The DFB Pokal is one of the premier cup tournaments in Europe, probably second only to the FA Cup in England. The German version actually started during the Nazi period in 1935, when it was known as the Hans Tschammer von Osten Pokal, named after the Reichssportsführer. (They had a Führer for everything…). It’s one of the few things that survived that dark period, and has grown into it’s current form with some healthy modifications in later years.

Basically all 36 Bundesliga and 2.Liga clubs are qualified, along with the top 3.Liga clubs. The remainder consists of winners of regional cup tournaments in the previous year. As an added bonus, the lower ranked club automatically gets home field advantage against the Bundesliga and 2.Liga clubs. This not only often means a nice pay-day for the lower club, but also increases the prospect of some stunning upsets. Occasionally the lower clubs move to a larger stadium to really cash in (A couple of years ago Wuppertaler SV moved the match to Schalke and sold out 62,000+ playing Bayern), but often the amateur clubs reward their fans in play in their regular field.

This edition of the DFB-Pokal is no exception: The first round of the DFB-Cup saw no fewer than four Bundesliga sides crash out.
Werder Bremen lost in overtime against 3.Liga Saarbrücken, and Gladbach lost on penalties at Darmstadt, same for Nürnberg at Sandhausen. Braunschweig was also beaten down at Bielefeld, but I wouldn’t call this much of an upset. Several other Bundesliga clubs had a rough time, but eventually pulled it out or got their act together. Hoffenheim was 0-0 at half time at Aumund-Vegesack (sounds like a team of East German vegetarians), but straightened out and scored *nine* goals in the second half. Defending Cup holder Bayern had an easy time, winning 5-0, but the Rehden fans turned out in force for a memorable match.

VfL Osnabrück	        -   Erzgebirge Aue        3:0 (2:0)    8,086
1. FC Heidenheim	-   1860 München          3:4 pen     10,000
RasenBallsport Leipzig	-   FC Augsburg	          0:2 (0:1)   30,037 
Sportfreunde Baumberg	-   FC Ingolstadt 04      1:4 (0:2)    2,488 
SG Aumund-Vegesack	-   1899 Hoffenheim       0:9 (0:0)    4,500 *
Neckarsulmer SU	        -   1. FC Kaiserslautern  0:7 (0:2)    9,283
SV Lippstadt 08	        -   Bayer 04 Leverkusen   1:6 (1:3)    3,500 *
Fortuna Köln	        -   1. FSV Mainz 05       1:2 (1:1)    6,712
TSG Neustrelitz	        -   SC Freiburg	          0:2 aet      4,479
1. FC Magdeburg	        -   Energie Cottbus       0:1 (0:0)   12,044 
SV Wilhelmshaven	-   Borussia Dortmund     0:3 (0:0)    8,000 *
Bahlinger SC	        -   VfL Bochum	          1:3 (0:2)    3,780
TSV 1860 Rosenheim      -   VfR Aalen	          0:2 (0:0)    2,000
Eintracht Trier	        -   1. FC Köln	          0:2 (0:0)   10,494 
Karlsruher SC	        -   VfL Wolfsburg	  1:3 (0:1)   15,710
TSG Pfeddersheim        -   SpVgg Greuther Fürth  0:2 (0:1)    3,500
1. FC Saarbrücken	-   Werder Bremen         3:1 aet     15,424
SV Darmstadt 98	        -   Borussia M'gladbach	  5:4 pen     16,500 *
Arminia Bielefeld	-   Eint. Braunschweig    2:1 (1:0)   19,091
Victoria Hamburg	-   Hannover 96	          0:2 (0:0)    4,787
SV Schott Jena	        -   Hamburger SV          0:4 (0:0)   11,800 * 
SC Wiedenbrück 2000	-   Fortuna Düsseldorf	  1:0 (0:0)    4,500
Optik Rathenow	        -   FSV Frankfurt	  1:3 aet      2,006
BFC Dynamo	        -   VfB Stuttgart         0:2 (0:1)    9,227
VfR Neumünster	        -   Hertha BSC	          2:3 aet      5,446
FV Illertissen	        -   Eintracht Frankfurt	  0:2 (0:0)    6,081
Preußen Münster	        -   FC St. Pauli          1:0 (1:0)   15,000 *
SV Sandhausen	        -   1. FC Nürnberg        4:3 aet      8,500
MSV Duisburg	        -   SC Paderborn 07       2:3 (1:2)   14,000 
Jahn Regensburg	        -   1. FC Union Berlin    1:2 (1:2)    6,249
FC Nöttingen	        -   FC Schalke 04	  0:2 (0:1)   12,470 
BSV SW Rehden	        -   Bayern München	  0:5 (0:2)   16,600