The 2019 DFB-Pokal Final decided the winner of the

2018–19 DFB-Pokal The 2018–19 DFB-Pokal was the 76th season of the annual German Association football, football cup competition. Sixty-four teams participated in the competition, including all teams from the previous year's Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. The c ...

, the 76th season of the annual German

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

cup competition. The match was played on 25 May 2019 at the

Olympiastadion Olympiastadion is the German, Finnish and Swedish word for Olympic Stadium and may refer to: * Stockholm Olympic Stadium, the host of the 1912 Summer Olympics (though mostly referred as simply ''Stockholms Stadion'') * Olympiastadion (Berlin), the ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. The match featured

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

clubs RB Leipzig, playing in their first final, and

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

, the record winners of the competition. Bayern Munich won the final 3–0 for their 19th DFB-Pokal title. With the win, Bayern completed their 12th domestic double, and therefore played away to

2018–19 Bundesliga The 2018–19 Bundesliga was the 56th season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football competition. It began on 24 August 2018 and concluded on 18 May 2019. It also marked the first season without Hamburger SV, previously the only team to hav ...

runners-up

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional footb ...

in the

2019 DFL-Supercup The 2019 DFL-Supercup was the tenth edition of the German super cup under the name DFL-Supercup, an annual football match contested by the winners of the previous season's Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal competitions. The match was played on 3 August 2 ...

in August 2019. Because Bayern qualified for the Champions League through the Bundesliga, the sixth-place team in the Bundesliga, VfL Wolfsburg, earned qualification for the group stage of the 2019–20 edition of the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

, and the league's third second round spot went to the team in seventh,

Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The team is currently playing in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the Germa ...

Teams

''In the following table, finals until 1943 were in the Tschammerpokal era, since 1953 were in the DFB-Pokal era.''

Background

The match will be the first final for RB Leipzig, competing in their seventh season of the tournament. Their previous best performance in the competition was reaching the second round on three occasions (in 2011–12, 2015–16 and 2017–18). Leipzig became the 39th unique club to reach the final, and the first final debutant since

Union Berlin 1. Fußballclub Union Berlin e. V., commonly known as 1. FC Union Berlin () or Union Berlin, is a professional German football club in Köpenick, Berlin. The club's origins can be traced to 1906, when its predecessor FC Olympia Oberschöneweid ...

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

, an achievement reached just short of ten years since the club's founding on 19 May 2009. They are also the first club from

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

to reach the final since Dresdner SC's win in

1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...

, as well as the second club from

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

to reach the final, after VfB Leipzig won in

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

. A victory would see RB Leipzig win their first major honour, with the club only previously winning regional league and cup titles. They would also become the first team since Bayer Leverkusen in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

to win in their debut final. The final will be the last match for Ralf Rangnick as head coach of Leipzig, as he will return to his post as

sporting director A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The sport ...

following the arrival of

Julian Nagelsmann Julian Nagelsmann (born 23 July 1987) is a German professional Association football manager, football manager and former Association football player, football player who is the head coach of FC Bayern Munich, Bayern Munich. Prior to managing Baye ...

as coach for the 2019–20 season. Following the resignation of Ralph Hasenhüttl, Rangnick took over as head coach for the 2018–19 season, his second stint after leading the club to Bundesliga promotion in the 2015–16 season. While not serving as head coach, he has been the sporting director of the club since the 2012–13 season. The match will be the third DFB-Pokal final for Rangnick, having reached the final twice with Schalke 04 during his two stints at the club. He lost 1–2 to

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, before winning the competition in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

with a 5–0 victory against

MSV Duisburg Meidericher Spielverein 02 e. V. Duisburg, commonly known as simply MSV Duisburg (), is a Football in Germany, German association football club based in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia. Nicknamed ''Die Zebras'' for their traditional striped jers ...

The match will be the 23rd final for Bayern Munich, extending their competition record. Of the previous finals, Bayern have won on 18 occasions, also a competition record, and lost four times. This is the second consecutive final for Bayern, having lost in the 2018 final to

, who were led by now-Bayern coach

Niko Kovač Niko Kovač (; born 15 October 1971) is a Croatian professional football coach and former player. He is currently the manager of Bundesliga club VFL Wolfsburg. Kovač was the long-standing captain of the Croatia national team until his retirem ...

. Bayern's last final victory was in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, where they won on penalties against

. Bayern are chasing a league and cup

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

, having won the

on the final matchday, a week prior to the final. Bayern have previously completed the double on 11 occasions (in 2013 as part of a

treble Treble may refer to: In music: *Treble (sound), tones of high frequency or range, the counterpart of bass *Treble voice, a choirboy or choirgirl singing in the soprano range *Treble (musical group), a three-piece girl group from the Netherlands *T ...

), a record in Germany, most recently in 2016. The final is the third consecutive for Bayern manager

, the fourth coach to do so after Hans Schmidt (with Schalke 04, losing in

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * ...

and

, winning in

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Fe ...

), Udo Lattek (with Bayern Munich, winning in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

and

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

, losing in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

) and Otto Rehhagel (with Werder Bremen, losing in

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

and

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

, winning in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

). However, Kovač is the first to accomplish this with multiple clubs in the streak. Kovač, who is in his first season with Bayern, reached the previous two finals with

. In

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, he lost 1–2 to

, before winning against future employers Bayern Munich in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

. Kovač is the second manager to reach three DFB-Pokal finals in their first three attempts, following Hans Schmidt for Schalke 04 (between

and

). He could also become the seventh coach to win consecutive DFB-Pokal titles, following

Georg Köhler Georg Köhler (1 February 1900 – 27 January 1972) was a German international footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association footba ...

( Dresdner SC,

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...

and

Zlatko Čajkovski Zlatko "Čik" Čajkovski (24 November 1923 – 27 July 1998) was a Croatian and Yugoslavian football player and coach. His brother, Željko Čajkovski, was a footballer as well. Normally a defensive midfielder, Čajkovski was renowned for hi ...

(Bayern Munich,

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

and

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

Dietrich Weise Dietrich Weise (21 November 1934 – 20 December 2020) was a German footballer and football manager. Career He coached 1. FC Kaiserslautern, Eintracht Frankfurt, Fortuna Düsseldorf, Germany (youth), Al-Ahly, Egypt and Liechtenstein Liec ...

(

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

and

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

), Hennes Weisweiler (

1. FC Köln 1. Fußball-Club Köln 01/07 e. V., commonly known as simply FC Köln () or FC Cologne in English, is a German professional football club based in Cologne in North Rhine-Westphalia. It was formed in 1948 as a merger of the clubs ''Kölner Ballspi ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

and

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

Huub Stevens Hubertus Jozef Margaretha "Huub" Stevens (; born 29 November 1953) is a Dutch former professional football manager and player. Playing career Stevens was born in Sittard. While active, he played for Fortuna Sittard and PSV. During his time at P ...

( Schalke 04,

and

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

) and Felix Magath (Bayern Munich,

and

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

). However, Kovač would be the first to accomplish this feat with a different club in each season. While in 2018 Kovač became the fifth person to win the DFB-Pokal as player and manager, this final could see him become the second person to accomplish this for the same club, having won the 2003 final with Bayern during his playing career. This was previously accomplished by

Thomas Schaaf Thomas Schaaf (born 30 April 1961) is a German professional football manager, who last managed Werder Bremen and former player who played as a defender currently assistant coach of Laos national football team. A ' one-club man', Schaaf spent hi ...

for Werder Bremen (player in

and

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

, manager in

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

and

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

). He would also become the second person to win multiple DFB-Pokal titles as manager after having previously won the competition as a player, also along with Schaaf. The final will be the eighth match between Leipzig and Bayern, with a record of four Bayern wins, one Leipzig win, and one draw (which Bayern won on penalties) prior. The match is the 65th unique final pairing in DFB-Pokal history. Of the prior matches, one has been in the DFB-Pokal, with the teams meeting in the second round of the previous season. The match in Leipzig finished as a 1–1 draw after extra time, with Bayern winning 5–4 in a penalty shoot-out. The remaining meetings occurred in the Bundesliga, with Bayern winning 3–0 at home and 5–4 away in the 2016–17 season. In the

2017–18 Bundesliga The 2017–18 Bundesliga was the 55th season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football competition. It began on 18 August 2017 and concluded on 12 May 2018. The fixtures were announced on 29 June 2017. Following an offline test phase in the ...

, Bayern won the first match 2–0 at home, before Leipzig won 2–1 at home in the second meeting. The sides will have met twice during 2018–19 season prior to the final, with Bayern winning 1–0 at home in the first meeting on 19 December 2018, and the second meeting in Leipzig as a "final preview" on 11 May 2019 finishing as a 0–0 draw.

Route to the final

The DFB-Pokal began with 64 teams in a

single-elimination A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

knockout cup competition. There were a total of five rounds leading up to the final. Teams were drawn against each other, and the winner after 90 minutes would advance. If still tied, 30 minutes of

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

was played. If the score was still level, a penalty shoot-out was used to determine the winner. ''Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).''

Match

Details

References

External links

*
Match report
at kicker.de
Match report
at WorldFootball.net
Match report
at Fussballdaten.de {{DEFAULTSORT:Dfb-Pokal Final 2019

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

2018–19 in German football cups RB Leipzig matches FC Bayern Munich matches Football competitions in Berlin May 2019 sports events in Germany 2019 in Berlin