Bayer 04 have drawn a club with a colourful history in Karlsruhe SC. The glory days of KSC were quite a long time ago. From 1986 Karlsruhe experience the most successful decade in the club's history under Winfried 'Winnie' Schäfer. After promotion in 1987 club established a foothold in the Bundesliga. Their outstanding youth development work saw the former Bayer 04 captain Jens Nowotny, Oliver Kahn and Mehmet Scholl break through to the KSC first team squad. KSC competed in the UEFA Cup in 1993.
The 7-0 runaway victory against Valencia in the second round is remembered to the current day and has entered the record books as the 'Miracle of Wildpark'. The run of wins for KSC was halted in the semi-finals by SV Austria Salzburg. Karlsruhe took part in the UEFA Cup another two times and in 1996 they reached the DFB Cup final where they lost 1-0 to Kaiserslautern. An eleventh-place finish in the top flight in 2008 was the last solid performance in the top division. The renowned Wildpark Stadium last hosted Bundesliga football in 2009.
DEMOTION TO THE THIRD DIVISION WITH THREE HEAD COACHES
Last season’s second division campaign turned into a disaster for Karlsruher. The first half of the season was disappointing with KSC fifteenth in the table on 14 points with sporting director Jens Todt and head coach Tomas Oral being released. The new sporting director and former KSC player Oliver Kreuzer engaged Mirko Slomka as the new coach but he too was unable to halt the dialogue. Following Slomka’s release on 4 April it was the U17 coach Marc-Patrick Meister at the helm. However, KSC were demoted by matchday 31. Meister is looking to rebuild the side in the third division . His contract has been extended to 2019.
GAMES TO BE PLAYED FROM 11- 14 AUGUST
The first round ties will be played from 11 to 14 August 2017 with the exact dates confirmed in the next few days. The cup clash at the Wild Park Stadium will be the first competitive game for the Werkself under new head coach Heiko Herrlich.
Borussia Dortmund are the current holders of the DFB Cup. Record cup winners Bayern Munich won the competition 18 times. Bayer 04 of one the DFB Cup once almost exactly 24 years ago: On 12 June 1993 Bayer 04 beat Hertha Berlin Amateurs 1-0 at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin with a goal from Ulf Kirsten.
The DFB Cup is in its 75th year. The draw was made by former Dortmund captain Sebastian Kehl in association with DFB president Reinhard Grindel.
DFB Cup 2017/2018 first round draw in full:
1860 Munich v FC Ingolstadt
Germania Halberstadtv SC Freiburg
MSV Duisburg v FC Nürnberg
VfL Osnabrück v Hamburg SV
Bonn SC v Hannover 96
FC Magdeburg v FC Augsburg
Chemnitzer FC v FC Bayern Munich
FC Hansa Rostock v Hertha BSC Berlin
FC Energie Cottbus v VfB Stuttgart
Sportfreunde Dorfmerkingen v RB Leipzig
Rot Weiß Erfurt v TSG Hoffenheim
SC Paderborn v FC St. Pauli
Lüneburger SK v FSV Mainz 05
Leher TS v FC Köln
Rot Weiß Essen v Borussia Mönchengladbach
Würzburger Kickers v SV Werder Bremen
FC Schweinfurt 05 v SV Sandhausen
SV Morlautern v Spielvereinigung Greuther Fürth
FC Saarbrücken v FC Union Berlin
FC Nöttingen v- VfL Bochum
SSV Jahn Regensburg v SV Darmstadt 98
SV Wehen Wiesbaden v Erzgebirge Aue
Arminia Bielefeld v Fortuna Düsseldorf
FC Eintracht Norderstedt v VfL Wolfsburg
Spielvereinigung Unterhaching v FC Heidenheim
TuS 1895 Erndtebrück v Eintracht Frankfurt
TuS Koblenz v Dynamo Dresden
FC Rielasingen-Arlen v Borussia Dortmund
Karlsruher SC v Bayer 04
SV Eichede v FC Kaiserslautern
Holstein Kiel v Eintracht Braunschweig
BFC Dynamo v FC Schalke 04
Bayer 04 Leverkusen continue the journey with Business Club partners Conrad Conrad Profistore Hürth with a 12-month contract extension to the end of the current 2024/24 season. The scope of the partnership has also been extended. The Conrad Profistore in Hürth has been working with the champions of Germany and DFB Pokal winners since January 2024.
Show moreThe sports tribunal of the German Football Association (DFB) has rejected Bayer 04's appeal against a replay of the Women's Bundesliga match at SC Freiburg (3-2). That's the outcome of a hearing at the DFB Campus in Frankfurt on Tuesday. Originally, SC had lodged an appeal against the match result.
Show moreThe Werkself have begun preparations for the home match against Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday 19 October (15:30 CEST). Following a behind-closed-doors session at the start of the week, Xabi Alonso and his team worked in front of fans on Tuesday.
Show moreWerkself players Nordi Mukiele and Niklas Lomb attended the Bayer 04 Football School on Tuesday afternoon. In the first week of the autumn half-term, the new signing and the long-serving goalkeeper answered numerous questions from over 100 young footballers at the kids press conference. After the round of questions, there was of course a group photo as well as an autograph session, where the duo didn't leave a single kit or boot unsigned.
Show moreThe Werkself visit VfL Bochum on Bundesliga Matchday 10. The game kicks off at 15:30 CET at the Vonovia Ruhrstadion on Saturday 9 November. Details on how to get tickets.
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