On Saturday, RB Leipzig and Eintracht Frankfurt will clash in Germany’s most prestigious cup competition: the DFB-Pokal. With a storied history behind the trophy, SPORTBUZZER delves into some of the intriguing tales surrounding the coveted cup.
Every year before the DFB-Pokal final, the original trophy is sent to Bremen for refurbishment under the watchful eye of Florian Blume, CEO of Koch & Bergfeld Corpus. The company partners with the German Football Association (DFB) to create official replicas of these trophies and engrave the winner’s name on the cup after the final.
Last year, when RB Leipzig won the cup for the first time in the club’s history, the trophy became the center of attention. As part of a marketing strategy, the club wanted to fill the cup with Red Bull, their main sponsor’s beverage. Blume recalls not being thrilled with the idea, as the drink is hard to remove from the trophy. Eventually, they sent a display piece to Leipzig, which returned with a lot of cleaning to do.
In 2002, FC Schalke 04 won the DFB-Pokal and returned it completely dented after an accident during the victory parade. Blume, who was the workshop manager at the time, describes the situation as the “worst-case scenario.” The company had to fix the misshapen cup, and one of their best craftsmen restored it to its original state. The green gemstones on the trophy also had to be reset, adding to the painstaking process.
The DFB-Pokal’s gemstones are replaced with glass for the Bremen replicas, which are crafted by a glass artist. Blume proudly reveals that “each gemstone is unique.” When searching for materials to replace the gemstones, they nearly found the perfect match: a Beck’s beer bottle. Though the green hue was almost identical to the original gemstones, the quality of the glass wasn’t good enough.
As the 2023 DFB-Pokal winner is determined on Saturday in Berlin, celebrations will undoubtedly ensue. Whether RB Leipzig defends its title or Eintracht Frankfurt claims the trophy, the result is secondary to the revelry. And in Bremen, Blume’s company will be on standby, ready to restore the DFB-Pokal to its original state, no matter how damaged or sticky it may become.