Top five underdogs in history to be crowned DFB-Pokal champions

These teams defied all odds to get their hands on one of the most prestigious cup competitions in Europe.

The DFB-Pokal or otherwise known as the German Cup is a German knockout football tournament. It is the second most important trophy in Germany after the Bundesliga and the winner qualifies for the DFL-Supercup and the UEFA Europa League. It is a very prestigious tournament and Bayern Munich have won the most number of titles with 20.

This year, for the first time in their history, SC Freiburg have made the finals after they defeated Hamburger SV 3-1 in the semifinal and it is a huge achievement for a club who were promoted back into the Bundesliga just a few years back. They will be taking on RB Leipzig on May 21 at the Olympiastadion Berlin. In this article, we will list the top five underdogs who have won the DFB-Pokal.

5. FC Kaiserslautern (1995-96)

One week before the DFB Cup final in 1996, FCK had been relegated to the 2. Bundesliga after they finished 16th in the league. But they made sure they did not lose all hope as they faced Karlsruher in the final and defeated them 1-0 thanks to a 42nd-minute goal from Martin Wagner. They also managed to earn promotion back into the Bundesliga the very next season and then went on to win the title.

4. FC Nurnberg (2006-07)

The 2006-07 season was one filled with underdog stories in German football as VfB Stuttgart won the Bundesliga with Schalke running close behind in second as Bayern Munich finished outside of the top three.

The final of the German Cup saw Stuttgart take on Nurnberg and it seemed as though Stuttgart would run victorious. However, Nurnberg had different plans. Jan Kristiansen scored in the 109th minute to give Nurnberg to win the DFB-Pokal trophy for them 3-2 over Stuttgart.

3. Werder Bremen (2003-04)

The year 2004 was one of the strangest seasons in footballing history as we saw Jose Mourinho's FC Porto win the UEFA Champions League, Greece won the Euros and Werder Bremen won the Bundesliga that season. But that was not the only thing they won as a few days later after lifting the Bundesliga shield they went on to win the DFB-Pokal as well. But they faced stiff competition from second division side Alemannia Aachen.

2. Schalke 04 (2010-11)

The 2011 German Cup final saw two underdogs face off against each other as second division side MSV Duisburg made a sensational run all the way to the final and they came up against 14th placed Schalke. Duisburg ended up losing 5-0 as Schalke lifted the DFB Pokal trophy.

1. Hannover 96 (1991-1992)

In 1990 Germany unified as East Germany became a part of the West and that saw the 1991-92 DFB-Pokal increase to 87 teams participating. Hannover was in the second division of the Bundesliga and had an incredible run all the way to the final of the DFB-Pokal. There they defeated Borussia Monchengladbach 4-3 on penalties after the match ended 0-0. This was the first and the only time a team that is not from the Bundesliga has ever won the DFB-Pokal.

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