FC Magdeburg: DFB Pokal opponents previewed

The first competitive game for FC Augsburg in 2017/18 will see Manuel Baum’s side take on FC Magdeburg in the DFB Pokal and means FCA will come up against a side with fantastic support and a lot of tradition. European nights against Barcelona, Juventus, Arsenal and Milan are something Magdeburg have already experienced. Back in the late 1960s and 70s the club enjoyed its most successful period, and even claimed the European Cup Winners’ Cup with a 2-0 win over AC Milan in 1973/74. Three DDR championship titles and seven DDR Pokal triumphs also fill the club's trophy cabinet. In the years since then however the club has drifted into somewhat dangerous waters. Relegation to the Division 4 and mis-management led to insolvency in 2002. However, fantastic support from its fans has seen the club slowly make its way back, and after the completion of a town-funded stadium in 2006, the team have sat nicely in the third division ever since. Last season they just missed out on a play-off place (claimed by SSV Jahn Regensburg, who beat TSV 1860 Munich 3-1 on aggregate). It’s not just the positive development of the club from Sachsen-Anhalt that should worry FCA in August, but also a bitter recent history from the fixture. In the last ten seasons Augsburg have only failed to progress from the first round of the Pokal once. The only defeat?: A 1-0 defeat in 2014 - to FC Magdeburg.