At third-division side Preussen Münster, they're disappointed to be facing Bayern Munich in the first round of the DFB-Pokal at this stage of the season. A permanent change in the German season schedule is very inconvenient for coach Sascha Hildmann.
The first round of the German cup competition is traditionally played early on, but since last season, the teams competing in the German Super Cup enter the tournament later. Preussen Münster and SV Wehen Wiesbaden have become victims of this change, as they were drawn against Bayern and RB Leipzig respectively.
For Preussen Münster, the timing is particularly unfortunate, as Hildmann explained. 'I would have preferred to play against Bayern in early August. Now we are playing against a Bayern team that has found its rhythm, probably stronger than they would have been in August. If the original date had been maintained, our match would have been Bayern's first official game of the season, while we had already been active in the third tier.'
Whether it would have actually helped Preussen Münster to face Bayern earlier in the season remains questionable. In the last five editions where Bayern did start the German cup competition early, they won all five times. Against FC Düren (3-0), Energie Cottbus (3-1), SV Drochtersen/Assel (1-0), Chemnitzer FC (5-0), and FC Carl Zeiss Jena (5-0), Bayern didn't falter in the first official match of the season.
The fact that a well-prepared Bayern can still be defeated in the German cup was proven by Holstein Kiel less than three years ago. The second-division team eliminated Bayern after penalties in the second round.
