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Here you can achieve something really special — no matter how big or small your team is. It should inspire everyone to give their best and take their chances, while providing thrilling, unforgettable moments. This applies just as much to a team in the regional sixth division as it does to the German champions, to the referees — and of course, to the fans. In the DFB Cup, with team spirit, courage and a little luck, anything is possible.

It reflects our conviction that if you believe in yourself, you fight together to achieve your goals, and you pick yourself up again after a setback, then you can go on to realise your dream in the DFB Cup.

As sponsors and fans, this partnership is close to our hearts. Bayern Munich have won the most titles, with 20 wins and being the most recent winner. The competition format has varied considerably since the inception of the Tschammer-Pokal in 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 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.

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. 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 , 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 the final has been held in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin every year. Extra time will be played if the scores are level after 90 minutes with a penalty shootout following if needed. Historically the number of participants in the main tournament has varied between four from until and from through resulting in tournaments of two to seven rounds. Since the inception of the Bundesliga in all clubs from the Bundesliga are automatically qualified for the DFB-Pokal as are all clubs from the 2.

Bundesliga since its inception in Reserve sides for most of the time were allowed to participate in the DFB-Pokal but have been excluded since The final has been held at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin every season since Before , 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 minutes the game was replayed with the home field right reversed. The German Football Association decided to hold a penalty shootout if the replay was another draw after a similar situation arose in the cup , when the match between Alemannia Aachen and SV Werder Bremen had to be decided by lot after two draws. In —72 and —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. Seconds later he fired home a brilliant winner for Gladbach. Usually all tickets except for those contingents held back for the fans of both finalists are sold out well before the final pairing has been decided. With eight titles to their name, 1. Its physical value is worth around 30, euros, but of course the sentimental value is far greater than that.

The DFB-Pokal trophy is 54 centimetres tall, weighs 6. The cup, which can hold up to eight litres of beer or champagne, hence making it the perfect celebration tool, had to be elongated by five centimetres in because it had run out of space for engraving the names of future winners. Ten years later, in , the trophy required another overhaul as Rudi Assauer, sporting director of the then victorious FC Schalke 04, dropped it while celebrating.

The cup was significantly damaged but Rudi Assauer took full responsibility for all repair costs and not only was it a great deed, it became another one of the many funny and colourful stories surrounding the competition. Football fans in Germany can look back on a wealth of interesting anecdotes as well as the media to pick up on various stories now and again. Regarding free to air rights, the competition was awarded to ARD for the four-year cycle, while in the pay TV sector, cooperation was extended with Sky.