Football trips DFB-Pokal concluded in 2024 with the final FC Kaiserslautern against Bayer 04 Leverkusen (0:1) in a fitting finale. Ahead of the Wembley final on June 1, 2024, just one week after the final in Berlin, the 1st round of the 2024/2025 season was drawn. Die-Fussballreise.de presents a selection of matches to look forward to.
The Bundesliga newcomer FC St. Pauli, for which you can get FC St. Pauli tickets and VIP tickets FC St. Pauli via event-breaks.com, is unlikely to have been thrilled with the draw.
The second division champion faces the relegated Hallescher FC from the Regionalliga Nordost – and fights against a black series. "Journey into cup horror," wrote BILD Hamburg (June 3, 2024 edition), "in the East, the Kiez-Kickers have always been eliminated from the cup so far." This has happened to them six times since 1996, most recently in the 2021/2022 season at Union Berlin (1:2). St. Pauli was in the cup semi-finals in 2006.
Where do BVB, HSV, and Bayern play?
Hamburger SV also drew a 4th division opponent: SV Meppen is HSV's first-round opponent, who last made it to the semi-finals in 2022.
SSV Ulm achieved promotion from the Regionalliga to the 2nd division – and got the big prize in the cup: record winners FC Bayern Munich.
Champions League finalist Borussia Dortmund travels for the first competitive match to the far north: Phönix Lübeck from the Regionalliga Nord is the opponent. Last year, BVB also played a Regionalliga team in the opener at Schott Mainz (6:1).
Schott Mainz, relegated to the Oberliga in the summer, is back again, but with all due respect, has not drawn a top-tier opponent this time with Greuther Fürth.
Matches with derby character
Meanwhile, Mainz 05 has a neighborhood duel: at the relegated SV Wehen Wiesbaden from the 3rd division.
Fans will also experience derby feeling in Rostock – FC Hansa against Hertha BSC.
And then of course the Eintracht duel: second division Braunschweig hosts the Europa League participant and 2023 finalist from Frankfurt.
The third division 1. FC Saarbrücken captivated all of Germany with their victories over KSC, FC Bayern, Gladbach (all 2:1), and Eintracht Frankfurt (2:0) on their way to the semi-finals.
Who says there won't be another surprise against 1. FC Nürnberg in the first round?
Fans in Münster can look forward to the German vice-champion: SC Preußen is back in the 2nd division after 33 years and hosts VfB Stuttgart.
Who will win the cup in 2025? Coach Xabi Alonso and defending champion Bayer Leverkusen will join later. Photo: Imago
And defending champion Bayer Leverkusen? The double winner visits FC Carl Zeiss Jena from the Regionalliga Nordost. In the cup-winning year 1992/93, Jena gave Bayer 04 a tough fight in the quarter-finals (0:2). Two goals from Andreas Thom sent Leverkusen through. FC Carl Zeiss reached the semi-finals in 2008.
When will the matches be played?
A question we know all too well from the ARD draws! The matches will be played from August 16 to 19, 2024, with exact dates yet to be set by the DFB.
However, Bayer 04 and VfB Stuttgart will join the 1st round later – on Wednesday, August 28, 2024. The German champion and the runner-up will play the DFL Supercup final on August 17.
Der Autor: Carsten Germann berichtet seit 2002 aus erster Hand über den englischen Fußball, u. a. für DIE WELT, BILD am SONNTAG und seit April 2021 auch als leitender Redakteur beim Portal Fussballdaten.de. Zudem gab er mit den Büchern Football’s home (2007) und Absolute Dynamite! (2010) zwei Sammelbände mit seinen Fußball-Reiseerlebnissen aus Großbritannien heraus. Für DIE FUSSBALLREISE schreibt er regelmäßig über den Insel-Kick.