, the losing finalist moved into the European Cup Winners Cup.

After the season 1998–99, the winner of the DFB-Pokal moved into next season's UEFA Europa League (called the UEFA Cup until 2009). If the winner qualifies through the Bundesliga for the Champions League, the losing finalist gets the spot. If both finalists qualify for the Champions League, the best placed team of the Bundesliga which is not already qualified for at least the Europa League gets the spot.[2]

Tschammerpokal

The first German cup was held in 1935. It was then called von Tschammer und Osten Pokal, or Tschammerpokal for short, named after Reichssportführer (Sports Chief of the Reich) Hans von Tschammer und Osten. The first final was contested between the two most successful clubs of that era, the 1. FC Nuremberg and Schalke 04, with Nuremberg winning 2 – 0.[3] After the last Tschammerpokal was held in 1943 the cup was not held for almost 10 years, being re-introduced by the German Football Association in 1952 under its current name DFB-Pokal. In 1965, the original trophy, Goldfasanen-Pokal, was substituted by the trophy which is still awarded today, because the original reminded DFB President Peco Bauwens of the Nazi era.[4]

Giant killing

Originally, the DFB-Pokal was a competition open to clubs from the top divisions of German football only. This continued after the establishment of the Bundesliga in 1963. Semi-professional and amateur clubs could only enter the competition from 1974 onwards, when it was enlarged. Up until 2008, only the top two divisions of German football, the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga, were fully professional but from 2008, with the establishment of the 3. Liga, the third tier also became fully professional.

From the start, the new match ups Bundesliga versus amateurs, most usually third division clubs, became a source of surprises. Often titled the "mother of all cup sensations" (German: Die Mutter aller Pokalsensationen),[5][6] was Hamburger SV's second round loss to VfB Eppingen in 1974, the first instance of an amateur side knocking out a Bundesliga club. It took until 1990 for a fourth division side to achieve the same, when SpVgg Fürth took Borussia Dortmund out of the competition. Further milestones were the reserve side of Hertha BSC, Hertha BSC II, reaching the cup final in 1993, a first for a third division club and a reserve team. In 1997 Eintracht Trier proved too strong for both the UEFA Cup and Champions League winners, knocking FC Schalke 04 and Borussia Dortmund out of the competition. In 2000, the 1. FC Magdeburg became the first fourth division side to eliminate two Bundesliga clubs in one season.[7]

Surprise results in the cup attract a strong media coverage in Germany and, at times, abroad. When TSV Vestenbergsgreuth took out FC Bayern Munich in 1994, who were coached by Giovanni Trapattoni at the time, La Gazzetta dello Sport reported on its front page "Club di dilettanti elimina Trapattoni" (Amateur club eliminate Trapattoni).[7]

Records

Having won 17 titles, Bayern Munich has been the most successful team in the cup since they won their fourth title in 1969. Fortuna Düsseldorf established a record for consecutive German Cup match victories (18 straight victories between 1978 and 1981, taking the trophy in 1979 and 1980). Schalke 04 holds the record for the biggest win in a DFB-Pokal final. They won 5–0 against Kaiserslautern in 1972 and 5–0 against Duisburg in 2011.

Finals

Tschammer-Pokal

Year Winner Runner Up Result Date Venue Attendance
19351. FC NurembergSchalke 042–008/12/35Düsseldorf55,000
1936VfB LeipzigSchalke 042–103/01/37Berlin70,000
1937Schalke 04Fortuna Düsseldorf2–109/01/38Cologne72,000
1938Rapid WienFSV Frankfurt3–108/01/39Berlin38,000
19391. FC NurembergWaldhof Mannheim2–008/04/40Berlin60,000
1940Dresdner SC1. FC Nuremberg2–1 aet01/12/40Berlin60,000
1941Dresdner SCSchalke 042–102/10/41Berlin65,000
19421860 MunichSchalke 042–015/11/42Berlin80,000
1943First ViennaLuftwaffen-SV Hamburg3–2 aet31/10/43Stuttgart45,000

DFB-Pokal

Year Winner Runner Up Result Date Venue Attendance
1953Rot-Weiss EssenAlemannia Aachen2–101/05/53Düsseldorf40,000
1954VfB Stuttgart1. FC Köln1–0 aet17/04/54Ludwigshafen60,000
1955Karlsruher SCSchalke 043–221/05/55Braunschweig25,000
1956Karlsruher SCHamburger SV3–105/08/56Karlsruhe25,000
1957Bayern MunichFortuna Düsseldorf1–029/12/57Augsburg42,000
1958VfB StuttgartFortuna Düsseldorf4–3 aet16/10/58Kassel28,000
1959Schwarz-Weiss EssenBorussia Neunkirchen5–227/12/59Kassel20,000
1960Borussia MönchengladbachKarlsruher SC3–205/10/60Düsseldorf50,000
1961Werder Bremen1. FC Kaiserslautern2–013/09/61Gelsenkirchen18,000
19621. FC NurembergFortuna Düsseldorf2–1 aet29/08/62Hannover41,000
1963Hamburger SVBorussia Dortmund3–014/08/63Hannover68,000
19641860 MunichEintracht Frankfurt2–013/06/64Stuttgart45,000
1965Borussia DortmundAlemannia Aachen2–022/05/65Hannover55,000
1966Bayern MunichMeidericher SV4–204/06/66Frankfurt am Main62,000
1967Bayern MunichHamburger SV4–010/06/67Stuttgart67,000
19681. FC KölnVfL Bochum4–109/06/68Ludwigshafen60,000
1969Bayern MunichSchalke 042–114/06/69Frankfurt am Main60,000
1970Kickers Offenbach1. FC Köln2–129/08/70Hannover50,000
1971Bayern Munich1. FC Köln2–1 aet19/06/71Stuttgart71,000
1972Schalke 041. FC Kaiserslautern5–001/07/72Hannover61,000
1973Borussia Mönchengladbach1. FC Köln2–1 aet23/06/73Düsseldorf69,000
1974Eintracht FrankfurtHamburger SV3–1 aet17/08/74Düsseldorf52,000
1975Eintracht FrankfurtMSV Duisburg1–021/06/75Hannover43,000
1976Hamburger SV1. FC Kaiserslautern2–026/06/76Frankfurt am Main61,000
19771. FC KölnHertha BSC1–1 aet
1–0 replay
28/05/77
30/05/77
Hannover54,000
35,000
19781. FC KölnFortuna Düsseldorf2–015/04/78Gelsenkirchen70,000
1979Fortuna DüsseldorfHertha BSC1–0 aet23/06/79Hannover56,000
1980Fortuna Düsseldorf1. FC Köln2–104/06/80Gelsenkirchen56,000
1981Eintracht Frankfurt1. FC Kaiserslautern3–102/05/81Stuttgart71,000
1982Bayern Munich1. FC Nuremberg4–201/05/82Frankfurt am Main61,000
19831. FC KölnFortuna Köln1–011/06/83Cologne61,000
1984Bayern MunichBorussia Mönchengladbach1–1 (7–6 pen)31/05/84Frankfurt am Main61,000
1985Bayer UerdingenBayern Munich2–126/05/85West Berlin70,000
1986Bayern MunichVfB Stuttgart5–203/05/86West Berlin76,000
1987Hamburger SVStuttgarter Kickers3–120/06/87West Berlin76,000
1988Eintracht FrankfurtVfL Bochum1–028/05/88West Berlin76,000
1989Borussia DortmundWerder Bremen4–124/06/89West Berlin76,000
19901. FC KaiserslauternWerder Bremen3–219/05/90West Berlin76,000
1991Werder Bremen1. FC Köln1–1 (4–3 pen)22/06/91Berlin73,000
1992Hannover 96Borussia Mönchengladbach0–0 (4–3 pen)23/05/92Berlin76,000
1993Bayer LeverkusenHertha BSC II1–012/06/93Berlin76,000
1994Werder BremenRot-Weiss Essen3–114/05/94Berlin76,000
1995Borussia MönchengladbachVfL Wolfsburg3–024/06/95Berlin75,700
19961. FC KaiserslauternKarlsruher SC1–025/05/96Berlin75,800
1997VfB StuttgartEnergie Cottbus2–014/06/97Berlin76,400
1998Bayern MunichMSV Duisburg2–116/05/98Berlin75,800
1999Werder BremenBayern Munich1–1 (5–4 pen)12/06/99Berlin75,841
2000Bayern MunichWerder Bremen3–006/05/00Berlin76,000
2001Schalke 04Union Berlin2–026/05/01Berlin73,011
2002Schalke 04Bayer Leverkusen4–211/05/02Berlin70,000
2003Bayern Munich1. FC Kaiserslautern3–131/05/03Berlin70,490
2004Werder BremenAlemannia Aachen3–229/05/04Berlin71,682
2005Bayern MunichSchalke 042–128/05/05Berlin74,349
2006Bayern MunichEintracht Frankfurt1–029/04/06Berlin74,349
20071. FC NurembergVfB Stuttgart3–2 aet26/05/07Berlin74,220
2008Bayern MunichBorussia Dortmund2–1 aet19/04/08Berlin74,244
2009Werder BremenBayer Leverkusen1–030/05/09Berlin72,244
2010Bayern MunichWerder Bremen4–015/05/10Berlin72,954
2011Schalke 04MSV Duisburg 5–0 21/05/11Berlin75,708
2012Borussia DortmundBayern Munich 5–2 12/05/12Berlin75,708
2013Bayern MunichVfB Stuttgart 3–2 01/06/13Berlin75,420
2014Bayern MunichBorussia Dortmund 2–0 aet17/05/14Berlin76,197

Performance by club

Club Wins Runners-up Winning Years
Bayern Munich 17 3 1957, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2014
Werder Bremen 6 4 1961, 1991, 1994, 1999, 2004, 2009
Schalke 04 5 7 1937, 1972, 2001, 2002, 2011
1. FC Köln 4 6 1968, 1977, 1978, 1983
1. FC Nuremberg 4 2 1935, 1939, 1962, 2007
Eintracht Frankfurt 4 2 1974, 1975, 1981, 1988
Borussia Dortmund 3 3 1965, 1989, 2012
Hamburg SV 3 3 1963, 1976, 1987
VfB Stuttgart 3 3 1954, 1958, 1997
Borussia Mönchengladbach 3 2 1960, 1973, 1995
Fortuna Düsseldorf 2 5 1979, 1980
1. FC Kaiserslautern 2 5 1990, 1996
Karlsruher SC 2 2 1955, 1956
Dresdner SC 2 1940, 1941
TSV 1860 Munich 2 1942, 1964
Bayer Leverkusen 1 2 1993
Rot-Weiss Essen 1 1 1953
Bayer Uerdingen 1 1985
Hannover 96 1 1992
VfB Leipzig 1 1936
Kickers Offenbach 1 1970
Rapid Wien 1 1938
Schwarz-Weiss Essen 1 1959
First Vienna FC 1 1943
MSV Duisburg 4
Alemannia Aachen 3
VfL Bochum 2
Hertha BSC 2
Borussia Neunkirchen 1
Energie Cottbus 1
Fortuna Köln 1
FSV Frankfurt 1
Hertha BSC II 1
Luftwaffen-SV Hamburg 1
Stuttgarter Kickers 1
Union Berlin 1
Waldhof Mannheim 1
VfL Wolfsburg 1

East German Cup (1949–91)

East Germany also had its own national cup: the FDGB Cup, the cup of the Freie Deutsche Gewerkschaftsbund, the association of the East German trade unions. It was introduced in 1949 and awarded annually until 1991 after German reunification in 1990 led to the merger of the football leagues of the two Germanys.

Women's German Cup

Since 1981 women's football clubs have competed for the Frauen DFB Pokal. An East German women's cup was also held from 1987 to 1991.

Media coverage

In Australia the DFB-Pokal was broadcast by Setanta Sports until the 2009–10 season.

In the United Kingdom, selected ties are broadcast by BT Sports for the 2014–15 season.

In the United States of America, the DFB-Pokal is broadcast on ESPN 3.[8]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 "DFB Cup Men – Mode". DFB. 2008. Retrieved 9 October 2008.
  2. "Internationale Vereinswettbewerbe: Qualifikation zum Europa-Cup" [International Club Competitions: Qualification for the Europa Cup] (in German). dfb.de. Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  3. "Wie alles begann..." [How it all began...] (in German). fussballdaten.de. 8 September 2006. Retrieved 10 October 2008.
  4. "The Trophy". DFB. Retrieved 10 October 2008.
  5. "Das ewige Duell: David gegen Goliath" [The eternal duel: David versus Goliath] (in German). Bundesliga. 28 July 2011. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  6. "Eine Chance für alle" [A chance for all] (in German). Westdeutscher Rundfunk. 13 December 2010. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
  7. 7.0 7.1 "Die zehn größten Pokalsensationen" [The ten greatest cup sensations] (in German). sportal.de. 3 March 2009. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
  8. "WatchESPN German Cup".

External links