German Football Association Cup - Lübeck's Phönix team welcomes Champion League finalist Borussia Dortmund.
The team from Phoenix Lübeck in the Football Regional League has drawn the most exciting match of all North clubs for the first round of the DFB Cup competition. They'll be hosting Champions League finalist Borussia Dortmund. This was decided at the German Football Museum in Dortmund on Saturday. "I'm left speechless," said Lübeck's club board member Thomas Laudi. "This is the pinnacle of a successful season." Relegated second division team VfL Osnabrück also got a top-tier team as their opponent, facing SC Freiburg.
Another difficult task will be shouldered by Eintracht Braunschweig, a second division team who will take on Bundesliga team Eintracht Frankfurt in their own stadium. Greifswalder FC from the North-East Regional League will try to surprise 1. FC Union Berlin for a spot in the next round.
The matches for the first round are scheduled between August 16th and 19th. Werder Bremen, a Bundesliga team, will travel to Energie Cottbus, a third division promotion winner, for a rematch. "We should expect another thrilling cup atmosphere in this small stadium, as it was two years ago," cautioned Werner, their coach. In 2002, Werder won narrowly 2:1 in Cottbus. FC St. Pauli, the Bundesliga promoter, will visit third division relegate Hallescher FC, promising a heated game.
The future Bundesliga team, Holstein Kiel, are facing third division promotion winner Alemannia, while Hamburger SV, a second division team, will travel to SV Meppen. "We're going into the first round with high self-confidence," Stefan Kuntz, the new HSV sports director, said. Hannover, also a league rival, is facing former Bundesliga and current third division team, Arminia Bielefeld. "Bielefeld had a challenging first season in the third division after their relegation in 2023," noted 96 sports director Marcus Mann. "Next season, they'll definitely play a more significant role."
After being relegated to the 3rd league, Hansa Rostock will face Hertha BSC under new coach Bernd Hollerbach. Regionalligist Bremer SV will play against SC Paderborn. The Lower Saxon Oberliga team, VfV Hildesheim, will take on SV Elversberg from the 2nd Bundesliga, and Regionalligist FC Teutonia Ottensen from Hamburg is hosting Bundesliga relegate Darmstadt 98.
DFB Cup 2024/2025: Details on the Draw [end of translation]
