The German Cup (official German title: "DFB-Pokal") is an annually held elimination Football tournament for German Football clubs and is the second most important national title in German football after the Bundesliga title.
Each football club which participates in the German football league system is entitled to enter the tournament. The clubs of the lower leagues have to enter regional qualification rounds and the winners of these qualification rounds join the teams of the first and second league in the main round of the tournament. Each elimination is decided by a single game. This game is held on the ground of one the two participating teams, with the exception of the final, which is held at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin.
The German Cup was first held during the season 1934/1935 and won by 1. FC Nürnberg it was called the Tschammerpokal, named after the Hans von Tschammer . After World War II, the West German Football Association reintroduced the cup in 1952. The most recent winner, in the 2003/2004 season, is Werder Bremen, which also won the Bundesliga title.
East Germany had its own national cup. The FDGB Cup was started in 1949, and was annually awarded until the German reunification in 1990. Since 1981 the woman soccer clubs compete for a German Cup as well, see German Cup (Women) .
Tschammerpokal winners
DFB-Pokal winners
DFB-Pokal winners (number of wins):
