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Cape Town - Borussia Dortmund ended a run of defeats in the three previous German Cup finals to lift the trophy after Saturday's 2-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in Berlin:
AUBAMEYANG'S PARTING GIFT?
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's 67th-minute penalty sealed Dortmund's cup win.
It was the Gabon hot-shot's first major title with Dortmund, but could have been his last appearance having said he will decide his future after talks with club's bosses.
His cup-final winner capped a glorious season of 40 goals in all competitions, including seeing off Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski to become the Bundesliga's top-scorer with 31 goals.
Despite having a contract until 2020, Aubameyang has hinted this could be his fourth and last season with Dortmund amidst reports indicating he wants to join Paris St-Germain for next season.
He wept openly when his two goals on the final day of the season saw him pip Lewandowski to the Bundesliga's 'Golden Cannon' for the top-scorer award and he smiled and joked with his Dortmund team-mates as they lifted the German Cup in Berlin.
But it could be his parting gift with his future in the balance.
TUCHEL-WATZKE SHOWDOWN LOOMS
Head coach Thomas Tuchel could also be leaving Dortmund.
The 43-year-old, who has a year left on his contract, was all smiles as Dortmund lifted the cup and hugged CEO Hans-Watzke after the final whistle -- but when the party is over, the pair have some serious talking to do.
They fell out after Tuchel complained he was not consulted when Dortmund played their Champions League quarterfinal home leg against Monaco less than 24 hours after the April 11 bomb attack on their team bus.
Not true, said Watzke, in an interview earlier this month and, in Berlin, the CEO refused to be drawn about the future of Tuchel, who's contract expires in June 2018.
"Of course I see a chance of staying. I want to see my contract through, but we'll have to wait and see," said Tuchel during the Berlin celebrations.
MORE BAD LUCK FOR REUS
Having missed the 2014 World Cup with torn ankle ligaments and Euro 2016 for Germany with a groin injury, Marco Reus's bad luck struck again on Saturday.
The 27-year-old winger injured his right knee with just over half an hour played.
Reus had already been left out of Germany's squad for next month's Confederations Cup in Russia to get fit for the 2018 World Cup.
The German Cup win is Reus's first major title as he watched the second-half with a heavily-strapped leg and ignored the pain to celebrate with team-mates at the final whistle.
"I don't need titles to be happy, but after such a season of ups and downs, it's awesome (to win the cup)," he said.
"I'll have to see what the doctor says, it could be 'a bit' of a cruciate injury and I couldn't sprint at the end.
"For now, we just want to enjoy the moment."
DEMBELE'S CARBON-COPY OPENER
He is just a fortnight out of his teens, but Ousmane Dembele proved his billing as a rising world-class star by giving Dortmund the lead after eight minutes -- with a carbon-copy of the goal which slayed Bayern Munich in the semifinal.
In Saturday's final, he cut inside Jesus Vallejo on the edge of the penalty area and superbly curled his shot around Frankfurt's goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky with just eight minutes gone in Berlin.
It was identical to his winning goal in last month's semi-final against Bayern when he stepped inside David Alaba to hit the back of the net on 74 minutes and seal a 3-2 come-back win in Munich.
STILL NO SIGN OF GOETZE
Germany's World Cup-winner Mario Goetze was a noticeable absentee at Berlin's Olympic Stadium.
Dortmund's attacking midfielder was not in the capital to watch his team lift the cup as he continues his treatment for a metabolism disorder in Bavaria.
The 24-year-old, who hit Germany's winning goal in the 2014 World Cup final, was withdrawn from Dortmund's training sessions in February.
He has given no interviews since, while the club has released no details of what he is suffering from.
Dortmund say they expect Goetze to be available for pre-season training in July.
