The magic of the DFB Pokal has the potential to make German football far more interesting

"Berlin, Berlin, wir fahren nach Berlin..." the famous fan chant rounds up the magic of the DFB Pokal. A competition that means everything, even for the biggest clubs in Germany.

With Dortmund having lost 4-2 to Bayern Munich in the Allianz Arena, there is now a real danger that we could see the same Bundesliga champions for an eleventh season in a row. Indeed, the lack of competitiveness in the German top-flight has been a real obstacle to further the growth of the competition abroad. But the DFB Pokal highlights that there could be a quick fix to Bayern’s dominance: playoffs.

Playoffs are something that the DFL bosses have discussed, and even Bayern Munich CEO Oliver Kahn has brought up the possibility of a Bundesliga format change. Those discussions are unlikely to ever come to any fruition, especially when one keeps in mind a fanbase that opposes any material changes to German football—just remember the tennis ball protests surrounding the Monday game.

But perhaps playoffs are not needed at all to fix German football. Instead, just give a bigger platform to the DFB Pokal. In fact, within Germany, the magic of the cup is already a significant part of every season’s narrative.