The Supercup: a storied history
Cologne - It’s that time of the year again as Bundesliga champions FC Bayern München prepare to take on DFB Cup winners VfL Wolfsburg in the 15th edition of the Supercup on Saturday, 1 August.
To get you in the mood, bundesliga.com takes a detailed look at the Bundesliga calendar’s traditional curtain-raiser…
Hawk-Eye at the ready
Bayern may have made more Supercup appearances than any other side, but they’ve also suffered more defeats in the showpiece event, too (four). Dortmund and Kaiserslautern have both finished runners-up on two previous occasions. Curiously enough, while the last five Supercups have ended up in the hands of the DFB Cup holder/ Bundesliga runner-up, the Bundesliga winner leads the overall table by nine Supercup trophies to six. This season’s event is also the first to use goal-line technology, with Hawk-Eye set to be rolled out across the board in the German top flight in 2015/16.
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Worth its weight in silver and gold
The Supercup trophy has a height of 53 centimetres and weighs little more than six kilograms. It comprises a silver ball held by two symbolic arms - a silver one that represents the Meisterschale and a gold one for the DFB Cup. It is insured for €40,000.
East meets West
1991 witnessed a Supercup with a difference, with two semi-finals reflecting the imminent formalisation of German reunification. 1. FC Kaiserslautern, champions of the Federal Republic, travelled to take on East German double winners FC Hansa Rostock and came away from the Ostseestadion with a 2-1 win. DFB Cup winners Bremen meanwhile got the better of Eisenhüttenstädter FC Stahl, beaten finalists in the soon-to-be-dissolved German Democratic Republic's last cup final. The two West German sides then went head-to-head in Hanover, with Kaiserslautern prevailing 3-1. It was the curtain-raiser to a season in which the East's top two sides, Rostock and Dynamo Dresden, were integrated into a temporarily expanded 20-club Bundesliga.