Before the Bundesliga kicks off the new season, the DFB-Pokal is waiting for all German fans. The fact that the Bundesliga season and the DFB-Pokal almost start at the same time was not always the case. There were also years when the cup games were scheduled in such a way that the final was played in December. Please what!?
Before the DFB decided in 1963 that the cup winner should be determined between April and June, the DFB-Pokal was played according to the calendar year in 1957. As a result, the final took place in December. Since there was no classic winter break at the time, only a few free weekends remained.
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The final on December 29 featured FC Bayern against Fortuna Düsseldorf. It was the first final appearance for the Munich team. The game was played on a frozen snow-covered pitch in Augsburg, as it had snowed heavily the night before. “We changed our shoes three times,” recalled FCB player Kurt Sommerlatt (quote via ‘Sport1’). 44,000 spectators are said to have found their way to the stadium despite the conditions.
The Munich team won 1-0 and thus won the DFB-Pokal for the first time. The club almost didn’t participate in the competition at all. According to a report on the FC Bayern website, the FCB board considered not participating “for cost reasons”. This would have saved money on long trips.
However, the then-coach Willibald Hahn was able to convince the bosses. “Luckily,” the officials must have thought in retrospect. Because thanks to Rudi Jobst’s winning goal in the 79th minute, the Munich team was able to lift the cup into the Augsburg night sky for the first time in their club history.
“The celebrations after the final whistle are said to have gone straight into the New Year’s party,” the report from FC Bayern Munich says. The current record champion was apparently already able to celebrate very well back then.
In 1959, the final was also played between the years, and only 21,000 spectators are said to have been in the stadium for the game between Schwarz-Weiß Essen and Borussia Neunkirchen.
“With such dates, you don’t make the competition any new friends,” it said in a report from back then (quote via ‘Sport1’). It was the last time a cup game was played so late in the year. Final games in May are just nicer – and warmer for all involved.
📸 Sebastian Widmann – 2018 Getty Images