DFB Cup: Bayer 04 away to Karlsruhe

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