7M - Kimmich Eyes German Cup Win Despite Title Philosophy

Joshua Kimmich believes success at Bayern Munich involves more than just lifting trophies, yet he remains deeply motivated to defeat Stuttgart in the DFB-Pokal final. The German giants have reached the tournament's showcase match for the first time in six years, following their 4-2 victory against Bayer Leverkusen back in 2020. This gap marked the club's longest absence from the domestic cup final since a twelve-year drought between 1986 and 1998.

Having already clinched the Bundesliga crown this season, Bayern now intend to claim their 21st DFB-Pokal title. Kimmich noted that while outsiders evaluate teams purely on championships, internal progress and high-level consistency matter greatly. However, the midfielder acknowledged that looking back in a decade, players ultimately want to see a vast collection of honors.

While this marks the 25th final appearance for Munich, Stuttgart enter their eighth. The defending champions won the trophy last year by beating Arminia Bielefeld 4-2, but historically struggle against Bayern, having dropped past cup finals to them in both 1986 and 2013.

Stuttgart manager Sebastian Hoeness expressed determination to complete their cup run with another major achievement, while Bayern boss Vincent Kompany chose to withhold any final evaluation of his squad's season until after the whistle blows.