DFB-Pokal's new wrinkle promises to deliver early spice to season
BERLIN --
Staged a week before the Bundesliga kicks off, Germany's DFB Pokal, commonly known as the German Cup in the USA, is a competition that transports fans back to a bygone era.
German television plays this up, with a mixture of both nostalgia and glory. But the competition also adds an early wrinkle: All of the high-ranking teams must play away from home in the early rounds, making for spectacles wherein the German champions play a team of part-timers. These away games have made for a fair share of Pokal shocks over the years.
Pokal record winners Bayern Munich, for example, are forever haunted by TSV Vestenbergsgreuth - a third division side who beat Giovanni Trappatoni's star-studded team in 1994, 1-0. Context is everything, but that result is considered one of the great upsets not just in the tournament's history, but in the sport's as well. In tribute, the rookie club, sponsored by a tea factory released a collector's item - the 1-0 tea bag.
That was an outlier, but over the last five years, Bundesliga sides have tumbled on many an occasion. Hoffenheim lost 4-0 to a part-time outfit in Berlin in 2012, while Kickers Offenbach and VfL Ösnabruck have both beaten Borussia Dortmund during the Jürgen Klopp era.
The Pep distraction
As Bayern Munich prepares to travel to play FC Nöttingen in the South West of Germany, the attention, predictably, has been on coach Pep Guardiola.
This week has been rather unusual one for the Spanish coach: he has been in the middle of a few media spats, and was at loggerheads with Nigel de Jong in the tunnel at the Audi Cup this week. He won't be at the pre-match press conference either.
It's a rare sign of negative emotion from the coach who refused to discuss his future at a press conference earlier in the week. Reports say he's Manchester City-bound next season, yet the sideshow could threaten to derail Bayern's treble hunt this season.
Victories against Real Madrid and AC Milan have put Bayern on the right track, the winning goal against the Spanish side from Robert Lewandowski a stark reminder of his blistering form towards the end of last season.
"We played at the top level," Lewandowski said after Bayern's third Audi Cup win. "It takes a lot to win such a competition and we're confident ahead of the new season," added full-back Philipp Lahm. After DFB Pokal action, Bayern will open the league season at home to Hamburg at the Allianz Arena.
"Now we look at the weekend and we can focus on the Pokal," added Thomas Müller when asked about recovering from last week's Super Cup defeat to VfL Wolfsburg.
A season too far for Favre?
Maybe the most mouth-watering tie of the round is on Monday evening, the meeting between FC St Pauli and Borussia Mönchengladbach. The Hamburg-based 'Kult-Klub' has made a bright start to the season with four points from two games, having been relegation battlers last term.
"In St Pauli, there's always a brilliant atmosphere," said Gladbach head coach Lucien Favre. One of four representatives in this season's Champions League, the Foals will be seriously challenged having lost key players like Christoph Kramer and Max Kruse this summer.
"It was a very long and generally a hard time, but we are so far very satisfied and are ready to go for new season," he added, confirming Martin Stranzl and Andre Hahn are struggling with injuries.
Despite achieving impressive things at Borussia-Park, the Swiss trainer has to work his magic this season, managing several competitions with a weaker squad of players. Finishing in the Champions League might be a step too far for Favre, but Gladbach will just relish being there.
A feast of football
Borussia Dortmund's attention turns from European football to Cup action over the weekend with a visit to East German side Chemnitz on the agenda.
Elsewhere, Schalke head to MSV Duisburg with a capacity crowd expected for that match on Saturday. The Royal Blues' pre-season preparations have been promising, the signings of Johannes Geis and Franco di Santo putting them in European contention again.
Meanwhile, Hamburg is heading east to face Carl-Zeiss Jena and Stuttgart make the long trip north to third-tier outfit Holstein Kiel. Bayer Leverkusen should have a routine task at local opponents Sportfreunde Lotte, while last season's winners of the tournament, Wolfsburg, faces Stuttgarter Kickers.
Outside of the top-flight, Fortuna Düsseldorf's trip to Rot-Weiss Essen has the potential to be a tempestuous affair given the clubs' close proximity.
