Germany’s main domestic football cup competition, known locally as the DFB-Pokal, is held every year. 64 teams take part from the beginning of the season.
The DFB-Pokal began in1935, way before the current Bundesliga format began, then under the name Tschammer-Pokal with 1. FC Nürnberg was the first winners. After the suspension of the competition during and after World War II, it returned as under its current guise in 1952.
The Deutscher Fußball-Bund, essentially the German Football Association, administers the tournament. Given that it contains the best that Germany has to offer, the quality is, of course, sky-high. That makes it a reliable betting proposition.
How Does the German Cup Work?
To make up the 64 participants in this knock-out competition, all of the teams from the:
- Bundesliga
- 2. Bundesliga’s
36 teams take part along with qualifiers from the lower divisions. Much like with the FA Cup in England.
Just as in England, the main domestic cup is considered to be second only to the Bundesliga in importance in Germany. The winners qualify not only for the domestic DFL-Supercup but also the following season’s Europa League.
The DFB-Pokal is run from August to June, the final taking place right at the end of the German football season. All games are over just one leg, home teams are drawn at random, with penalty kicks following 90 minutes in the event of a draw. There is no extra-time and no replays are permitted.
Ever since 1985, the DFB-Pokal Final has always been played at the Olympiastadion in Berlin which has helped to give the event the same sort of prominence as the English and Scottish FA Cup Finals played every season at Wembley and Hampden Park respectively.
The DBF-Pokal’s Biggest Teams
Anyone with even a misty knowledge of football will not be surprised to read that Bayern Munich the most successful side in this competition, winning it an amazing 19 times.
The record for the most consecutive wins in the tournament belongs to Fortuna Düsseldorf who, having won it in both 1979 and 1980, managed 18 straight wins between ’78 and ’81.
Bayern have been to 13 of the last 21 finals in Berlin, winning ten of those, while the widely acknowledged second power in Germany, Borussia Dortmund, have been to 6 finals in the last 12 years since they sprung to prominence but have only lifted the cup twice in that time, losing three finals in a row between 2014 and 2016.
The Best DFB-Pokal Betting Markets
Things can often be tricky in cup competitions, players and managers alike tending to be more cautious as defeat means knockout and so sometimes defences are on top, but luckily that is not the case in this great tournament.
In a recent last-32 round of sixteen games in the German Cup, just 4 home teams won (25%) while 8 away sides were successful (50%). 57 goals were scored in the 16 matches (3.56 per game) which is typical for this cup meaning betting opportunities are plentiful, but only if we think differently compared to the league action.
With that in mind, here’s the best way to go about having a bet:
- Total Goals Betting – with this many goals being scored, backing ‘yes’ on over 2.5 or even over 3.5 can often pay off. There’s no rhyme or reason to knowing which of the teams will score the most goals, but plenty of games are wide open so taking a punt on two reasonable Bundesliga sides netting this many between them can pay.
- Both Teams to Score – for the same reasons as above, ‘yes’ on the BTTS market can be fruitful and, in this case, it can often mean your bet is paid out before the game even reaches half-time.
- Match Betting – we can still get paid in the normal 1X2 market, but only if concentrating on away teams.
Plenty will be priced up at odds-against but with the pressure off and the games wide open, they often come up trumps as the above stats help to indicate.
Take a Punt on the DFB-Pokal
Any one of our recommended online bookmakers will give you odds on the German Cup matches, in fact, some will offer dozens of markets for each game meaning plenty of betting opportunities. Pick a potentially high-scoring game featuring a strong away side and simply shop around for the best possible odds to make your DFB-Pokal bets pay off to the maximum. Bet now at Roger.com.
