German Cup Final: Borussia Dortmund vs. Bayern Munich
April 21, 2016
Borussia Dortmund will face Bayern Munich for the fourth time in the German Cup final as the season delivers it's third episode of Germany's most popular football fixture.
This match has become Germany's premiere contest in recent years, and the pair will once again compete for Germany's domestic cup. After Bayern won the German Cup in extra time in 2008, Bayern and Dortmund have met in the final in 2012, 2014 and now 2016.
Dortmund's famous 5-2 German Cup final win in 2012 is one for the history books. Robert Lewandowski scored a hat-trick to down his future club in a season that ended in double success for Dortmund.
Although not a domestic final, the pair's most epic meeting was probably the Champions League final in 2012/13. In a game widely considered one of the best finals of the last decade, Bayern edged it thanks to a late, memorable winner from Arjen Robben.
The last time the two met in a final was in the 2013/14 German Cup, which Bayern won 2-0 after extra time in a game remembered for Mats Hummels' header that never was.
Last season, Dortmund beat Bayern in Munich in the German Cup semifinals in a dramatic penalty shoot-out. After Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang equalized fifteen minutes from time, Dortmund keeper Mitch Langerak was the hero as Bayern slipped and missed their way through their spot kicks.
Bayern's record in German Cup finals is further evidence of their remarkable dominance. Seventeen times the club have won the competition (a clear record), and have failed to lift the trophy only three times when in the final.
In the Bundesliga this season, Pep's men gave Dortmund a lesson in Munich on matchday eight. A Lewandowski brace and a goal and assist from Mario Götze added salt to Dortmund's wounds, and left Thomas Tuchel very much the apprentice to Pep Guardiola's mastery. In the reverse fixture in Dortmund, Tuchel's side held Bayern to a 0-0 draw in a game they needed to win to open up the title race.
After a dramatic defeat to Liverpool in the Europa League, Thomas Tuchel will be keen to deliver a trophy in what has already been a remarkable first season in charge. For Pep Guardiola, the stakes are even higher. With just seven (potentially eight) games left in the season, Bayern Munich can still deliver a treble as a perfect parting gift to their Spanish head coach.