Borussia Dortmund have reached the DFB Cup final for the seventh time, having claimed the second most important trophy in German football on three occasions. Let's cast a glance back to the club's first victory in 1965...

It took a long time before the DFB Cup came to represent what it does today. Things were different in the early years. Twelve years after it was founded, the Federation donated the competition a new trophy. That was back in 1965, exactly 50 years ago. And it was Borussia Dortmund's Alfred "Aki" Schmidt who became the first man to lift it.

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The 1965 DFB Cup-winning team

Yet the first DFB Cup final with the new trophy certainly did not live up to expectations. On the contrary, around 50,000 spectators in Hannover's Niedersachsenstadion witnessed a rather boring affair between Borussia Dortmund and second-tier regional league side Alemannia Aachen, who had managed to knock Schalke 04 out of the competition at the semi-final stage. 

Game over after 19 minutes

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The goalscorers: Aki Schmidt (holding the trophy) and Lothar Emmerich (far left)

The match was all but over shortly after kick-off. Courtesy of goals from Aki Schmidt in the 11th and Lothar Emmerich in the 19th minutes, BVB surged into a 2-0 lead before a 70-minute spell in which virtually nothing happened, prompting fans to shout "Stop, stop". But outgoing BVB coach Hermann Eppenhoff was defiant in victory: "Who's going to be asking in three weeks how we won the match? The main thing is that we won the Cup and that we'll be in Europe next season." Former Germany coach Sepp Herberger disagreed, stating ironically: "The best thing about the match was the army music ensemble, and the weather was nice too. There's nothing else I can say about this game."

What preceded the match was more entertaining though, with two players threatening to walk out! This was partly due to the fight for the right to play in goal between Bernhard Wessel, who had featured between the sticks in the previous rounds against Preußen Münster (1-0), Tennis Borussia Berlin (2-1), Eintracht Braunschweig (2-0) and then at home in a thrilling semi-final against 1. FC Nürnberg (4-2 after extra-time) and the soon-to-be "Footballer of the Year" and 1966 German World Cup goalkeeper Hans Tilkowski, who Wessel had kept on the bench. But Tilkowski was preferred to play in the final. Wessel was furious.

Who's playing? Anger precedes the final

And then there was the case of striker Timo Konietzka. Though his involvement in the final had never even been the subject of debate, his impending switch to fellow German side 1860 Munich prompted some of his team-mates to question whether Timo should play against Aachen. But, anticipating a defensively-minded opponent, coach Eppenhoff decided otherwise and left out Franz Brungs, who - just like goalkeeper Wessel - threatened to walk out. Ultimately, though, both players remained and were delighted at winning the Cup.

One year later Borussia Dortmund became the first German club to win a European cup competition.
Boris Rupert

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Germany President Heinrich Lübke presents Borussia Dortmund's Aki Schmidt with the DFB Cup. As the colours of both clubs are black and yellow, they came to a compromise: Dortmund would play in white shirts and black shorts, while Aachen would line up in red and white.